Elements Of Fine Art Photography

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Elements of Fine Art Photography Al Olson Fine Art Photography Sports Photography Journalism Landscape Architectural Low Light Portrait Medical Fashion Photography Documentary Still Life (Table Top) Event Environmental Scientific Astro Technical Aspects • Good focus -- Sharp subject and foreground • Good tonality throughout contrast range – detail in shadows and highlights • Good use of light – backlight/sidelight is good, harsh shadows bad • Good Saturation (for color) • Blur should only be used to denote motion or special effects • Selection of interesting subject and environment Control depth of field • Subject elements should be sharp • Focus on the eyes for people and animals • Uninteresting elements should/can be out of focus Eliminate distracting elements/clutter • Frame (viewfinder) or crop to exclude distractions • Use wide angle to minimize background elements • Use shallow depth of field to blur distractions not in the focus plane of the subject Good Composition • Rule of Thirds -- most common • Center symmetrical subjects • Place an object in the foreground to anchor the scene • Use foreground objects to frame subject • Animals/people should have space in the direction they are looking or moving • Horizons -- must be horizontal Strong Composition • Best number of subject elements (ones and threes, twos are okay, but evens beyond two usually doesn’t work) • Vertical lines should be vertical -- unless the angle is being exaggerated • Nearest objects in motion (people, cars, etc.), should be facing the camera • No horizontal barriers • Use good design elements Good Design • Horizontal lines indicate stability • S-curves connote tranquility • Oblique lines suggest movement, action, and transition • Vertical lines denote power and strength • Diagonal lines (corner-to-corner) are weak • Emphasize geometric shapes where possible (i.e. circles, rectangles, triangles) Elements of Cropping • Use to simplify the picture (eliminate elements that make it too “busy”) • Don’t crop animals or people at the joints • Use good separation near the frame • Crops can be tilted (a minor tilt just looks sloppy) Correct Use of Separation • Don’t slice off a tiny piece of the subject or get it too close to other elements • Same goes for the edge of the frame • Keep strong background objects from conflicting with the subject (e.g. tree branch growing out of head) Presentation • Black frames (wood gallery frames are best) • Neutral matting (most acceptable is white or off white some museums/galleries will also accept black or sometimes gray matting.) • No overcuts or undercuts in the matte. • Photograph presents best if it is adhered to the mounting board (i.e. drymounted.) Subjects That Are Too Common • • • • • • • • • Sunrises/sunsets Lighthouses Sailboats Seagulls Statues/memorials/ monuments Hot air balloons Slot canyons “Cottony” flowing water Flowers • Documentary (usually considered journalistic, but not fine art unless done in the ‘30s and ‘40s) • Cute kids/your kids • Pets • Fall foliage (around here, Aspens) • Photos “for the record” (“I was there”) • “Postcard shots” (landscapes)