A great book for anyone with an interest in photography both as a medium in itself and as an aspect of other art forms or social commentary.

While there are 1 or 2 familiar images in the book, the majority are fresh and interesting. The page layout gives the image the opportunity to provide the most impact to the viewer while the commentary for each image is intelligent and insightful.

Alongside being introduced to many new photographers an artists, I also really loved the contextual information provided for each image which provided the photographers bio and links to search terms, images and videos to allow the reader the investigate the photos more in depth.

A highly recommended book for both casual viewers looking for an interesting read and for professional photographers looking to learn more about their craft.

This is a brilliant photography book covering various ages and subjects. It has given background to the photographs and other photographers to look at if you liked an image. It is a useful reference book and a lot of thought has gone into the chapters and their subject matter. Some of the images did make for uncomfortable viewing but I can understand the reason for their inclusion.

As a photographer and mentor, I was keenly interested in exploring the storytelling behind some of the world's greatest photographers. From the sublime to the horrific, Gemma Padley explores diverse photographs, prompting us to examine why they are exceptional and why their stories, or lack thereof, are so relevant.

One of my favourite images was taken in 2017 by Alice Mann, entitled "Dr Van Der Ross Drummies" in Cape Town, South Africa. I intend to explore more of her work. The author provides additional information about the photographer, including bios, video links as well as other photographers in a similar genre. "Her biggest coup though comes as a result of daring to make something of the edges off the frame and refusing to be found by those limits", which I found particularly intriguing and intend to use this technique in my own work.

I studied this book on a very small device as a PDF but examining the physical book would be far more productive and educational. I would recommend this guide to everyone who is interested in improving their visual storytelling techniques.

A wonderful read for anyone interested in the history of photography.

Reading through the book, there's photos I know I would have included and others I maybe wouldn't but honestly? How does one choose? What a mammoth task!

Choosing 100 photos in an age when everybody has a camera in their pocket is a tough to say the least. Each photo has a description from the author, telling you why they included it. There's also a very useful section for each photo on what to read/watch/similar photographers for those who are interested in learning more.

Some photos are exceptionay hard to view but have been included for good reason. Then others, like the photo of Picasso drawing with light which wasn't one I'd seen before, are filled with joy. I found a new favourite photographer. I had to keep stopping to look for more of the photographers work.

It would have been nice to have a bit more about the author themselves in it, a proper bio or similar.

Really inspiring book and I enjoyed seeing the alternative views to the usual rules. Each photograph had a summary of when, where, how, why, a critique and further links to the photographer, exhibition, publications and websites to research. Good layout and easy to go back to refer to again. Thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I would like to thank the author and publisher for providing an electronic advanced readers copy of this book.

"Look At This If You Love Great Photography" by Gemma Padley is a collection of 100 photos and accompanying descriptive analysis. In the introduction the author describes this as "a book featuring one hundred photos that people must see... of any genre, from any period in history." The categorization that the author uses nicely emphasizes what is primarily unique and why we should see each picture. These categorizations as well as my impressions of the photos in each are as follows:

- "Breaking the Rules"
It is said that a person learning a new art must learn and follow the rules, and that one of the signs of a true master is knowing when to break those rules. This section includes fascinating pictures that perhaps appeal to the viewer because they break implicit "rules" of photography. The pictures in this section were worthy and memorable. In particular, after reviewing this chapter, I spent some time viewing other surreal pictures by Shoji Ueda on the internet. Likewise I liked the humor of John Hilliard's "Off Screen (3), Large Study".

- "Photos That Make You Look Twice"
When I took a photography class, our instructor told us that a good picture is one that keeps the viewers gaze for over 3 seconds. Indeed, nearly every picture in this section held my gaze. Well, this is also true about all the pictures in this book, but particularly this category. The dark humor in Weronika Gesicka's "Untitled#52" memorably appealed to me.

- "A Punch in the Gut"
The author warns us in the introduction that "Some of the imagery in this book (especially chapter 3) is of a particularly sensitive nature. These photos don't make easy viewing, but serve as important reminders of what is happening in our world." After I read this warning, two disturbing pictures immediately came to mind. Since I first viewed them decades ago they were painfully burnt into my memory to never leave me. On the positive side, the author is correct that such images should serve as a mighty message of the importance of preventing atrocities. Since I already agree with this message, I resolved to skip this chapter. However, I accidentally glanced at the first picture in the chapter which was indeed one of my all-time two most emotionally painful pictures. I wish with every fiber of my being that our world never had incidences like recorded by Nick Ut's "The Terror of War".

- "Reflecting on Who We Are"
The pictures in this category where philosophical and thought provoking.

- "Flirting with Other Art Forms"
- "Photos that Could Be Dreams"
Both of these sections showed how photographs can resemble other forms of visual art. They were certainly eye-catching and often beautiful. NASA's "The Engines of Creation" was one of my favorites. The concept of a "staged" cinematic photograph that tells a story was a nice take-away from this category.

- "Reappraising the Everyday"
- "Colour is King"
These sections describe their pictures well. All of them deserve some mention, but in particular the the dystopian scifi aspect of Martin Roemers' "Soviet Army Hospital, Juterbog, former East Germany" intrigues me the most.

- "A Wonderful World"
The scenery from this section was fantastic. Placing one of Ansel Adams' pictures from the Grand Tetons on the first page was very appropriate. He is my favorite photographer of all time.

- "Capturing What the Eye Can't See"
I had my highest hopes set on this section since there are so many techniques to take pictures of things we can not see. Initially, I was not expecting photos in this section that could have come from the documentary "The Many Faces of Death." The stop-motion photos were interesting, however, I was hoping to see photos similar to the work of MIT Professor Harold Edgerton. The light painting photo by Picasso was interesting.

I think that this section could be improved by including micro-photography, additional astro photography, aerial photographs such as by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and George Steinmetz, long exposure light trail type photographs, and perhaps even infrared or ultraviolet photographs.

Although I would have removed the emotionally painful pictures from this book, all in all, this book nicely accomplished the goal of introducing pictures that everyone should see. This book contains thought provoking philosophical material and is a valuable artistic reference for photographers.

This book was a wonderful surprise. It is filled with a variety exciting photography and fantastic descriptions that and side notes that lead you to where you can learn more, google more, read or view along the lines of each photograph, Very well curated and I can see myself immersed in this one. I wish the cover was more representative of the excellent book it contains.