The Art of the Art Book, Part 1

Are you interested in creating your own art or photography book? Do you want some instruction on how, exactly, to pull it off?

My first book, Mystery & Manifestations, was a project that took 3 years to complete. Admittedly, there was a lot of trial and error involved. Currently, I’ve begun working on my second book. I’m determined to finish this one much more quickly.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

It’s an awesome feeling to hold your book in your hands.

Step 1: Create the art.

Whether you're taking photographs or painting or whatever you love to do, you have to have a body of work before you can make your book. Brainstorm a list of ideas you’d love to include in your book. Make more work than you actually need.

Setting a deadline is very helpful for me. I give myself a set amount of time to create work based on the ideas I have. This helps make sure my project is actually finishable. It’s so tempting to keep creating new pieces that might work better in a book, thereby prolonging the finish date. Just as it can be hard to know when to stop working on a piece, it can also be hard to know when to stop creating new stuff for your project. 

In short:

• Create a list of ideas for content in your book

• Set a realistic deadline

• Make the art

• Honor the deadline

The deadline for my new project was simple: I had to make the work during the 10 days I was in the PNW.

Step 2: Compile the art.

When your deadline arrives, stop producing new work. Limit yourself to whatever you’ve already created. Then, compile it, be it in digital or physical form. For me, that means scanning all my negatives and making a folder on my computer for them. For others, that may mean putting the physical work into a common area where it will be easy to go through–again and again. Anything that might relate to the topic of your book should be included, even work that you might not think is your strongest. Be uncritical. 

The preliminary selections for my new book.

Step 3: Cull the art.

Now is where your critical eye comes into practice. Before you begin, you should have a number in mind of how many photographs you want in your book. Be realistic. Not every book has to be 200 pages long, especially not art books. The magic number for my new book is 50: 25 black and white photos, and 25 color. Take all that work you’ve compiled, and dive in. Look through each and every piece, spending time with them. In whatever way works for you, make some piles. I do this digitally using folders: a ‘yes’ folder, a ‘maybe’ folder, and a ‘no’ folder. Another possibility is to use the star rating system in Lightroom. 

You will repeat this step until you reach the number of pieces you need for your book. It’s important to select your strongest work, but also to consider how each photo will relate to all the others in the book. Because my new book will also include excerpts from my travel journal, I am also picking out my favorite written work. As I continue to narrow my selections, I’ll start really honing in on how it all relates to everything else.

An unedited pick for my book. Will it make the final cut?

Step 4: Arrange the art.

Let’s say you’ve reached the lucky number, or that you’re close. This is where the next step comes in. With my own process, after I’ve narrowed my work down as much as I can, I print all the images (and text) on paper. You’re going to need some empty wall space or a clear floor for this. It’s time to figure out the order your work will be presented. 

Physically lay out all of your selections. I really think it’s important to do this non-digitally, so you can move things around easily and see how it all works together. Keep in mind those ideas you originally had (or whatever they’ve evolved into). Using your images, tell a story. Start and end with your best work, to keep people hooked and leave them engaged. You may even find at this stage that your selections need to be changed a bit to maintain this story you’re telling. Sometimes, a very strong piece may not relate to the other work in the book. It’s okay to leave it out in favor of a cohesive narrative. Take your time with this step.

A behind-the-scenes look at arranging my first book.

Step 5: To be continued…

The next steps of creating a photo or art book are in designing the book itself. This will be added to Part 2 of my Art of the Art Book blog series. The link will be updated when available.
I hope this inspires you to begin your own book journey!