Art photography is an art form where a photographer acts as an artist using photography for creative expression. The purpose of artistic photography is to instantly convey ideas, emotions and messages to the viewer through images.
Table of contents
- The photographer’s Vision
- The art of creating artistic photographs
- Examples of artistic photographs
- Getting out of your comfort zone
- Preparing your photos for the world of fine art
- Gallery for the artist
- Assessment of fine art
- Conclusion
Art photography, this name is used by many photographers in order to raise the importance of their work, trying to sell it through galleries. But what is art photography in reality? In this article, I will explore the world of artistic photography, in simple words I will try to explain what it is, and where a young photographer should start if he wants to choose this path of development.
The photographer’s Vision
The main criterion that distinguishes this photograph from other fields is that artistic photography is not a statement of reality. Visual art departs from documentary photojournalism and is based primarily on the artist and what the artist sees in his inner self, being and world. True artistic photography fully expresses the feelings and vision of the author, demonstrating that it was created by an artist, not a camera.
Thus, we have come to the core of artistic photography — the vision of the photographer. It’s all about the message and the feelings that the viewer should feel after seeing this artistic image. Many photo artists at some point in their work were tormented by the search for their vision and inspiration, and if you experience similar feelings, do not worry, you are on the right track, all photo artists go through this.
Vision — what is it from the point of view of art? Art is an expression of oneself. In order for you to express yourself, you must understand what you want to express, be aware of it, showing it to the viewer in the form of a message.
The art of creating artistic photographs
So, where does photography begin? First, you need to create a unique project with your creative vision and personal style.
This project should consist of a series of images that will be combined with a single theme. But sometimes even one image is enough to tell the story and the deep meaning of the author’s message. In order for an artist to influence the world of fine art, he needs to work for a long period of time, followed by his entry into the world of high-level photography. Ideally, your work should be so impressive and powerful that anyone who views it will say that you are an artist, without having to sign your work. The modern world is flooded potential fine art photographers. But how do you stand out in this crowd? Your talent, hard work, self-criticism, mentoring, advice from other artists and self-confidence.
Jörg Heidenberger
Art photography is a complex niche, no book, photography school can teach you better than you can by studying the works of previous masters, studying their creative work and breaking down images into their main components — but it is extremely important never to copy. I will refer to my thoughts from the 2019 interview given for Rosphoto.com: “What should I do? To watch other people’s work by photographers? Try to repeat it? Most people will say that repeating is the right way, but everyone understands that the majority opinion is sometimes wrong, and above all because This is not your opinion. Copying or reshaping, you are not doing anything new, original, and if you are not doing anything original, then you are not doing anything!” To some, my words will seem too oppressive, but you, as a true artist , must keep yourself within strict limits.
Elena Haritonova
In the process of learning and finding inspiration, do not stop at photographers — you can learn by visualizing compositions used in cinematography, architecture and sculpture.
The goal is not to rethink what other masters of photography have done, even if it may be useful for you, but only when you are just starting out. The goal is different, to give your mind inspiration, to give you a motivated idea that will be yours, which will best suit your individual artist style, referring to your life experience, making you the artist that you will soon become.
First, take a look at the examples of artistic photographs Ansel Adams, Sebastian Salgado, Nick Brandt, Jan Saudek, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Rodney Smith and finally Joel-Peter Whitken, for me they are masters of photography, and they all brought something new and exciting to it.
Examples of artistic photographs
Ansel Adams
Sebastião Salgado
Nick Brandt
Jan Saudek
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Rodney Smith
Joel-Peter Witkin
Getting out of your comfort zone
Regardless of your genre of photography, you should always be open to something new. Switching to a different shooting style will force you to think outside the box and get out of your comfort zone. That 's why I practice different styles in my creative work, it gives me the opportunity to switch and get the emotions I need in other images. One way to challenge yourself is to start shooting in a different genre than the one you’re used to.
Changing the way you shoot or the genre may be a little uncomfortable, but it will draw attention to things you didn’t know about when shooting in your usual comfort zone.
Preparing your photos for the world of fine art
Joel-Peter Witkin
Now that you have defined your vision and started creating art projects, it is important for you to show your work to the audience. Nowadays, for an artist, one of the important assistants and tools is access to your art photography site via the Internet, as well as any social networks will be important.
Art Photography Printing
Next, learn the art of printing photography. For the last 10 years, most digital images have simply been displayed on the Internet. Today, printing seems to have receded into the background, but until that time, analog film was processed and most often printed.
Printing is not as difficult as it seems at first glance, and it should be the end point of the image production and distribution process for every fine art photographer. The printing method and the choice of paper is a deeply personal choice, and silver gelatin and platinum—palladium printing is especially attractive to fine art photographers.
