What Constitutes Fine Art Photography?

Sometimes when wandering an art museum or flipping through the pages of a coffee table sized book, you have to wonder what makes so-called "fine art photography" any different from the everyday photos that you and I take. There is a subtle difference in fine art photography that doesn't gel with every onlooker, just like any kind of sculpture or painting might not be liked by everyone who looks at it.

So, What's The Difference?

The difference in fine art photography is not in the camera, the film, the lighting or subject matter. It is something a bit more intangible - fine art photography lies entirely in the intentions of the photographer. In fine art photography, the photographer is not trying to record faithfully what everyone can see now for posterity. What he or she is trying to record for posterity is how that photographer views the world.

So, in a photo of, say, a dog, a portrait photographer would usually make the photo bring out the cutest angel of the dog, centering on the dog's face and expression. The photo of this dog is meant to say "this is Fido; our beloved family member and this is exactly what he looked like."

But in fine art photography, the photographer would take a vastly different picture of the dog. Perhaps Fido has really big feet. The fine art photographer might take a photo of Fido's big, muddy feet to see how he or she views Fido.

Is It Real Photography?

Perhaps some of the photos that truly capture what is going on in the photographer's world are ones that are posed in some way. Infamous American photographer Dorothea Lange made her reputation on portraits of Americans who suffered through the Depression, particularly in the Dustbowl. It was popularly thought that Lange snapped these images on the spur of the moment, and she never discouraged the notion. Long after her death, it was discovered that some of her heart-wrenching portraits were staged. The model was brought in, dressed and made up to look like a usual American in the Southwest leaving the useless farmland in search for survival in the big cities.

So, are Lange's photos still to be considered fine art photography? You betcha. Although many of her portraits wee printed in news periodicals, she also took them for posterity and to make a monument in film to those who survived the Depression. The rich and powerful may have done nothing to help the millions of unemployed and impoverished fellow Americans if not for Lange's portraits. So, in the end, her purpose was the same for her spur of the moment and her posed photos - the plight of the Depression era sufferers was accurately reported. And that is fine art photography.