Creative 52: Weekly Projects to Invigorate Your Photography Portfolio

by Lindsay Adler

Many photographers struggle with a mundane portfolio of work that lacks true impact. This book is a remedy for the "average" portfolio, and will enable portrait, wedding, or fashion photographers to create a portfolio of compelling images that is sure to help them differentiate themselves from the competition.

Many existing books use bland imagery simply to prove a technical point, while many fine art books are filled with beautiful imagery, but contain minimal (if any) educational insights and also have no relevancy to most working photographers. This book blends both: inspiration and education that photographers can take to the bank as they create images that attract potential clients.

"Creative 52" provides 52 weekly challenges that push photographers to experiment with new concepts, techniques, and post-processing tools, culminating in a unique and eye-catching portfolio. The challenges encourage and invite the reader to put the knowledge and inspiration of the book into practice, helping yield tangible results.

The author has taught on this subject dozens of times on major national platforms, and is a sought-after source as someone who pushes creative boundaries while achieving professional success.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Textbooks

440 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2013

Reviews

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2019, after acquiring my first single lens reflex camera since being a photography major in college in the '80s (and my very first digital SLR ever), I then proceeded in 2020 to barely use it because of the pandemic, so I'm trying to get motivated to become active with it again in 2021 by committing myself to a 52 week photography challenge. Lindsay Adler's one, documented in Creative 52, isn't exactly worth spending $35 on to own -- these kinds of lists abound all over the internet for free, and there isn't really anything substantial in her book version besides padded-out explanations and photographic examples. Still, I found it really worth my time to at least check it out of my neighborhood library; because unlike a lot of these kinds of lists, Adler devotes only a third of hers to the traditional kinds of "I dare you to..." tasks that typically make up these kinds of challenges (things like "take a photojournalistic image in public" and "create a portrait without showing the person's face"), devoting another third instead to less common tasks involving new practical techniques ("Shoot fluorescent paint under a black light," "project an image onto your subject"), then yet another third to the pursuit of getting better at photo manipulation software ("Add an artificial lens flare to an image," "apply a displacement map to your model"). A book that would normally get 3 1/2 stars from me, I'm rounding up here simply because she has more interesting tasks than the challenge lists you usually find online; but do yourself a favor and just find a copy you can borrow for the afternoon, instead of bowing to the ridiculously marked up cover price.

[Kathleen Messmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome ideas in this book plus tons of Photoshop tips that I'm very excited to try out!

[Ahsan Sharafuddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of tips and techniques from a pro.

[Matthew Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to ignite my creativity as a photographer and get me out of my rut. I may go through it again to push myself further as an artist.