Thoughts on Fine Art Photography

Follow me as I share original thoughts about fine art photography developed over almost 50 yrs of creating photographs. First and foremost, I know that among all of the various forms of the visual arts, photography has a unique value to humanity. 

Photography is so diverse that the word itself is almost too big to understand. It’s a tool (i.e., a picture). It’s a technology (cameras, lights, photoshop!). It’s a medium (i.e. a means to a vast number of ends). It’s a profession, both in services and production. It’s a course of study, both art and science. And that’s not all.

Even in the limited realm of “art photography,” the label itself can mean so many things, or it can mean nothing at all.

Like anyone who’s committed themselves to a particular passion in life, I want to deeply understand photography’s roles and contributions to art. I’ve spend a big chunk of my life thinking about art photography and considering various opinions down through its history about its artistic value. I’ve studied the psychological development of the human visual response to color, light, shapes, and subjects to better understand my own perceptions when seeing and making photographs. And I’ve poured over scholarly narratives from other artists to better understand the basics of composition, presentation, visual story-telling, and even the tossing of such ‘rules.’

In this series of articles I’ll share some of the things I’ve learned in my study of art photography. Keep in mind that these are my thoughts from my study and practice as an art photographer. I’m blessed that I never attended art school, so no one scholarly source has influenced my feelings about art or photography. I’ve been left to my own devices to make the types of photographic art I love and am proud to have done so.

I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts about art photography, and perhaps even learn from them. Just go to “Recent Posts” at the right or down below and click those you find interesting.

J Riley Stewart