Familiarize yourself with the art of printing or use the services of a professional printer that is adapted to print fine art on archival and museum -quality papers, such as Hahnemuhle papers.
Artist’s statement
Formulate your artistic works in words. Writing your statement as an artist will help you form your ideas and express them in understandable language. When a viewer goes to the gallery, they will see your work and wonder what it is about, so they are looking for an artist’s statement. This will help the viewer figure out what the artist’s intentions were when creating the artwork.
I show my personal project “Dialogue of two worlds” in black and white, as this is the language of my inner vision, without color embellishments. Black and white photography takes the viewer far away from reality and evokes timeless, mysterious images, and through it I can fully express my vision. It is important for me that there is no time reference in my photos.
Gallery for art photography
Place your work in the fine art gallery. Once your work is completed and ready to be shown around the world, you will most likely want to find a gallery to exhibit this art. Find a gallery that suits you, your result and your goals.
Explore the galleries long before you approach them, as not every gallery is well suited for you or your style of art photography. Not all galleries are also interested in art photography, as each gallery and gallery owner has their own aesthetics and interests. It is also extremely important to develop a relationship with the gallery in which you want to exhibit in advance, so do not expect to be searched for. But it must be understood that the gallery decides for itself when there is sufficient interest in the works of a particular fine art photographer.
It will take you many years to become a household name in fine art photography circles, and beyond a certain threshold of the print price, collectors buy the reputation of your name, in addition to the print itself — and this requires many years of hard work. Years of publishing books, holding exhibitions and gaining the respect of critics and the photographic community, so that when a collector sees your prints on the gallery wall, he understands everything that stands behind the artist’s name.
Nick Brandt
Make sure you have your own audience to bring to the gallery. This is something that you can create yourself, especially with the help of online tools. Create mailing lists and follow people who show interest in your work. An artist should always create his own audience and be able to control that audience.
Once you have established a relationship with the gallery, find out what the rules are for presenting the gallery. Do not break the rules in this matter and prepare your material, including high-quality images that include the title and dimensions of the work. When you start exhibiting at the gallery, you should have a solid online portfolio, as well as a hard copy, as well as your biography, resume and artist statement. You should have your own website, this is important and is a sign of your professionalism.
Most galleries expect a commission of 40 to 60%, so to attract customers and promote your work, pay your commissions on time. Make an agreement in advance about what the gallery will do for you in terms of public relations and marketing during negotiations with the buyer. If they get a high percentage, you have to make sure they earn it. You need to know what they are doing to make sure that your artistic photos will be shown in front of potential buyers and not just viewers. At the same time, do not forget, that you also have to do your part to attract the right people.
Holger Droste
The genre of artistic photography is not easy, and when traveling through this industry, it is important to always remember that failure is temporary. Not being able to get into the gallery just means that nothing worked out this time. Don’t take it personally, don’t let anyone talk you out of your goals. Figure out what went wrong, what you could have done better, learn from the experience, adapt, improve and repeat.
Develop additional income in photography, conduct portrait photo shoots, reportage, subject, advertising photography. Freelancing allows you to lead a parallel career as a professional photographer, so do not limit yourself to selling your prints, do not forget about the income from commercial photography. It is important to provide yourself financially and earn income from your camera, this will give you the freedom and time to work on your personal projects.
Jan Saudek
Assessment of fine art
Know your price! When you 're evaluating prints for sale, don’t be greedy. Initially, you need momentum and exposure, not money. You want collectors to buy your work and spread the information — setting the price in hundreds of thousands of rubles in the first year will not bring you any sales or positive feedback.
Act professionally from the very beginning. Treat the prints of your photographic art with respect, print them professionally, limit the circulation and stick to it (for example, a limited edition of up to 12 copies or less). Keep track of which prints you sell and to whom. Always respond to correspondence quickly and be polite to your audience.
Remember what made you come to art photography. Each of us has a unique reason why we came into photography, and another reason why we stick to it. Remember what event attracted you back then so that you can rekindle that love and return to the enthusiasm you felt at the beginning.
I am describing my personal experience, photography entered my world at the moment when there was a desire to get away from the previous way of existence, I was tired of living a consumer life without producing anything personally! Photography drew me into its creative cycle, radically changed my interests and worldview. And as a result, my values became fewer, but the fundamental ones stood out.
Conclusion
Art photography is a very important genre in photography, and it should not seem intimidating or inaccessible. You should not be afraid of the upcoming difficulties that will happen to you in the process. “Creative life draws you into its cycle, changes your worldview, interests and values. It gives you satisfaction and delight from the result when you are at the peak of your abilities. And if there is no result, then everything happens exactly the opposite — creative life is exhausting.” (quote from the interview)
It will require hard work and dedication from you, but the end result is within reach and your work will be rewarded.
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Избранная выставка — 10 лет творчества Михаила Потапова
