I like to think that every person has a book that shaped them into the person they are today… Even if it’s just a photo or two in that book. I’d like to introduce you to Helmut Newton. Born in 1914 in Berlin, he passed away at the tender age of 84 in 2004. As you can already tell, he was an extremely prolific photographer, with an equally long career spanning from the 30s to his death in 2004. He is definitely one of my main inspirations, and after spending some time with this coffee table book, I’m sure you will be inspired by his iconic images and style too!
Helmut Newton is one of my main inspirations, and this book was one of his early works before he became known for his fashion photography. This coffee table book is a classic, that is hard to get by but it’s worth it, even the dust jacket is an artwork by itself. This was THE book that shaped me into what I am today, if you look at my photos I am sure you can see a hint of Helmut in them.
I first came across Helmut Newton’s book when I was browsing the shelves of my local bookstore. I was fascinated by it and bought it. There is a coffee table inside which raised quite some interest on the picture-sharing platform, Imgur. This coffee table contains many beautiful and unique photos of the master photographer. Also, what makes his book unique is that he didn’t use any filters whatsoever! This is reflected in the cover (which shows his baby son) and on each page, you’ll see three photos of him: before and after Photoshop.
I spent most of my teenage and early 20s in libraries across the bay area, reading all sorts of photography books. This book has become a classic over the years, as Helmut Newton has become a legendary photographer whose work gets published in magazines & newspapers all over the world. It’s beautiful and contains most of his most famous photographs and images that have inspired me since I was a teenager.
Objectively, this book is one of the most powerful contemporary photography books of all time. It was originally published in 1979 as a portfolio by French publisher La Martinière. At that time it was impossible to get your hands on the book, now it has been republished more easily and is relatively easy to find. When I first discovered the book in 2007, it literally changed my whole world view of photography and visual arts – since then I have become an avid collector of Helmut’s work and other photography books by other photographers and artists I love.
