Jorg Colberg's 'Understanding Photobooks'

Illustration: Kenneth Tanaka

Tying together a few recent threads...we were treated to an example of positive and negative criticism in considering Harry Gruyaert's two recent publications. The second one, the East/West duo, got some negative flak for an overly stylish design that detracts from the photographs; but we don't have to look far for the positive example: it's his first Thames & Hudson book, which has excellent reproductions and a design that gets out of the way of the content.

I continue to think that Harry's work is on the short list for people who are learning how best to be color photographers. Harry has a gift not only for composing in color, but for composing with color.

In the context of book design and positive and negative examples, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention another title that's been getting a lot of my attention recently. It's Jörg Colberg's October 2016 Understanding Photobooks: The Form and Content of the Photographic Book from Focal Press.

First of all, anything Jörg Colberg says about photography is worth paying attention to. He proved that to most of us with his spell as a blogger, the author/editor of Conscientious Photography Magazine online. Few people ever have written with such eloquent compassion and close attention about the forms, means, and accomplishments of art photography. I've had his book open in the house for weeks now, and while I've probably only read about a fifth of it—enough to know that it's largely a very...well, dare I say it, very conscientious explication of the nuts and bolts of how to actually make photobooks—I still find it a fascinating read, articulate and sympathetic, a compassionate, detailed and patient guide to those immersed in the hard work of putting a book together.

What's not so obvious are all the little lessons between the lines about what's important and how to access it, how to prioritize, and so forth. That is, quietly, it's a lesson in what Jörg values about photographic books—and that's something well worth knowing.

Of course the book itself is beautifully made for a modestly-sized paperback, superbly edited and expertly laid out. There's a certain pleasure just in that.

While possibly not a must-have for any photography library, if you're interested in the subject, and especially if you've ever made your own book or ever want to, it's certainly worth considering. And I think there's more in it than there is in it, if ya follow. Go take a look at the book, and here is Jörg's site, from which you can also access the current iteration of Conscientious.

I'll write more about this book after Christmas, once I've read more of it.

Mike
(photo credit: tintypestudio.nl)

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

B&H Photo • Amazon US • Amazon UK
Amazon Germany • Amazon Canada • Adorama

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Mike: "Oh, man, I think about I'm about to be sent down a very long—yet very rewarding—wormhole."

Andrew Molitor: "I will repeat here your caveat 'for a paperback,' Mike—Jörg's book is printed on what feels like magazine-weight glossy stock, which lends a frankly kind of cheap feel. Which is fair; it's an inexpensive book. There's at least one horrible design choice, so I was surprised to see your positive take on the design. The 'worked example' inserts are printed in small white text on a grey background, and are incredibly hard to read. [Mea culpa—I did forget about that and you're right. I had trouble reading that. —MJ]

Two further notes: Jörg is describing and advocating a 'Cadillac' book publishing process. with a full staff and a contract (and, in almost all cases, a large up-front subsidy from the author), which is not suitable for everyone. I recommend Swanson and Himes' Publish Your Photography Book for the publishing side of things. It gives more detail, and is less dogmatic, but it completely lacks anything on sequencing the contents. Pair it with Keith Smith's Structure of the Visual Book for what is, as far as I know, the only really comprehensive text on how to sequence a book, and you've got a really good reference. It will cost you something like twice as much, though, and will be very heavy sledding in many places."

John: "Another book about photographic books sequencing and design is Josef Koudelka: The Making of Exiles. Three versions of Exiles have been produced, one more than his Gypsies, which I believe has only had two versions. The first edition of each benefited from the input of Robert Delpire, who died in September this year. Delpire was involved with Robert Frank’s Americans, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Koudelka’s panoramic pictures in Chaos. Delpire was also behind the immensely valuable and low-cost Photo File series."

