Do the book on photography really needs pictures?

rudolf · 12-16-2011, 04:42 PM

The situation is: there is a book on photography; it contains not small amount of text, but also not so few black and white photographs. Whole ebook on Kindle takes almost 4MB.
This makes it impossible to publish it for 0.99$ on Amazon, of course.

But, the idea of boosting sales by setting the lowest price is tempting. Even as a time-limited offer, why not?

So here is a proposition: remove the pictures and publish text-only version. But, here is the question - does it makes sense at all? I mean, in my opinion it's really a nonsense, especially getting into consideration subject and the role photos have in this work.

Here you can see sample chapter, to let you visualize my problem:
http://13th-frame.com/chapters/did-you-see-fjords/

What do you think?
I'd appreciate any feedback!

Hellmark · 12-16-2011, 07:36 PM

I'd want the pictures. A photoless book about photos, doesn't make much sense, plus some concepts are best shown, and not described.

DustyDisks · 12-16-2011, 08:59 PM

A book about photography, without pictures, is like sitting down to a perfect steak on the table ready to eat. And you have no teeth to enjoy it with.

montsnmags · 12-16-2011, 10:40 PM

The pictures are good. The text doesn't need them. As an amateur photographer, based on the sample given, I would buy that book, with or without pictures. The presence or absence of pictures change the tone of the book for me...not in a value way, but in the way I receive it, react to it, experience it, subjectively, but neither way better or worse.

For my mind, it works without the pictures. If I enjoyed the text, as I do with the sample, it may also be that a "scarce good" you could sell at a regular price is the "coffee table book" (pbook) with pictures too?

(EDIT: I didn't think to look further than the sample, to know it was already available. At the current price, buying it was an easy one-click)

(2nd EDIT: Note, when I say "the pictures are good", I don't mean to be commenting on their own qualities - or I'd spend more time telling you how much I enjoyed them - but rather I think their placement within the text is "good". Just thought I better get that out of the way, so you didn't think I was giving a one-word critique of your photography

)

Cheers,
Marc

rudolf · 12-17-2011, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

A book about photography, without pictures, is like sitting down to a perfect steak on the table ready to eat. And you have no teeth to enjoy it with.

Good one!

rudolf · 12-17-2011, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

The pictures are good. The text doesn't need them. As an amateur photographer, based on the sample given, I would buy that book, with or without pictures. The presence or absence of pictures change the tone of the book for me...not in a value way, but in the way I receive it, react to it, experience it, subjectively, but neither way better or worse.

Yeah, exactly, I have the same feeling, that's why I asked

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

If I enjoyed the text, as I do with the sample, it may also be that a "scarce good" you could sell at a regular price is the "coffee table book" (pbook) with pictures too?

Really?
I mean - do you know what would be the price, for instance, on Blurb? In my opinion it's quite high...

But thanks a lot for suggestion!

Thanks at all, Marc, I really appreciate your voice!

rudolf · 12-17-2011, 03:16 PM

Well, so far 100% of voices for not deleting the pictures. That corresponds with my personal feelings, I think I won't do that. Thanks for your response!

elemenoP · 12-17-2011, 08:46 PM

why can't you sell a 4mb file on Amazon for $0.99?

eP

RichL · 12-18-2011, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudolf

Well, so far 100% of voices for not deleting the pictures. That corresponds with my personal feelings, I think I won't do that. Thanks for your response!

Here's your first vote from the oposition.

From that sample I would say that this is a story based around photography not a book about photography and the pictures could be dumped without loss.

The photographs, as good as they are, really add nothing to the story.

carpetmojo · 12-18-2011, 09:36 AM

Sounds a rather daft idea, frankly - but being only a "snapper" I wouldn't read it if there were 100's of pic's anyway.

carpetmojo · 12-18-2011, 09:38 AM

Where's the "Sounds a rather daft idea, frankly" option ?

But only being a lowly "snapper", I wouldn't read it if there were 100's of pic's anyway.

HappyMartin · 12-18-2011, 10:55 AM

Susan Sontags book titled On Photography contains no photographs yet is one of the most important books on the subject for me.

If it is a book on technical theory it would perhaps need images to illustrate a point but otherwise not

garrybuck · 12-18-2011, 12:35 PM

If it's the exact same book without the pictures, then you never needed them in the first place. All they ever were was fluff and padding. Shame on you for doing that. But if their absence changes the essence of the book then they need to be in there.

Given that the resolution of most e-reader screens is not all that great, could you get around the 4mb size limit by compressing the images well past the point that they'd look good on a big monitor, but still look ok on a small e-reader?

Sweetpea · 12-19-2011, 03:43 AM

My option isn't there.

