Fine art photographers. Fine art as a genre of wedding photography: a professional tells. If you have to choose which shot you would most likely call successful: with vivid emotion, but with a complete lack of beautiful surroundings, or staged, portfolio, but

The British have a clear distinction between Fine arts and Applied arts. The first means the result of any creativity, possessing only aesthetic pleasure, and in no way extends to a practical purpose. For example, the panel by Claude Monet "A Corner of the Garden in Montgeron", being at Christie’s auction, will appear in the catalog in the Fine arts subsection. In this case, you can save time in the search for paintings for your works and, at the request "garden", do not click on the image of Monsieur Monet. In Russia, such painting is "taken from the easel" and despite the fact that this is known only to connoisseurs, it has a place to be, and there is no need to get into the wilderness of English language to define this phenomenon. This article will tell you about the development of the art of photography in the Soviet Union and in Russia, and will give an overview of the photography market. What name should the photos be given if they are not intended for illustration, magazines, advertising banners, family album and any other household use? They mainly depict an aesthetic or mental burden, how can they be presented in these cases? Perhaps such a photo should be called artistic. The term "art photography" is very often used, which sometimes seems like a curse and hurts the ear.


Photography did not instantly deserve its role in the order of the arts. Despite the fact that in the USA, Europe and pre-revolutionary Russia since the half of the nineteenth century, exhibitions of photographs were constantly held, and there was only a small part of people who personified the art of photography, with independent art. Photography was more like an additional tool in science and painting, therefore, it did not have the opportunity to be in the “Fine arts” section. And only when in the West private galleries and collectors became interested in her, when vintage, that is, author's printing, appeared, and fine-art photographers began to narrow the circulation of their own creations, only then the photo began to be evaluated as an independent art.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, photos appear in the galleries of popular museums around the world: Musée d'Orsay, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photographers began to work not only at the request of publishers or individuals, but also for the purpose of individual implementation. In the context of marketing, fine art photography became related to fine art painting. You need to be able to distinguish between the term vintage - this is a print from a medium (film, matrix) produced on paper by the author himself or under his control from the concept of circulation - a photo with a limited number of printed photos. For example, if 3/5 is written near the photo, then in this case you need to pay attention to the third of the five available.


An example of fine art work - photography

These definitions can help to understand how the current fine art photography market is shaped. Firstly, the name and level of popularity of the photographer, and secondly, the quality and circulation of his photographs. For example, the work of the German photographer Andreas Gursky is more valuable than the work of the British photographer Michael Kenna, not only because of the difference in popularity, but also because of the difference in circulation. Edition of each photo by Andreas Gursky ten pieces. That is, each photo is no more than ten copies, usually six, at a time when Michael Kenna is replicating 50 copies. On average, Andreas Gursky's work costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, while Michael Kenna's only has five thousand.


An example of fine art work - photography

For a long time in Fine arts Russia photography was irrelevant. The grief of one thousand nine hundred and seventeen with regard to cultures overshadowed the state in the visual arts. Benefit, which was the main principle in the times of the USSR, besides all art, dominated photography as much as possible. The exhibitions showed the successes of the national economy, or the historical moments of the parties. The activities of photographers were considered hack in publications and additional earnings at weddings. Nobody knew that for one photograph abroad they give several times more money than a Russian photographer could earn in his entire life. In the Soviet Union, there was simply no concept of collecting photos.

Currently, little has changed. Few people think that an apartment or office can be decorated not with a poster from a furniture store, but with the creation of a photo of art, which can be purchased directly from the author or at an exhibition. For example, in the United States one gallery accounts for thirty thousand people, while in Russia one can count photo exhibitions on one hand.

But still the situation is changing a little. Photographers popular all over the world are positioned not only in the Capital and St. Petersburg, but also in other large cities of our state. There are more and more domestic photographers and they feel like a part of contemporary art, selling their photographs abroad. This can only mean that after a certain period of time fine art photography will come to the understanding of the inhabitants of Russia. Not only as a technique for decorating premises, but also as an excellent form of cash investment. This will help young photographers to continue their activities in the field of artistic photography.

Maxim Koliberdin, famous photographer, who shoots in fine art style, told Wedding about his approach to wedding photography, gadgets and phone photography.

Style


I shoot fine art. By and large, fine art is not a style. If you study the issue and go into definitions, then this is an art photography. With the input of photographers such as José Viya, who described his approach to wedding photography in his book Fine Art Wedding Photography, this definition has taken on stylistic features that can be described as a light, pastel-colored, soft-focus photograph taken on film. , with attention to detail. This approach, on the one hand, is suitable for wedding shots, these photographs convey a light, gentle, primarily women's holiday with female energy. On the other hand, the very definition of fine art as artistic photography, as art, does not imply any framework. Of course, you can shoot artistically in a dark key, not on film or with a hard focus. It seems to me that now there is a lot of controversy about what is important, what is filmed, in what light, and the like. I think that the most important thing is missing in all this, namely that, firstly, it should be filmed artistically, and everything else is just tools. Therefore, I define my approach to photography from this position. I like to shoot with film because it gives the image a certain aesthetics, I love the immersion in the shooting process, which makes it possible to catch something on the verge of randomness. I love making atmospheric portraits, I love to catch the refraction or reflection of light, I love real, sometimes quiet emotions of people. Fortunately, a wedding as a dynamic, emotional event, with different lights and locations throughout the day, gives ample opportunities to capture something interesting in any genre: portrait, still life, landscape, and artistically play it differently every time.

genre


There are two main approaches to wedding photography right now. It is reportage and staged, which includes fine art. You need to understand that this division is very conditional, since it is impossible to shoot a wedding only staged or only reportage. I think it is important here that the photographer prioritizes. For someone it is important to catch the moment, for someone the aesthetics of the image in the form of its color, tonality, composition is important.

