TASCHEN Books: 1000 Families. Planet Earth's family photo album. This coffee table book best reflects each society's traditions, social conditions and concept of family. Protected softcover. 7.7 x 9.8 in. 576 pages.

Photographer Uwe Ommer shares with us his four-year project, a "Family Album of Planet Earth." Overwhelming in its magnitude, this project is truly extraordinary.

Stopping in over 150 countries in all corners of the world, Ommer carefully selected the families which best reflected each society's traditions and social conditions. Many of the portraits have appeared in exhibitions and magazines during the course of the project; now that the work is finished, TASCHEN brings it all to you in one volume.

Ommer chose to photograph each family in the same way, against a white background and with identical lighting. All of the traditional elements of a documentary photograph are removed, leaving only the people themselves. The result is astonishing.



About the photographer:
Uwe Ommer became fascinated with photography at a young age and in 1962 moved to Paris, where he initially worked as a photographer’s assistant. Within a few years, he opened his own photography studio, primarily shooting fashion and advertising photos. Quickly gaining respect for his work in Paris, Ommer began showing in local galleries and eventually published his first book, Photoedition Uwe Ommer, in 1979, a collection of personal and advertising works. In the following years, he would publish five more books of his photographs. In 2002, Uwe Ommer was awarded an Honorary Fellowship to the Royal Photographic Society for the impact of his lifetime of work. His other books for TASCHEN include Black Ladies, Asian Ladies, Transit, and 1000 Families.