Our Publications

Dedicated to the history of children's photo books, L is for Look includes more than a hundred albums released in various countries. 

From its inception—marked by the development in the 1930s of new teaching methods based on images rather than text—to the present day, the children’s photo book has embraced the realistic nature of photography. 

Covering all genres of children’s literature, from alphabet books to reinterpretations of traditional fairy tales, it supports children in their development and empowerment and stimulates their creativity, with a common goal: to challenge and enrich their view of the world. 

This genre, explored by some of the leading figures in photography, is also a field in which women photographers are particularly active. It is distinguished by the diversity of disciplines it brings together, such as the graphic arts and the performing arts.

↘︎ Credits: Co-published with Spector Books—262 pages—available in 3 languages: French, English, and German

↘︎ Exhibition: L is for Look, a traveling exhibition developed in collaboration with Photo Élysée

Published in December 2023, the manifesto For photography for its part, the book—spanning 416 pages and featuring more than 200 photographs—presents a visual history of the Institut pour la photographie’s preparatory phase, its missions, and its programming from 2019 to 2023.

A collaborative work, written and edited by the Institute’s team and designed by Sébastien Lordez, this book chronicles the project’s first four years through photographs. 

Featuring photographs by Tonio Arias, David De Beyter, Katrien de Blauwer, Martine Franck, Charles Fréger, Harry Gruyaert, Laura Henno, Leon Levinstein, Mary Ellen Mark, Lisette Model, Martin Parr, Bettina Rheims, Sarah Ritter, Jean-Louis Schoellkopf, Thomas Struth, Agnès Varda, etc.

↘︎ Credits: The book was sold for €25 at the Institute’s bookstore and gift shop upon its release on December 9, 2023

This book explores the special relationship between Bettina Rheims and Kim Harlow, offering a fresh perspective on the creative process through previously unpublished archival material selected by Bettina. A tribute from the photographer to her model.

Bettina Rheims met Kim Harlow, a dancer and cabaret showgirl, in 1990 during the casting process for her series Modern Lovers. Kim is the only transgender person among these portraits of androgynous young people, through which the artist seeks to convey a sense of unease. This encounter also served as the inspiration for the series The Female Spies (1991–1992), continuing to explore the issue of trans identity.

From this close relationship with Kim Harlow emerged, in January 1991, a joint photography project that would lead to a book: Kim , published in 1994, following Kim's death. Thirty years later, we felt it was essential to compile images from the series into a single volume Modern Lovers , The Female Spies , combined with the series Kim and its original text.

↘︎ Credits: The Carnets is a collection conceived by the Hauts-de-France Institut pour la photographie as part of its program to promote its archival collections of photographers, in collaboration with Delpire & Co.

↘︎ Exhibition: Kim Harlow, Stories , an exhibition to be presented at the Institut in the fall of 2023

In June 1954, Agnès Varda opened the doors of her home and studio on Rue Daguerre in Paris to present, in her courtyard and directly on the walls, a selection of portraits, nudes, and still lifes. 

His street and his neighbors are favorite subjects of his, as is Alexander Calder, whom he met through Jean Vilar. Visitors discover images striking in their style, foreshadowing the aesthetic of his entire career.

Her sense of humor and her love of words are already evident; the personalization of everyday objects through what she calls her “ funny faces "; the heart-shaped potato, nearly fifty years before his documentary The Gleaners and the Gleaness ; the first images of Sète, where the photographer discerns lines of force, arranges perspectives, and plays with shapes and textures to the very edge of abstraction. Agnès Varda invites us to discover what she sees in her “ curious eyes ».

↘︎ Credits: The Carnets is a collection conceived by the Hauts-de-France Institut pour la photographie as part of its program to promote its archival collections of photographers, in collaboration with Delpire & Co.

↘︎ Exhibition: Expo 54 - Agnès Varda , an exhibition presented at the Institute in the fall of 2021, and at the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki during the summer of 2022

In 1954, Agnès Varda produced a radical film that alternated between a graphic and a realistic style—one that did not go unnoticed by discerning film buffs of the time. 

The film displays an artistic independence that breaks with the conventions of the cinema of its time, to the point of being described as a precursor to the New Wave. To prepare for her film, the young woman undertook a meticulous selection of her photographs from among the roughly 250 shots taken in Sète between 1952 and 1954. She thus compiled nine boards of reference and location photographs that inspired scenes, atmospheres, and even static shots for the film, which she detailed in a carefully crafted screenplay.

↘︎ Credits: The Carnets is a collection conceived by the Hauts-de-France Institut pour la photographie as part of its program to promote its archival collections of photographers, in collaboration with Delpire & Co.

↘︎ Exhibition: La Pointe-Courte: From Photographs to Film , an exhibition presented as part of the Rencontres d'Arles during the summer of 2023