Focus by Michael Gross

boo jacket man photographer taking picture of woman laying downFocus: The secret, sexy, sometimes sordid world of fashion photographers by Michael Gross (2016)

I spotted this book on the “new nonfiction” shelf at the library and debated whether I would want to read it or not. As a photographer and with an interest in sewing (show more actual pattern construction Project Runway!), I was curious what would be included, so since I could still physically manage to carry in my bag of books for the trip, I brought it home.

Alas, not worth the weight. The bibliography was pretty interesting though. However, the first thing that obviously put me off a bit was the cover, because as a feminist, the sexuality and dominance of the photo with the woman laying with eyes closed was, hmm, hate to say offensive because that’s not quite right; kind of like I felt the whole heroin chic phase was not best serving anything either. On the other hand, it does work to illustrate the titillation factor the author strove fore with the subtitle, so I suppose it is a good image for the book.

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