How to Turn Your Favourite Book Into a Cinematic Portrait Concept
Have you ever finished a book and felt completely undone? Like you’re The Pevensies falling back through the wardrobe into the real world. A fictional world that you want to live in, for just a little longer. This feeling is exactly what makes books such a powerful inspiration for cinematic, whimsical, portrait photography.
A book inspired photoshoot can be done in several ways, it can be great fun to recreate some of your favourite moments from your favourite stories, or, it can be a lot deeper than that. Through delving into the stories and translating the emotion, atmosphere and identity of a book you’ve connected to deep level, you can create a visual story which feels personal, timeless and entirely your own.
This guide will walk you through turning your favourite book into a cinematic portrait concept step by step!
Why Books Make the Best Photoshoot Inspiration
Books are truly perfect for photography inspiration, they invite us to imagine! More than TV shows and movies, our imaginations are front and centre – even if we don’t realise it! Authors do amazing jobs creating us worlds to explore, but at the end of the day, those stories are told in our heads. Which makes them a perfect foundation for storytelling portraits.
To break it down a little better books provide a few details that mean book-inspired portraits work so well because:
There’s an emotional connection
There’s a reason you’ve chosen a specific book when thinking of doing a bookish photoshoot. You already care deeply about the story, themes and/or characters, and this emotion translates beautifully on camera.
The visuals are rich and evocative
From misty forests to candlelit libraries, books naturally conjure strong imagery without needing literal references.
They offer ready-made themes and archetypes
Courage, longing, transformation, rebellion, softness — these ideas guide styling, posing, and mood without being restrictive.
Fantasy portrait photography thrives when the concept starts with feeling, not aesthetics alone, with ready-made characters and themes, it’s great for giving you a launch pad, when the idea of creating your own story from scratch can be rather intimidating!
Step One – Choose The Core Mood or Theme
Before getting bogged down thinking about outfits, props, or locations, it’s best to start with a strong foundation, and that is mood. Mood is the emotional anchor of your cinematic portrait concept, everything else will be built from it.
Dark, Soft, Whimsical, Heroic, Romantic
To start with, ask yourself:
How does this book feel?
Which emotion lingers after you close the final page?
Is it brooding and shadowed? Gentle and dreamlike? Quietly powerful? Romantic and yearning? You don’t need to pick multiple - one strong mood creates cohesion and impact.
How Mood Impacts Colour Palette and Styling
Once you know what the mood is, visual decisions become easier. Mood informs colour choices, wardrobe textures, lighting styles and even how you hold yourself on camera. It helps decisions become intentional, rather than accidental or purely decorative.
Darker, Gothic Moods think deep tones, velvet or other rich textures, with deep contrast.
Soft, Whimsical Themes lend themselves to lighter palettes, flowing fabrics and diffused light.
Heroic Concepts benefit from strong silhouettes and grounded poses
Mood informs colour choices, wardrobe textures, lighting styles and even how you hold yourself on camera. It helps decisions become intentional, rather than accidental or purely decorative.
Step Two – Identify Key Visual Elements From the Book
Now we’ve properly laid our foundations, we can begin translating the story into visual cues. While copying scenes can be fun, this is where we are looking for symbols and ideas that represent the heart of the book. Look for repeating symbols, themes and ideas, moments that are emphasised and feel important.
So get your highlighter out! What we’re looking for is:
Symbols: lanterns, books, cloaks, crowns, keys, florals
Settings: forests, old stone walls, candlelit interiors, open fields
Character traits: strength, vulnerability, defiance, curiosity
The elements we’re looking for will subtly (or not so subtly in some cases) guide posing, expression and composition while keeping the final image original and personal. We are going for inspired, not literal.
Step Three – Build a Mini Concept Board
I absolutely love a concept board! There are great for helping clarify your vision before the shoot, helping you visualise and pull together different elements, colour palettes and vibes, ensuring everything works together cohesively.
Using Pinterest
Pinterest is one of the most effective I’ve found, when using for vibes and not exact replicas, I am usually trying to search for,
Colour palettes (great for picking clothing and visual tone)
Setting Inspiration (atmospheric landscapes are my weakness)
Lighting moods (do you want dawn with it’s soft but bright tones, golden hour, blue hour, dusk. These all add different emotions to the images)
Textures and fabrics (I also look for clothing silhouettes I want to achieve, even if I done want to match the image’s specific tone)
These images don’t have to be perfect, and avoid saving images that feel like direct copies of specific scenes or characters, our goal is interpretation, creating something that is uniquely you, and not the person next to you.
Translating Text → Imagery
So, you’ve created your vision board, what next? This is where many people feel stuck, myself included at times, but this, this is where the magic happens! Instead of asking “What exactly did it look like in the book?”
Instead, ask:
· How did it make me feel? (We’re back to our first step!)
· Who did I see myself as while reading?
· Look at themes throughout the images is there a common thread?
· What do you like?
· Will you be able to feel confident? (is that how you want to feel?)
That emotional translation is what turns a creative photoshoot idea into a cinematic portrait, that while inspired by your favourite books, also feels authentic, and deeply personal to you.
Book Your Own Book-Inspired Session
If you have a book that has stayed with you, a story that shaped you, comforted you or awakened something creative in you, it deserves to be told visually.
You don’t need to know how to style yourself, or translate ideas into images, there’s where I come in! Together we’ll turn your favourite story into a cinematic portrait concept that feels personal, expressive and beautifully you!
Or, if you want to recreate your favourite scene and dress up like your favourite character, we can do that too!
