A photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content, they can also include texts and have an overrunning narrative.
Examples:
Research a photo-book (select one you have looked at previously in your project) and describe what story/ narrative the book is telling – its subject-matter, genre, style, approach etc.
The book is about people in Iceland who believe in Fairies and elves. They tell their kids not to throw stones because it could hit an elf. Stylized as an old fairy tale book.
2. Who is the photographer? Why did he/she make it? (intentions/ reasons) Who is it for? (audience) How was it received? (any press, awards, legacy etc.)
Bego Anton- Born in Spain. Specialized in unusual documentary photography. The book was made to see if there was magic in Iceland and to document the people who believe and live there.
“Antón’s book pursues a courageous and empathetic mission: not only does it value a culture rich in imagination, it is also a humble reminder of respect and indulgence. Most importantly, though, it allows for a special kind of encounter – with an ability that most of us used to have, but have lost along the way. Enchantment.” – Sabrina Mandanici, Collector Daily
“The book is full of beautiful details… friezes of manuscripts, dragons, an unfolding ancient map and marvelous typographical signs that we suppose are secret messages of the creatures that populate these lands. Everything is alive, Bego Anton tells us, if we know how to discover it… when closing the book we cannot stop thinking about looking for the elves near us.” – Gabriela Cendoya, Photobook collector (translated from Spanish)
“Even if you are a total skeptic for fairies, unicorns, and water sprites, recognizing the complexity of nature encourages an appreciation for its processes that we often can’t see.” – Allison Meier, Hyperallergic
Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.
The paper feels rough, it isn’t glossy. Faint new book smell, bit dusty.
Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
All of the paper texture is the same, like an old book. The images are in colour, a few are in black and white.
Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
A5 size, portrait but some of the pages are a double page spread landscape.
Binding, soft/hard cover. image wrap/dust jacket. saddle stitch/swiss binding/ Japanese stab-binding/ leperello
Hard cover binding
Cover: linen/ card. graphic/ printed image. embossed/ debossed. letterpress/ silkscreen/hot-stamping.
There’s a hot stamp of a unicorn on the front of the book. The lettering is also hot stamped.
Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
Both, it’s literal in the people’s beliefs but also poetic and metaphorical.
Narrative: what is the story/ subject-matter. How is it told?
It’s the story about Icelandic people’s beliefs. It told with a combination of landscapes, close up and portraits along with fairy stories that the photography was told whilst she was there.
Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative.
There this recurring motif in the text where it’s written in white and embossed so it’s almost invisible like these elves the photographer is looking for.
Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold- outs/ inserts.
There are double page spreads. some images are sized like Polaroids. There’s a fold out map at the very end.
Editing and sequencing: selection of images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.Images and text: are they linked? Introduction/ essay/ statement by artists or others. Use of captions (if any.)
The text is linked to the images. It talks about the beliefs and the environment which the images also represent.