Fine Art Photography

[Colin Graham]

Put me down for 8 square feet of that coarse art.

[domenico Foschi]

Has this become that the true dis-tatse of the nations of the world really do beleive a well taken portrait of their child is " fine art" or is it like bokeh or Boakey (if you are scottish and describing a rising sickening feeling) a term bandied about whenever there is even so much as an out of focus area behind a compositional subject.

I hope we will all have some nice constructive arguments on the situation, just I must admit the more of these sites I find, the polarised nature of them is quite apparent.

Steven

"I hope we will all have some nice constructive arguments on the situation, just I must admit the more of these sites I find, the polarised nature of them is quite apparent."


Well, looks like you started the thread with right foot (literally).

"Has this become that the true dis-tatse of the nations of the world really do beleive a well taken portrait of their child is " fine art" or is it like bokeh or Boakey (if you are scottish and describing a rising sickening feeling) a term bandied about whenever there is even so much as an out of focus area behind a compositional subject."

I believe bashing other people's work is not a very effective way to change the "status quo". I find a polite and constructive criticism much more effective.

I am saddened to read sarcastic posts of people whose work I respect.
People who have reached artistic maturity usually know what destructive criticism means.

[Lazybones]

People who have reached artistic maturity usually know what destructive criticism means.

I don't.

[tim atherton]

Originally Posted by domenico Foschi
People who have reached artistic maturity usually know what destructive criticism means.

I don't.

shouldn't that be "I haven't"?

[paulr]

The traditional definition of "fine art" was meant to distinguish it from all the other "arts" ... applied arts, liberal arts, performing arts, martial arts, etc. etc... (presumeably because we need to be able to distinguish between philosophy, painting, and sword fighting).

The newer definitions (black and white of a nude woman on a sand dune, etc.) have more to do with contemporary usage. For some reason, the term has been taken over by people who do very traditional, crafted, modernist-style photography ... so it can confuse people when you use it to describe other kinds of work.

I don't think "fine art" is a value judjement. The world is full of crappy fine art.

[Jim Galli]

Am I deluded but as I have been in the whole web 2.0 community structures etc ... is it just me or do some community members personal sites which have emblazoned " Fine Art Photography by XXXXX " as their header lead much to believed as you peruse.

I would like to pose the question where the line between fine art and personal art or dare I say it plain bad art starts and end. I must admit my own pre-conception of fine art photography is of large deep images that are normally of either conecptual story based nature or of very graphic landscapes and abstracts.

Has this become that the true dis-tatse of the nations of the world really do beleive a well taken portrait of their child is " fine art" or is it like bokeh or Boakey (if you are scottish and describing a rising sickening feeling) a term bandied about whenever there is even so much as an out of focus area behind a compositional subject.

I hope we will all have some nice constructive arguments on the situation, just I must admit the more of these sites I find, the polarised nature of them is quite apparent.

Steven

Scrichton, tohse aer the wosrt 4 parargahps I'ev seen in qiute a wihile.

My waht a boering world wehre all ture atr colud be pigenhold into wahteever categoerical you tinhk is corected.

[Lightbender]

This is a sad state of photography right now. "Fine Art" photography is (and allways has been) a marketing term. These days anyone can tag a business card or a web site with "Fine Art" or "Professional". More than ever before, buyer beware.

A friend of mine just paid $1500 for a photographer at his daughters wedding (part of an all-inclusive package). The guy shot everything handheld with on-camera flash, and only gave them a CD with the images on it.

Also consider the different marketing schemes of digital printing. Calling the prints "Carbon print" "Giclee", etc to make them sound like an ounce of work went into them.
Truth be told, it takes alot of work to setup a digital process correctly and process the images.

[tim atherton]

This is a sad state of photography right now. "Fine Art" photography is (and allways has been) a marketing term. These days anyone can tag a business card or a web site with "Fine Art" or "Professional". More than ever before, buyer beware.

A friend of mine just paid $1500 for a photographer at his daughters wedding (part of an all-inclusive package). The guy shot everything handheld with on-camera flash, and only gave them a CD with the images on it.

Also consider the different marketing schemes of digital printing. Calling the prints "Carbon print" "Giclee", etc to make them sound like an ounce of work went into them.
Truth be told, it takes alot of work to setup a digital process correctly and process the images.

wasn't your friend a bit dumb hiring an artist to photograph their wedding? What they needed was a wedding photographer. Do they hire the dentist to do their plumbing too?

[paulr]

Also consider the different marketing schemes of digital printing. Calling the prints "Carbon print" "Giclee", etc to make them sound like an ounce of work went into them....

I'm having a slow day at work, too, so I have nothing against a troll. But at least make it an original one. Beat a dead horse long and hard enough, your friends will start worrying about you.

[scrichton]

I apologise to everyone. Jim for my grammer. Unfortunately I am unable to form paragraphs properly and have a real problem with it. Close to dyslexia, which has been tested a good few times now. Not that this is an excuse, however posting to a forum is not the best place for me sometimes.


I will pick my words more carefully in the future and try not to write anything late at night again.

What I was trying to get at is where does the line between something being considered in a commercial and professioanl form, art or otherwise. Fine art being a term that is linked very closely to photography and the sale of photography not commissioned by specific areas. Normally expressive "art" as a whole.

My girlfriend currently is starting a film production company after last week winning a Scottish Student BAFTA. No mean feat. She however is professionally competing with people who sell, as the photographers I targeted, films and production values that do not properly fall into the professional artisty or even the artistry of the medium.

Myself as a professional in the development market of web applications and databases have the issue there is always the "person down the road" who says they are a web designer and undercuts or seriously devalues others work. The client I had been with today has been in a two year contract for an internal database tracking the moral and correct advice of independent financial advisors. The database they have in access when looked at if screen put side by side, was one jumbled table that would have stretched 25 feet!! However this money spent was 6 figures and the company left them high and dry.

If my misguided point I was trying to raise about fine art photography has been mis-construed as an attack or as non-constructive critism I apologise. I am not a professional photographer and do not claim to have fine art photography. I have pleasing shots. Nothing more.

Oh and $1500 wedding story. One of my clients has a major problem with this kind of attitiude. A well established photographer who pretty much introduced the documentatry style wedding album to the uk, he has found all too often having business stolen by people who attach themselves to the "modern wedding" photographer. This means badly taken dissapointing shots, with dissapointed clients that apologise for claiming he was mis-quoting or similar for his work.

Once again, sorry in the future I will be quiet or get someone else to write these for me.

Steven