Photography Challenge | Tips to see through the camera lens from an artistic perspective:
Seek inspiration, whether that be another artist, replicating a painting, seeking light, color, or patterns, atmosphere, or any other element of artistic vision you encounter.
Create Perspective. Diminishing scale, multi-point linear, forced, atmospheric, or overlap are all components of creating an intentional and artistic perspective. Check out this article for examples of each.
Create atmosphere. The best books, films, and art pieces stick with you because there is a quality and mood in the scene that evokes an emotional response. This is where light, weather, mood, seasons, and candid moments hold their value. Editing can help assist in this too.
Turning Photography Into Art
“Art implies control of reality, for reality itself possesses no sense of the aesthetic. Photography becomes art when certain controls are applied.”
-Ansel Adams
There are infinite definitions and opinions on what photographic art is. Often times artistic photography is called fine art, which isn’t my favorite phrase. Fine art often just means that it’s an elevated, or more artistic, version of a digital image, something you’re more likely to frame and hang on your wall as a piece of art versus a framed photo.
Fine art photography is first and foremost about the artist. It’s not just about capturing what the camera sees, it’s about capturing what the artist sees. In fine art photography, therefore, the artist uses the camera as one more tool to create a work of art. The camera is used to make an art piece that reveals the vision of the artist and makes a statement of that vision rather than documenting the subject before the lens.
One thing is for certain however, photographic art is a lot of intention and creation; there’s finer detail in both the creation and the printing process. Fine art photography focuses on specific concepts that mean something special to their creators. These ideas usually take time to develop and can feature any type of subject.
Some of the best fine art photographers can turn an abstract idea into an artistic masterpiece. We can all learn from them by analyzing, discussing, and supporting their work.
A fine art photograph must go beyond the literal representation of a scene or subject. It must deeply express the feelings and vision of the photographer and clearly reveal that it was created by an artist and not by just the camera.
You must deeply express the feelings and vision [of the photographer] and clearly reveal that it was created by an artist and not by just the camera. It must be clear that it involved an original, deliberate creation and that every aspect of making the photograph in the field and in the photographer’s post-processing digital studio, including the printing, are an individual expression from within the artist. These elements can be very subjective to the artist, but remember that intent in creation is at the heart of it.
Another view is that opposed to other forms of photography, fine art is meant to be judged solely for its beauty and meaningfulness—two things that are very subjective. That means its unrestricted by practical considerations and it can break the usual rules of photography. The main goal isn’t to demonstrate your technical skills (although the broader range of capabilities you possess, the more opportunities you hold). Instead, it aims to express an idea, an emotion, or a message.
Photographer artists worth mentioning: Georgia O’Keefe, Jamie Beck, Olge Fler, Kathleen Clemons, Ana Zilhão,