Transparency
How Photo Bookshelf is funded
Photo Bookshelf is free and community-driven. We don’t charge photographers, authors, or publishers to have books included, and payment never influences which books appear or how they’re ranked.
Some purchase links are affiliate links. If you buy a book through one of these links, Photo Bookshelf may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. That income helps support the cost of running, maintaining, and improving the site.
Recommendations can’t be bought. Your purchases can help support the shelf.As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Our principles
- Free to explore.
- Browsing and discovering books doesn’t require a paid membership.
- Community-driven.
- Recommendations from photographers help build the shelf.
- Transparent.
- When someone submits their own book or has a relationship to it, we disclose that relationship.
- No pay-to-play.
- Payment doesn’t determine whether a book is included or where it appears.
- Affiliate-supported.
- Some purchase links may earn Photo Bookshelf a commission at no additional cost to the buyer.
Recommendations can’t be bought
Photo Bookshelf may earn commissions from some retailer links, but affiliate relationships do not determine which books are accepted, featured, recommended, or ranked. Books belong on the shelf because the photography community believes they’re worth discovering.
Questions
- Is Photo Bookshelf free?
- Yes. Photo Bookshelf is designed as a free community resource for discovering and recommending photography books.
- Do authors or publishers pay to have their books listed?
- No. Paying Photo Bookshelf does not get a book added, featured, or ranked more highly.
- Can photographers submit their own books?
- Yes. Authors, photographers, and publishers are welcome to submit books, but they must disclose their relationship to the book. That relationship is shown alongside the entry as a source label.
- Does Photo Bookshelf use affiliate links?
- Yes. Some retailer links are affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, Photo Bookshelf may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
- Why use affiliate links?
- Affiliate revenue helps cover the costs of running, maintaining, and improving Photo Bookshelf while allowing the core experience to remain free.
- Can I submit my own affiliate link with a recommendation?
- No. Submitted retailer links should not contain affiliate or referral codes. Photo Bookshelf manages affiliate relationships independently so that the person recommending a book doesn’t have a financial incentive tied to purchases from that recommendation.
- Does affiliate revenue affect which books appear?
- No. Affiliate availability or commission rates do not determine whether a book belongs on Photo Bookshelf.