Comments

[George Andros]

Thank you Mike for the call out on Colberg's books. I have made several books of my travel photos using Blurb and purchased his book (through this site!) with an eye to future books presenting future travels. I also purchased his book using his site where the price was almost $10.00 cheaper than Amazon and included free shipping. George

[Fred Haynes]

Mike, for years my small business supplied publishers with art of graphic nature, many of which were based on a authors PowerPoint diagrams that were originally done as a classroom presentation.
It almost always was a problem fitting the repurposed art into a 33 or 27 pica text width. At no time was the designer in the position to determine a books trim size. That was the responsibility of the manufacturing department.
I wonder if it's really a design issue with poorly represented and sized photos in the books discussed in your post. I tend to think it's more about book size and shelf space, plus paper costs and selling price. Design takes a back seat to these other 'dollars and cents issues'.

[s.wolters]

In this interview Gruyaert talks about the East/West book.
https://www.parisphoto.com/en/interviews/harry-gruyaert/

[Stan B.]

Don't always agree, but always worth reading. Most recently enjoyed "Annie Leibovitz’s Capitalist Realism."

[Moose]

That looks like a good resource, and I'm happy you've pointed me to his blog.

OTOH, I imagine a book like that, in the hands of some, would be an excuse not to go ahead and make a book - reading, pondering, considering, when just moving ahead may be the thing to do.

I would suggest to anyone who is thinking about making a book just do it. It's easy and relatively inexpensive to make a book with any of several on-line resources.

Then, if it seems desirable, after considering the result and getting the responses of others, dive into a book about making books with an idea of what works and what doesn't in what you have done.

In his review of Adornment, Colberg says "You’d imagine it must be pretty simple to make a good photobook if you have no narrative to contend with, but that’s not true. It’s just as hard."

And yet, maybe you'll be lucky! I made a book as a response to an attractive promotional offer. I had a group of photos I would like together, so I tried it.

Colberg says ". . . even in the absence of narrative the edit and sequence matter. The challenges of putting the pictures together are just as big, if not bigger."

Well, I messed up one pair of facing images and the placement of another relative to the gutter. The publisher made a mistake in the last photo, so I got a free re-do. Other than that brief stumble, it was a great success.

I've made six books since. Based a little on my own satisfaction and more on the reactions of family, friends and the occasional stranger, it appears I have a previously unknown talent for ordering images. One eleoquent friend, whose own first (prose) book has just been published calls my picture books Meditations.

"I derive equal enjoyment from seeing what you could call a collection of individual pictures that somehow speak of something larger, but that mostly remain there. There is, after all, a lot to be said for that kind of photography."

Has anyone learned to paint by reading a book, without exercises? This is Art. Try it if it calls, and find out what you have hidden away. If this isn't your metier, at least you haven't read a tome about it. \;^)>

[Ken Tanaka]

Thank you for calling out Jörg Colberg's book, Mike. It’s news to me. I admit to not having been an enthusiastic fan of Colberg's thoughts on his monologue blog. But I must simultaneously admit to reading them only very occasionally.

That aside, I slow-applaud his diligent persistence at enlivening and describing the photo book genre. It can only be good for the medium.

[Steve Higgins]

What I want to know is why are all the letters in the title WEST back to front, apart from the S?

;-)

[Aadmtwi]

Disclaimer: I have bought Colberg's book but haven't read it yet. But I "know" him, being a long-time reader of his blog (the one with the stupid name).

My thoughts for the moment are more in line with what Andrew Molitor wrote some time ago, reviewing the same book:

http://photothunk.blogspot.no/2017/06/review-understanding-photobooks-jorg-m.html

Also:

http://photothunk.blogspot.no/2017/06/understanding-photobooks-ugly.html

Colberg's elitist view of photography and photobooks and his random appreciations for ugly artsy stuff does not appeal to me. On the other hand (and Mike, you should check him out if havent't done so already) we have Daniel Milnor who's not an artist, but loves photography, and advocates the use of self-publishing books just to get stuff out, and out of your mind, without committing absurd amount of money to the project (or should I write "Project"?).

Check these blog posts for example:

http://shifter.media/creative-august-self-publishing-project-final-chapter/

http://shifter.media/creative-be-real-about-publishing-and-put-the-fun-back-in/

and this is a must read (together with all the other posts on his Essay series), inspirational for whoever thinks he *needs* a designer, a layout guy, professional advice like Colberg suggests:

http://shifter.media/creative-essay-the-new-series/