I’ve been thinking recently about what makes a good photography book. I would classify very few as being really good. However every now and them one comes along that seems to open up a new door in your progression as a photographer. Hot Shots: Make Every Shot Your Best by Kevin Meredith is definitely one of these books.
Kevin Meredith, the author of Hot Shots, is more familiar to many by his flickr id ‘lomokev‘. For a few years now he has been building a loyal base of photographic admirers on the site. In fact he is one of a growing number of photographers that have managed to turn their flickr popularity into a commercial business.
His alias lomokev stems from his love for Lomo LCA cameras, something that is very evident when flicking through his latest Hot Shots book or his flickr photostream. If you are not familiar with Lomo cameras take a look at our article on them here. Kevin’s photography is all about the subject matter, lighting and composition. He is a master of the lomography style of photography.
Every double spread in Hot Shots features a photo on one side accompanied by text on the other explaining the technique used, the story behind the shot as well as the odd invaluable tip or nugget of advice from Kevin.
The great thing about this book (and Kevin’s style of photography) is that much of it is done using a relatively simple zone focusing, 35 mm film camera. As a result there is much more focus on the other aspects of photography that we are all guilty of neglecting such as subject selection, composition, perspective, attention to lighting etc.
If you are a digital shooter it doesn’t matter that over half of the images in the book are shot using film, in fact it is probably a good thing. When you see the stunning results Kevin achieves with such a ‘low tech’ camera, and learn exactly how he captures these images you suddenly realize that you are probably guilty of over complicating things with your digital shooting technique.
What this book taught me was that i often spent so much time worrying about getting my exposure just right, not blowing out the highlights, adjusting the white balance, obsessing about shutter speeds etc that I neglected some of the fundamentals. By refocusing more of my thought process on the choice of subject and composition I have witnessed a definite improvement in my photography.
While Hot Shots may not appeal to the most digitally centric photographers out there it really is a must read book for all photographers. In terms of refocusing you on the basics and re-invigorating your approach to photography this is a must have book. Check out the latest prices on Amazon.
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