It depends. I've seen books about photography with a lot of pictures. Which were useless. A picture can say more than a thousand words, true. But if you're talking about picture making, you should always add more than one about the same subject (right vs wrong, long focus vs short focus, etc).

theducks · 12-19-2011, 07:09 PM

A picture is worth 1K words except when it is a book on How to take great pictures, then the picture is priceless.

Ansel Adams f32 Black and White photos can't be expressed in words.
Shallow Depth of Field descriptions lack the fuzziness

View Poll Results: Is there any sense to remove photos from a book on photography?
Sure, they are worthless!	0	0%
No way! They're crucial!	40	100.00%
Voters: 40. You may not vote on this poll

12-16-2011, 04:42 PM	#1
rudolf Photographer & Author Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: none	Does the book on photography really need pictures? The situation is: there is a book on photography; it contains not small amount of text, but also not so few black and white photographs. Whole ebook on Kindle takes almost 4MB. This makes it impossible to publish it for 0.99$ on Amazon, of course. But, the idea of boosting sales by setting the lowest price is tempting. Even as a time-limited offer, why not? So here is a proposition: remove the pictures and publish text-only version. But, here is the question - does it makes sense at all? I mean, in my opinion it's really a nonsense, especially getting into consideration subject and the role photos have in this work. Here you can see sample chapter, to let you visualize my problem: http://13th-frame.com/chapters/did-you-see-fjords/ What do you think? I'd appreciate any feedback! Last edited by rudolf; 12-16-2011 at 08:07 PM.

12-16-2011, 10:40 PM	#4
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	The pictures are good. The text doesn't need them. As an amateur photographer, based on the sample given, I would buy that book, with or without pictures. The presence or absence of pictures change the tone of the book for me...not in a value way, but in the way I receive it, react to it, experience it, subjectively, but neither way better or worse. For my mind, it works without the pictures. If I enjoyed the text, as I do with the sample, it may also be that a "scarce good" you could sell at a regular price is the "coffee table book" (pbook) with pictures too? (EDIT: I didn't think to look further than the sample, to know it was already available. At the current price, buying it was an easy one-click) (2nd EDIT: Note, when I say "the pictures are good", I don't mean to be commenting on their own qualities - or I'd spend more time telling you how much I enjoyed them - but rather I think their placement within the text is "good". Just thought I better get that out of the way, so you didn't think I was giving a one-word critique of your photography ) Cheers, Marc Last edited by montsnmags; 12-16-2011 at 11:00 PM.

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12-16-2011, 07:36 PM	#2
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,591 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	I'd want the pictures. A photoless book about photos, doesn't make much sense, plus some concepts are best shown, and not described.

12-16-2011, 08:59 PM	#3
DustyDisks Old Fart In Training Posts: 534 Karma: 2742476 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Gladewater, Texas Device: K3+3g/KFHD 7"/Nexus 7/Nexus 7.2	A book about photography, without pictures, is like sitting down to a perfect steak on the table ready to eat. And you have no teeth to enjoy it with.

12-17-2011, 03:16 PM	#7
rudolf Photographer & Author Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: none	Well, so far 100% of voices for not deleting the pictures. That corresponds with my personal feelings, I think I won't do that. Thanks for your response!

12-17-2011, 08:46 PM	#8
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	why can't you sell a 4mb file on Amazon for $0.99? eP

12-18-2011, 09:36 AM	#10
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Sounds a rather daft idea, frankly - but being only a "snapper" I wouldn't read it if there were 100's of pic's anyway.

12-18-2011, 09:38 AM	#11
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Where's the "Sounds a rather daft idea, frankly" option ? But only being a lowly "snapper", I wouldn't read it if there were 100's of pic's anyway.

12-18-2011, 10:55 AM	#12
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	Susan Sontags book titled On Photography contains no photographs yet is one of the most important books on the subject for me. If it is a book on technical theory it would perhaps need images to illustrate a point but otherwise not

12-18-2011, 12:35 PM	#13
garrybuck Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 69964 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle	If it's the exact same book without the pictures, then you never needed them in the first place. All they ever were was fluff and padding. Shame on you for doing that. But if their absence changes the essence of the book then they need to be in there. Given that the resolution of most e-reader screens is not all that great, could you get around the 4mb size limit by compressing the images well past the point that they'd look good on a big monitor, but still look ok on a small e-reader?

12-19-2011, 03:43 AM	#14
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	My option isn't there. It depends. I've seen books about photography with a lot of pictures. Which were useless. A picture can say more than a thousand words, true. But if you're talking about picture making, you should always add more than one about the same subject (right vs wrong, long focus vs short focus, etc).

12-19-2011, 07:09 PM	#15
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,909 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	A picture is worth 1K words except when it is a book on How to take great pictures, then the picture is priceless. Ansel Adams f32 Black and White photos can't be expressed in words. Shallow Depth of Field descriptions lack the fuzziness

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