Book Layout Research - Nan Goldin

So new project! We all had an introduction lecture to the topic were we were asked to bring in a book of our choice, I did but when I got there Jamie had a lot better options to choose from. I just picked a book at random to basically have a look at the layout and how the photographer has placed the images on the page, use of text / font. I wanted to see if it had any order/narrative to the layout. I also wanted to see how they laid the images out, if they had more than one image to a page etc.

The book that I ended up with was this by Nan Goldin and I couldn't have chosen a better one! The reason I liked this book was because I felt like the front cover give you a good sense of what to expect from the book. I knew what I was getting myself into. Often covers can be miss leading and this can lead to disappointment and being left underwhelmed. I don’t think that this was the case in this instance. The title is clear and works well with the use of image. It’s not too in your face, however it isn't lost on the page. 

What I find most interesting about this book is the way that the photographer has chosen to set the images out throughout the book. I feel like images that are strong are set out on their own. There is no image on the opposite page, I feel like this helps the image make an impact and really draws your attention into the image. This to me is attribute that I would like to consider in my own book. I want it to be about making my images as strong as possible and to make the biggest impact, not about cramming as many images into a book as possible. 

On the other hand I think that laying similar images side by side also strengthens the image. It creates a narrative that the reader can engage in. a recurring theme through the book that I noticed was that of opposite images that were almost exact in set up. The difference being say for example the couple sat on the bench (in the image above) on one image they are sat far away from each other, but on the opposite page the couple on the bench couldn't be closer. I found this to reoccur thought the book. This was a really interesting factor that I picked up on straight away.