Month: May 2018
Since the dawn of time, humanity has searched for ways to express the world around them in visual form. Sculptors like Praxiteles, Auguste Rodin, Michelangelo and the unknown artist who crafted the Venus de Milo have filled the art history books. Painters, such a Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Salvador Dali, have their works in hundreds of museums and on the walls of private collectors.
Although the question of whether photography is an art form is still half-heartedly debated by some, and has been since the 16th century, many photographers have joined the ranks of famous artists. Several photographs, framed or enlarged, black and white or color, now populate the walls and museums of the world. However, only in the past century or so has photography been recognized as any kind of art, much less fine art.
Originally, photography was the “unwanted stepchild” of the arts, a poor relation to drawing and painting. Because of the camera’s mechanical nature, say the detractors, it doesn’t require any real skill. The need for hand to eye coordination is minimal, the subject of the photograph comes “ready-made” and the photographer doesn’t need to be creative or imaginative. In short, a monkey could do it.
Considered an industrial art or a documentary device, the medium still caused much consternation amongst the artists of other mediums. Many were afraid that photography would cause the loss of livelihood. Others saw a disintegration of the arts, distorted by the photographic lens.
So what changed? The art world met Peter Henry Emerson. A photographer himself, Emerson believed that, if a photograph brought “aesthetic pleasure to the viewer”, it was art. No matter how it came into being. In 1889, he founded a fine-art photography movement, calling it “naturalistic” photography.
George Davison and Horsley Hinton, along with Emerson, wrote many pieces claiming that their chosen art was not just a method of documenting and recording. In addition to the common uses, they suggested, photographs could be pictorial in nature, selected for their appeal and beauty.
Around 1892, pictorial photography became accepted throughout the world, vindicating many who had argued for the medium to be included under “art”. That same year, Alfred Stieglitz begged photographers in America to bring art photography to the country. In 1897, America embraced the first pictorial exhibit in Philadelphia and has accepted as an art form ever since.
Once acceptance was garnered, photographers began cropping up everywhere. All you really needed was to own a camera and a good eye. For instance, the “father of photojournalism”, Alfred Eisenstaedt, started taking photos at the young age of 14. He sold his first photograph in 1927 and had never had any training – just a good eye and a camera. His unstaged photographs, taken in the spur of a moment, have delighted and amazed viewers since 1928.
Throughout his entire career, Eisenstaedt never put aside the “amateurish” sense of adventure. He never felt the need to overburden himself with unnecessary equipment, and carried out his photojournalistic assignments merely by catching events at the right time.
Ansel Adams, whose landscape photography graces many walls, calendars and book pages, is another example. Although he had trained to become a concert pianist, a trip to Yosemite National Park and a Kodak Brownie box camera began a new era for Adams. From 17 until his death in 1984, he dedicated his life, an extensive array of fine art photography and music to the beauty of nature and the need to preserve the natural world’s wonders and resources.
Whether art or science, one cannot look upon the works of Ansel Adams, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Anne Geddes, Dorothea Lange, Edward Curtis and many others without feeling at least a small sense of awe. If a picture truly says a thousand words, their voices will be heard for many years to come.
If you want to put your photographs on canvas, you need fine art photography. This technique is also called art photography. This is done by combining professional picture styles, colour textures, artistic creativity and special effects of new graphics and technology. This is an authentic art and is not usually used for advertising or other promotions. The fine art photography is used to meet the artistic taste of people. This technique is rightly used by people to make a classy collection of simple photographs or images.
Though we mean very different concept when we say fine art, but fine art photography today is basically about modifying a photograph using the new digital techniques of prints and printing them on canvas in varied styles to make them look classic and awesome. Fine art photography also means the method of clicking and developing photographs in different style. From the beginning of 20th century there was a craze among enthusiast photographers to click something different, something aesthetic, something abstract, and that would be considered art. And you can witness this kind of fine art photography in various museums where photographs of different types are displayed and people flock there to get a taste of this art.
You can get fine art prints of photographs which are taken artistically. The internet is full of sites and galleries of photographers where professional photographers display their images and sell them for prints. The photographs are taken with great vision, angle and use of lenses to get the exact effect. You might have seen some photographs where the images are shows in different shades. This is fine art photography. The photographs which are portrayed artistically can be printed in canvas too.
