Fine Art Landscape Photography

<p>Hi All,<br>

I need your guidance in understanding and reading more on the following topic.<br>

What is Fine Art Landscape Photography and how does it differ from Landscape photography? Kindly suggest me some links and books to know more about this concept. Please note that I have no knowledge of painting/fine art.<br>

Thanking you all in advance for the effort you are putting in to help me.<br>

Regards,<br>

Santosh K. Patra</p>

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<p>What is Fine Art Landscape Photography and how does it differ from Landscape photography?</p>

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<p>It's fine art when the going price at Sotheby's goes over US $2000. That may seem like a joke answer, but it's a fairly decent "operational definition." Another operational definition is "when the photograph is hung in an art museum."</p>

<p>Since <em>fine art</em> itself is such a diffuse concept (is a bicycle seat fine art? When Picasso paints it white and mounts it, is it fine art?), it's pretty hard to lay down definitions that are more structural than operational.</p>

<p>A more cynical answer is that it is a wide-angle shot of an English landscape taken with a graduated neutral or orange filter.</p>

 

<p>A somewhat less cynical answer is that a simple landscape photo is one that is primarily intended to record what a particular landscape scene looks like at the time the photo was taken. In a fine art photograph, the photographer's intent is more directed towards the use of color, texture, line, shape, gesture and composition to produce a visual experience that engages the viewer on multiple levels--the particular landscape scene may or may not be important to that experience. An important part of a fine art photo might be to evoke the feeling of being in a particular place or experiencing particular weather conditions...or it might be to present an abstract pattern of light and color that were seen in nature. Some of the important elements in fine art photos often include the use of particular color combinations that are pleasing (or purposely displeasing), the inclusion of important shapes that are repeated in the scene, the framing of the scene so that important lines in the composition lead the viewer's eye around the image in a natural fashion rather than pulling the viewer's eye away or out of the scene. Trying to locate and set up a photograph in nature that includes all these elements requires a great deal of patience, effort and skill.</p>

<p>The answer is there is no right answer; I personally like what John wrote.<br /><br /> Don't restrict yourself to someone else's definition; define it yourself, with your photographs.<br /><br /> Kind regards,<br />Derek Jecxz

<p>Some photographers sell prints in limited editions. They'll only make fifty prints of a certain shot, for example. This conveys the idea of scarcity and it intended to inspire collectors to pay more for a copy than they would if the prints were unlimited, i.e. the photograph will sell as many of them as he can. Sometimes "fine art" photographers use this practice, typically signing and numbering individual prints.</p>

<p>Landscape photography can be used for many purposes - magazine articles, post cards, calendars, travel books and brochures, advertisements, and of course, prints for people to hang in their homes, businesses, or in museums. Fine Art photography doesn't really have a definition, but in practice it's usually concerned with prints and not all of the other uses listed. A photo is not "fine art" because it got into National Geographic. It MIGHT be considered "fine art" if a number of prints have been sold to collectors.</p>

<p>Bottom line: Don't worry about it. Just make the best pictures you can and pictures that appeal to your own tastes.</p>

<p>Fine art is art that is created for aesthetic appeal. It can be used in commercial or other applications, but its primary purpose is aesthetics. This is something I was told when I was just knee high to a grasshopper and I've heard this definition (not word for word) stated by lots of people is various types of art.</p>