You've probably seen the bookshelf in the background on my videos and possibly some blog photographs. (If you want to see it in more detail, there are a few shots of it in my Studio Tour.) As I spent six years studying photography, it will come as no surprise that most of these books were accumulated during that time, either to help with essays or as gifts from family members. Today I thought I'd chat about my favourite photography books in my collection, but it was very hard to narrow it down!

life.love.beauty by Keegan Allen

If I ever get round to writing a book, it will probably look something like this. I bought this after I left university and hadn't taken any photographs for months, and this book was a really lovely reminder that photography doesn't have to be academic, it can be personal and for fun, and still be enjoyed by others. There's a full review of this book over here.

Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton

I love New York, I love photography, and I love learning about other people's stories, so I was bound to love this book. There's a full review over here.

Auto Focus: The Self-Portrait in Contemporary Photography by Susan Bright

I should probably give a little backstory and say that I specialised in self-portraiture at university, hence why I read this book so much. I remember borrowing this from the library at university a few times when I was writing essays, and when I left I decided to buy my own copy (I miss the library more than the teachers to be honest). If you have an interest in self-portraiture, you need this book.

Francesca Woodman by Chris Townsend

While we're talking about my university days, I have to bring up Francesca Woodman, who I wrote about during my Master's Degree frequently. She does self portraiture without being visible - usually out of focus or simply a blur in the frame. If you'd like to find out more about the work I did at university, I talk about it in My Photography: 2012-2015.

Self-Portraits by Vivian Maier

Vivian is a new love interest of mine, with a very interesting style of self portraiture. She left her mark on the world by photographing herself in windows and mirrors, or documenting her shadow.

As I said, it was really hard to narrow this down, so I may well have to write a sequel to this in the near future.

Let me know your favourite photographers and photography books in the comments section below.