Fine art photography?

[Josh Bear]

Dear All,

What does everyone understand by the term Fine art photography?

Having had a look around the internet all I can deduce is that it is photographs of semi or fully nude people in black and white or abstract form. I don't believe this is the only form of picture that is "Fine art" but please can I have your views.

Best Regards

Josh

[Ian]

Re: Fine art photography?

Dear All,

What does everyone understand by the term Fine art photography?

Having had a look around the internet all I can deduce is that it is photographs of semi or fully nude people in black and white or abstract form. I don't believe this is the only form of picture that is "Fine art" but please can I have your views.

Best Regards

Josh

Fine art is, I believe, a category of art (including photographs) that is created for sale, usually framed and for the purpose of being displayed.

A lot of this is abstract and glamour work, but landscapes and portraits are also popular.

It's usually taken that fine art photography is printed to a high standard using a printing method that is resistant to fade. Print runs may be limited to very small numbers too.

Ian

[Stephen]

Re: Fine art photography?

Dear All,

What does everyone understand by the term Fine art photography?

Having had a look around the internet all I can deduce is that it is photographs of semi or fully nude people in black and white or abstract form. I don't believe this is the only form of picture that is "Fine art" but please can I have your views.

Best Regards

Josh

I suspect different people will have their own interpretation of the term Josh. The fact is though that fineart photography encompases many types and genres of photography.

I generally think of it as where the photographers artistic skill, flair call it what you will, has been applied to an image to make it into something more than simply came out of the camera. Its the processing that was used to achieve a particular result. It could be post processing in the computer software or chemical and manipulative exposure and printing in the darkroom. The end result however needs some artistic flair and skill that is added to the image and wasn't created in the camera.

One of my own most pleasing images this year was one taken of the wrecks on the Wyre estuary at Fleetwood However this picture took some considerable work to get it how I wanted it. What you see of course is only the interim image for web use and in reality it would be enhanced further by the printing, mounting and framing, so the final product is what I think of in terms of fineart. The original image straight out of the camera with no processing whatsoever is nothing more than a snapshot

[Archangel]

Re: Fine art photography?

Dear All,

What does everyone understand by the term Fine art photography?

Having had a look around the internet all I can deduce is that it is photographs of semi or fully nude people in black and white or abstract form. I don't believe this is the only form of picture that is "Fine art" but please can I have your views.

Best Regards

Josh

Hi Josh,

"Fine Art Photography". What a huge term to analyze. It can be any photo and certainly not only nudism. Nudism is one of the really many themes that constitute this term.

A lot of people are confused with this term, simply because they try to think of what are the themes of Fine Art Photography.
Well, "Fine Art Photography" does not represent specific type of themes.
"Fine Art Photography" is the way to photograph and represent any type of theme.
For example "Abstraction" is one form of representation of a theme of Fine Art Photography...there are others too.

A simpler way to think of this term is to bring to mind terms like "School of Fine Arts", "Fine Arts Museum", e.t.c, generally places where the art of interpetation and representation is being taught (music, dance, acting, imitation, ballet, drawing, e.t.c) or being held as historical heredity.
For example in Museums we see statues. We don't just admire a statue only. What we admire more is the art and talent of building such a statue.

So the term "Fine Art Photography" is related to the way of photographing and representing the photographic themes and not to the themes that are being photographed.

So, however says that nudism is "Fine Art Photography" is totally wrong.
"Nudism" is a theme (is not photography) that under specific circumstances and under specific photographic knowledge can be represented as a "Fine Art Photographic theme".


Regards


George

[lumix]

Re: Fine art photography?

A few dictionary definitions.

Something requiring highly developed techniques and skills, as in He's turned lying into a fine art, or The contractor excels in the fine art of demolition. This term alludes to the fine arts, such as music, painting, and sculpture, which require both skill and talent. It is now often used to describe anything that takes skill to do.

a visual art considered to have been created primarily for aesthetic purposes and judged for its beauty and meaningfulness, specifically, painting, sculpture, drawing, watercolor, graphics, and architecture.

1. Art produced or intended primarily for beauty rather than utility.
2. Any of the art forms, such as sculpture, painting, or music, used to create such art. Often used in the plural.
3. Something requiring highly developed techniques and skills: the fine art of teaching.

In the case of nudism, I think it is some times used to make an image exceptable for public viewing.

[Stephen]

Re: Fine art photography?

A few dictionary definitions.

(snipped)

With respect Ron, Josh originally said

What does everyone understand by the term Fine art photography?...................... please can I have your views?

Dictionary definitions then are something that barely fulfill the criteria, and in fairness were not what was asked for.

Certainly this over emphasis on Nude photography is misleading. Not that I see anything wrong with it. It is just that the association with fineart photography can give a false impression and, I suppose, should be more accurately termed 'fineart nude photography'

So to get back on track its more a case of what you understand by the term 'fineart photography' and not just 'fineart' Put another way, what would you do to create a piece of fineart photography? What makes a photo a fineart photo?

[lumix]

Re: Fine art photography?

With respect Ron, Josh originally said


Dictionary definitions then are something that barely fulfill the criteria, and in fairness were not what was asked for.

Certainly this over emphasis on Nude photography is misleading. Not that I see anything wrong with it. It is just that the association with fineart photography can give a false impression and, I suppose, should be more accurately termed 'fineart nude photography'

So to get back on track its more a case of what you understand by the term 'fineart photography' and not just 'fineart' Put another way, what would you do to create a piece of fineart photography? What makes a photo a fineart photo?

I think it all depends on what the term "fine art" means to the individual. I'm not an art lover nor do I consider myself able to judge what is fine art. To me it is just a way of expressing what you think of something. If I said I think you have got your photography off to a fine art, that doses not mean that I think what you have produced is fine art. It's another way of saying you have done well. I can not understand how photographic paper can be classed as fine art paper. Photographic printing paper is just that. What you print on it may be considered fine art but the paper IMHO is still just a sheet of paper. If you apply some artistic manipulation to a photo then I suppose you could say its fine art. Call it what you like I still see it as a photograph. But then I'm very down to earth and don't go much on modern terminology. A dustman is a dustman not a cleaning operative.

[Tinka]

Re: Fine art photography?

Dear All,

What does everyone understand by the term Fine art photography?

Having had a look around the internet all I can deduce is that it is photographs of semi or fully nude people in black and white or abstract form. I don't believe this is the only form of picture that is "Fine art" but please can I have your views.

Best Regards

Josh

My simple take on this question is that a "photograph" is taken, with the intention of produceing a "work of art" as an end product, wether the end product is a work of art is open to interpretation by each individual.

[Josh Bear]

Re: Fine art photography?

really interesting to see your views. It has helped me understand. When I did a search on fine art I was hit with a substantial number of "nude" figure websites and that led to a misconception.

My thoughts are now that fine art photography is when you can admire the picture and the way it has been presented / created / altered to achieve the final result.

The challenge for me is to look through my portfolio and decide whether I have merely recorded what is there or created something that can be "Admired" from a number of different angles.

Best Regards

Josh

[DTD]

Re: Fine art photography?

I think Tinka's point about the intention of the photographer would be closest to my definition.
But some work that was clearly taken as reportage is now sold as fine art photography.

Funnily enough, today I was bemoaning to my partner, how I wished I had bought those Bill Brandt prints in the 1980s.