Photos on canvas would be a great idea to portray some great pictures. This is also a kind of art which has developed a lot over the time. Making photographs similar to paintings is an art. Professional photographers had to work really hard to give shades of painting to their photographs when the new technology of digital printing and graphics were not there. But now the work is done very simply. Even a simple photograph of your child, pet or your wife/husband can have the touch of fine art photography. The prints on canvas can have different styles. If you wish to make something look like retro and exotic, you can choose the colour combination of black and white.
Whenever you go for an outing with your buddies, do you often take snaps of the surroundings, more than your friends do? Even when you hang out with your friends, do you take shots of gardens, trees, urban scapes and other such sceneries in the surrounding? If your answer is yes, then it is a sign that you have a passion for photography.
If you want to go ahead with your passion, the best advice would be to join a photography institute. If you live in Mumbai, then it is even better for you. There are many institutes in the city that provide courses in professional photography.hy.
However, if you want to learn the best of professional photography, then you must watch out for a good photography institute in Mumbai. The city has many good photography institutes that will surely impart you with high standard knowledge of professional photography.
Instead of going for one of those ordinary photography courses that you will find dime in a dozen, it is always better to go for a professional course when you want to pursue the professional level.
If you want to know how to choose the right type of photography institute in Mumbai, you will have to do the following:
Search the internet, check periodicals and preferably photography magazines for finding the right kind of photography institute in the city. Mostly, the internet would be a helpful source for you.
Once you have come to known about a good photography institute, you should check to see, what type of photography courses they provide, for what duration and if they also have professional photography internship programs.
Finding a good photography institute in the city won’t be so difficult. However, you also must know about what all you will learn over there. A reputed photography institute always ensures that they provide the best of the best in photography imbibing the latest technology and techniques in the art.
Here is brief information about the skills that you are likely to learn at a reputed photography institute:
You will learn about the basics of photography here. In addition you will also learn the latest techniques of photography, such as taking the right angles and shots as per the conditions.
You will be taught about identifying a photogenic scenery and using the right technique that suits it.
They will also teach you about adding effects to your photos, such as black and white, sepia and other such effects.
In addition, you will be also taught about various latest models of cameras, different types of lenses, their powers, handling and cleaning the equipment.
The best you will gain out of this, is that you will get an opportunity to work as an intern with a magazine or a newspaper or even with a professional photographer.
When you get so many benefits by joining a good photography institute in the city, you should certainly go ahead with it. The only way you get to live your passion for photography is by going for a professional training.
Although there will probably always be a need for bricks and mortar photography studios, the savvy photographer is going mobile. It can be too much of a hassle in time and gas money to bring yourself to a photography studio, so you need to go to the customers, instead. When the customers don’t have to pay for travel, they tend to spend on extra prints. Even premier professional portrait photographer Annie Liebovitz went to the Queen of England instead of the other way around.
Cooperation Opportunities
Have you ever gone into a pet store and seen a display about a pet photographer coming to the store? If you’ve ever come back on pet photography days, you know the lines go out the door. This also happens for children’s professional photography or for any formal portraits, which can often be quickly set up in the corner of a large department store.
And what photographers do these stores pick on these busy days? They pick photographers with a mobile photography studio. Although some chain stores, like Sears, might have their own in-house photographers, for the most part, if you contact a store to set up a portrait day, you’re going to get some action (provided you have good references and a great portfolio, that is.)
Stocking Your Vehicle
You don’t need to bring everything and the kitchen sink along to your next portrait gig. You do need a van, truck or at least a station wagon filled with lighting equipment, extension cords, extra batteries, different colored background drapes or cloths, a tripod, some reflective umbrellas or cards to help with your lighting and a vast array of props. Usually, adults don’t need any more props than a chair. But pets and kids need some squeaky toys to get their attention, at least. And, of course, you need a camera or two.
The Darkroom
Contains about the only thing you can’t stock in your mobile photography studio is a good darkroom and your darkroom chemicals. Professionals who want to make creative photography out of even the most basic portrait need to develop their own pictures. Many photographers can do away with the need of a darkroom altogether by going digital. That way, their laptops, their memory cards and their cameras become the photography studio darkroom. Some artists claim that the quality of a real live film photography studio can’t be matched, but technology is very quickly catching up with the imagination.