What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I know that experience will tell, but I also wonder if there's any course or book or suggestion from you on how I can understand which "voice" of photography is the one for me, and how to understand which themes I want to work on.

I do recognise I won't be a wedding or fashion photographer, but I do know I love documentary photography, or fine art photography, the most.

For who's into the art, I love Alec Soth (very romantic way of photographing) but also Jeff Wall (recreating scenes he has read or dreamt about, for instance). But then I see people like Ingmar Nolting who's strictly a documentarist photography, a sort of "romantic reporter", or Paolo Woods, and I'm in awe again.

Is there anything that helped you understand what you like, where you stand, and what voice you want to give your photography, or what voice you have?

I know time will tell :D but curious if anyone managed to find a sort of path or exercises for that!

I'm a keen amateur photographer (when I have the time...) and this question is a good one; and a tough one. I don't know of any books that attempt to guide you or provide a "course" in finding your voice in this way. The only thing I can suggest is "reading around" the subject by looking at how other photographers do things – which you're already doing – and then trying to pick apart and analyse what techniques they're using to achieve their look and style.

The only issue with this is that photography books tend to be really expensive, so it's not something to embark on lightly!

Some possible starting-points: Cruel and Tender: The Real in the 20th Century Photograph – absolutely love this book, and it forms a kind of sampler of 20th Century figures in the field, from Robert Adams and William Eggleston to Diane Arbus and Andreas Gursky. Because there's a selection of each photographer, you can get a sense of their style and maybe see which best fits you; and then pursue them further.

Magnum Stories is a monumental book covering a lot of Magnum photographers, with examples of their work interspersed with interviews / accounts in their own words. A good way to get some insight into their thought processes.

Beyond that I'm not sure what to say, because inevitably I'm just going to end up recommending things I like, which isn't necessarily useful! (But just in case: Nan Goldin: The Devil's Playground for raw, uncomfortable contemporary portraiture; William Eggleston: Los Alamos Revisited for Eggleston's hugely influential new kind of documentary Americana;Henri Cartier-Bresson: Aperture Masters of Photography – this is just one book of a whole set, so you don't have to stick with HC-B: search here in Goodreads for "Aperture Masters of Photography" and you can see the individual titles.)

I'm not sure this is much help... but hope there's something in there, and good luck finding your vision!