Art and Design A comprehensive guide for creative artists - Aaltodoc

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Photography
Photography is the art and practice of taking still or moving
pictures using a camera.
Artists who sketch or draw and all those who make
illustrations as well as painting artworks do not
underestimate the importance of photographs; they all
wander in related topics and themes in various indisputable
ways. That is to say, photographic images taken with a
camera inspire artists particularly those dealing with real life
artistic themes.
Galer (2004, 8) offers a rational explanation: “There can be
no guarantee that anyone will view and read an image
you have created the way you would like them to. Images
are full of ambiguity and uncertainty.” Here we see that
creative artists have to take measures of working through
uncertainty and ambiguity in producing photographic
artworks. Thereby, photography and art operate without
exact restraints—restriction or deprivation of experimental
liberty.
A creative photographer will discover a multitude of
interesting ideas and themes from art—borrow them to
perform skills needed to achieve the set learning outcomes
listed below:
• Understanding the effects of light on images
• Understanding the influence of colours and
perspective on images.
• The basic characteristics of form and mass
• Understanding how to compose in photography
• Using elements and principles of design in
photography
As an extra factor about photography and art, Caravagio is
one of the many famous painters who used optical devices
like camera obscure, lenses and curved mirrors to produce
real life paintings that are nearly similar to photographs.
Look out for his artwork titled The incredulity of Saint
Thomas. Likewise, Norman Rockwell painted the Home
coming marine and very many illustrations by using
photographs.
Seay (2010) notes, “Rockwell's reliance on photographs
strongly recalls ... Caravagio, who left behind a bunch of
paintings but without a single sketch.”
Certainly, it is not a surprise to discover that even today
several creative artists rely on photography to make
powerful artworks or drawings. Nonetheless, modern
images in photography reveal varying changes.
For instance, back then “... approach was not so much about
information as about effect, mood and technique.” Galer
(2004, 89) laments.
Besides at the present time a creative photography artist
has got the challenges of moving with modernity and to
find ways of discovering new approaches to capturing
broad based images.
In spite of that, photography keeps going with new
advancements of technology—to improve methods,
techniques and processes of production and control. This
has also made learning relatively easy and to use advanced
features of a camera.
It is fortunate that currently every single person using a
mobile phone is likely to possess a digital camera in some
way. He/she can capture moving or still images. The same
gadget can have a recorded image edited, or printed
straightaway using a short range wireless connection to the
printer.
Uses of photography
In today’s creative world, photography has been combined
with art and other learning expeditions.
Finn (1994) says, “I have discovered more everyday about
how the camera can teach me to look with a penetrating
eye at everything that comes into my field of vision.”
Clearly, then:
• Photographs describe or cause our eyes to draw
attention to new products, events and services
found in public media such as newspapers, movies,
magazines, billboards et cetera.
• A photograph assists obligatory users to make
formal inquiries; to discover or examine facts of
unknown allegations as well as documenting past
invents.
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