Coppola traces her love of photography to the fashion magazines she would page through as a teenager in the 1980s. Her appreciation deepened while attending art fairs with her mother, who encouraged her to collect photography. In the 1990s, she frequently visited the Los Angeles art bookshop Arcana, where she first encountered some of the books in her selection.
Like cinema, photobooks offer an immersive experience of sequenced images that unfold over time. They are products of collaboration – between photographers, editors, writers, designers and publishers – just as films are. The books on Coppola's shelf echo many of the motifs of her films: the dreamy palette of 1970s colour photography, adolescence and girlhood, domestic intimacy, and a fascination with fashion and performance.
William Eggleston, 'For Now' (2010)
William Eggleston's colour photographs of the American South are a key source for Coppola. Having chosen For Now, a collection of previously unpublished photographs from Eggleston's archive, she says, "He is a favourite and an American classic. I have referenced his colour so many times for films. I love how he looks at life around him and captures the details and mood of a place or the people around him."
Luigi Ghirri, 'It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?' (2008)
Coppola is also drawn to the Italian photographer Luigi Ghirri, who combined a delicate sense of colour with meticulous framing to question how we perceive the world. It's beautiful here, isn't it? was his first book published in the United States.
Uta Barth, 'In Between Places' (2000)
Uta Barth also experiments with colour, focus and perception. Coppola selected her book In Between Places, commenting, "Her photos are poetic and give an abstract feeling. I love the mood."
Jo Ann Callis, 'Woman Twirling' (2009)
Jo Ann Callis exploits the expressive capacity of colour in a different way, constructing unsettling domestic interiors that appeal to Coppola's sensibilities.
Joseph Szabo’s 'Teenage' (2003)
Adolescence is one of Coppola's most enduring subjects, and her bookshelf reflects this. Of Joseph Szabo's Teenage, she says, "I first knew about Szabo from his Dinosaur Jr cover of the little girl smoking (I have this print). I got his books, Teenage and Almost Grown at Arcana bookstore in LA, where I spent a lot of time in the 90s. His photos capture the feeling of being a teen in the 70s, and I love how he captures a moment."
Andrea Modica, 'Catholic Girl' (2023)
While Szabo photographed the students he taught at a high school in suburban New York, Andrea Modica returned as an art student to her former school to make the portraits in Catholic Girl.
Deanna Templeton, 'What She Said' (2021)
In What She Said, Deanna Templeton combines portraits of teenage girls with flyers and journal entries from Templeton's own youth. "I love these teen girl portraits," Coppola comments, "I always love seeing girls in a way that feels true and sensitive."
Lee Friedlander, 'Family' (2004)
Coppola selected Lee Friedlander's Family for its tender, unvarnished portrayal of domestic life. "He's one of my favourite photographers. I love this personal album of his portraits of his family over the years. One of his daughters in her nightgown on a floral couch was a reference for a film," explains Coppola.
Odile Gilbert, 'Her Style' (2003)
Coppola's appreciation of fashion is also evident in her selections, some of which include the work of multiple photographers. She notes that Her Style, a book celebrating the sculptural hairstyles of Odile Gilbert "was a big inspiration for me in making Marie Antoinette. Her approach is so creative and beautiful and unique."
Anthony Hernandez 'Rodeo Drive, 1984' (2012)
Anthony Hernandez's Rodeo Drive, 1984, which depicts shoppers in Beverley Hills, is less a celebration of fashion and more a deadpan exploration of its excesses.
Cindy Sherman, 'Untitled Film Stills' (2003)
Many of the books on Coppola's photography bookshelf reflect the worlds she knows best: fashion, Southern California, filmmaking. Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills, in which the artist depicts herself in various cinematic roles, is a fitting favourite for a filmmaker who loves photography books. Coppola enthuses, "A classic reference, her characters are the best! Marc Jacobs gave me a first edition which I cherish. I love seeing an artist so in their zone, expressing herself in such a cool way."
Books courtesy of Sofia Coppola and MACK
These books, and others selected by Sofia Coppola, are available for visitors to browse in the Photography Centre, Room 98 until 22 March 2026.
