Henry Carroll writes small, very helpful, very useful little books about photography.  A few months ago, I read his book about taking great photographs in general, and I really got a lot out of it.  In this book, he focuses on taking photos of people.  In his very clear, encouraging style, he points out some basic rule or technique, and then illustrates the point with an iconic photo from a famous photographer. Not only do you learn how to improve your photography, you also become acquainted with a variety of photographers and their work.  In this book, he uses photos by Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman, Garry Winogrand, Sebastião Salgado, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Gilden, and others to support his concepts. Before long, I found myself scouring the internet to seek out other examples of work by a few of these photographers.  His books are inexpensive (around $18 or $20) and are well worth the money. He has one on taking great photos of places, which I’ll eventually get, and one on how to become Instagram famous, which I’m sure I’ll skip.

“Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs of People” by Henry Carroll

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