Poll
Okay, I am not at all savvy with this blog. I have been trying to figure out how to put a fun, cool, poll on here, but, well, uh, I can’t figure it out!!! But, I have a question for you, the reader.
If you were to buy a book about Yoga, would you rather see illustrations or pictures?
Please leave me a comment and tell me! I really appreciate it!!
March 4th, 2008 at 11:41 am
By pictures, do you mean photos? I would vote for photos.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
YES, I mean photos YogaMum! Thank you for clarifying that for me…
March 4th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
photos definitely! If there were drawings they’d need to be clear, you know sometimes there’s stylish drawings and you just can’t figure out what’s going on!
March 4th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
My vote is for photos too.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Usually photos but it all depends on how it’s presented too. I’m a photo editor so can be picky LOL. I don’t like looking at photos that look they were taken in the 70s
March 4th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Depends on the aim of the book.
Generally I’d say that photographs are better for showing asanas, but have seen some truly awful pics where the angle or the lighting was all wrong and so you couldn’t really see what was going on.
And one of my favourite yoga books is Om Yoga by Cyndi Lee, which is illustrated with stick figures and yet is very effective.
If you’re talking more of a gross anatomy sort of thing, though, I’d say definitely illustrations. I got a little queasy looking at the anatomy photographs in my brother’s med school texts.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I am ok with either as long as they show very clearly what should be done.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
If the illustrations are really good, then either would be fine.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Photos are great because you can see how the pose looks, but for the most part, I think pics in yoga books look so stale or staged or something. Too perfect, ya know?
However, if this is an intro book that people will be using to teach themselves poses, I think that photos would be a definite selling point. I can just see how someone would feel more confident learning from photos over illustrations.
If the book were for more advanced users or on a special topic and the illustrations added a certain depth or unusual beauty to the book, then I could see how illustrations would be better.
Hope this helps!
March 4th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I vote for photographs for sure, although the Om Yoga book by Lee is a good example of simple drawings working well. I still say photos hands down.
One of my favorite yoga books is Yoga Fights Flab by Glenda Twining because it has a lot of great photographs and is well organized for a well-rounded yoga routine.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I am going to go against the flow and say illustrations. I hope you are writing!
March 5th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Photos.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Since I am looking into beginning yoga myself (I have a great need for better balance in my life), I have been looking at a lot of books lately. I have to say those with photos are easier for me to follow. I can actually see the positioning and visualize it better for myself. BTW-I’m open for suggestions on books and training; I haven’t been able to find local instruction in the art. I love your blog.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
It really depends, Though I was flipping through yoga books and I found an astanga book and it had the back of a naked woman sitting up straight (bare back) and they had drawn on top of her the charkras where you would find them. Charkras is something you would usually draw, but to have them put in context was breath takeing and from the bake of the body. I would have loved a poster of it.
One thing I do think is very interesting, if you do any yoga with your daughter get some kids yoga books get one of drawings of children doing yoga get one of photos of children doing yoga and then get one of adults doing yoga and see which se relates to best.It seems in my years of teaching kids that they like photo of other children doing yoga best and the more imperfect the children in the photos are doing the pose the better, you get an adult doing a perfect pose and its almost as if the kids say I can’t make that shape.
Which when you think about it is very interesting cause if we as adults see a less than perfect yoga pose in a book what do we think???