Pictures + Text

Wesley Verhhoeve continues to share his process for making a photo book, step-by-step, in real time. His post today, When Do Pictures Need Words?, is a huge help to me as I make my photo book, Florilegium.

By and large, I do not feel that my Florilegium photo book requires words. The book is a visual experience where readers are invited to see flowers as I see them. Captions would be clunky. Naming flowers would turn the book into a study of botany. Describing my visits to flower farms would be more in line with documentary work. But I do think that a few words to help set the context, a preface, might be a positive addition to the book. This would be akin to a project or artist’s statement. I also love the idea of including poetry, a considered quote, or a thoughtful essay. But I’m still working on these ideas and holding them back for the book.