Treatment

I shoot film and digital. The film after digitization rarely needs processing, and I process the digit for film colors. In my opinion, there is an objectively good color, and every year the so-called "author's toning" is more and more out of fashion. I strive for pure color, which can be found as a benchmark in painting. By the way, when the film was being developed, in addition to chemists and physicists, designers also participated in the development, who took the color display from the painting.

Do / Don’t

When I first started photographing weddings, I had a list of things to shoot on the wedding day, now I have it in my head. This helps to keep track of the little things and to add variety to the material. It makes no sense to list the entire list here. In short, “do” is naturalness, and “don’t” is not to provoke people to emotions that are not peculiar to them and not to show dirt, which, as you know, can be found everywhere.

Gadgets

I am not a supporter of using a large number of gadgets on shooting, as they are very distracting. I can use something for interesting tasks. For example, on one of my last shots, I used a drawing light from a regular flashlight.

A look into the future

The best. Technology is developing, and now you can shoot cool on your phone, so more and more the photographer is required to have a unique vision, and this leads to the fact that wedding photography is increasingly becoming an art. By the way, in this context, I believe that now art and the customer are most closely connected in the field of the wedding industry. For many reasons, including competition, the level of professionals is very high in it. Wedding photography is one of the most difficult genres, because, firstly, it implies the ability to shoot everything - from a portrait to a reportage, and secondly, all this takes place in a very dynamic environment, different in light, location, and psychology. And from a technological point of view, unique tools will be appreciated. Therefore, on the one hand, photographers will try to master new technologies, such as 3D, and on the other, they will revive old, non-mass technologies. Film is one such technology.

Fine Art - artistic filming of a wedding on film

One of the trends in wedding photography in recent years is the so-called Fine Art style - that is, artistic photography of a wedding on film. In this article, some of the best representatives of this new popular style: Maxim Koliberdin, Olga Plakitina and Elena Kozhina answered the most exciting questions about film photography to give our newlyweds the opportunity to take a fresh look at the choice of wedding photography format.

Olga Plakitina, one of the best representatives of this direction of photography, answers the question of what Fine art is and why it has been so popular lately.

This style is understood as artistic photography, with an emphasis on the details and emotions of people. This is an elegant classic photograph that will remain relevant for decades. It is much more difficult to photograph with film than with digital! There are no these 1000 identical photographs, there are only priceless and unique film frames. And also the color! No digital camera can capture the magical color, light and atmosphere that film conveys.

One of the founders of the Fine art style in Russia, a recognized photographer of the wedding industry Maxim Koliberdin supports:

Only film transmits light, plasticity, atmosphere and air in a way that no digital camera can reflect. Film shooting gives more natural, softer shots that remain timeless, as opposed to sharper and more technical digital images... But still, film is a tool; it alone is not enough to create artistic photographs. Key moment here - the vision of the photographer, his inspiration, the ability to create unique shots, to catch light and emotions.

My favorite film photographer, Elena Kozhina admits:

The film gives a feeling of lightness, allows you to examine textures and textures as if touching the photo you can feel the atmosphere of the place and the mood of the characters. Not to mention, film enhances skin tone and texture through level and depth of field. I ask couples: where will they be more comfortable, in a room flooded with clean sunlight or in a room filled with the light of lamps and spotlights? Of course, everyone chooses the sun, the same with the film.

Many couples do not think about choosing a format for wedding photography, but as an experienced wedding organizer in Moscow, I always draw the attention of newlyweds to the film! For me, every detail is important in organizing a wedding, real emotions from the holiday and happy memories after it are important. I recommend film photographers to couples precisely because only film photographs can make the experience as vivid and intense as the first day after the wedding! For newlyweds who have not yet decided on the choice of the format of wedding photography, I asked professionals to make out advantages and features of film photography.

Maxim Koliberdin:

The most important thing in a wedding day is emotions, a variety of scenes, faces, and decorations. I prefer to work with film even in reportage photography, because its advantage is ready-made frames that look like paintings, this is art, creativity, inspiration. Of course, digital photography also has a lot of advantages: firstly, the result can be seen immediately, and the photographer has the ability to control the process by displaying photos on the camera screen. Digital photography is much cheaper than film, and at the same time it allows you to create a much larger number of frames. I use digital in dynamic situations, as a rule, it is a banquet, dancing and a show program, when not necessary conditions for filming. Digital reportage shooting sometimes presents shots “gifted by God”: where everything is completely randomly formed in a way that you yourself could not even imagine - and the result is a masterpiece. In other cases, I, of course, prefer the film.

"Film is not quantity, but quality"

Olga Plakitina

When choosing a film photographer, the couple and the agency they work with must consider that film loves light. One of the ways to get such airy, delicate and light images, as in my portfolio, is shooting with the correct, and most importantly, natural light. Therefore, the location for filming the gathering of the bride and groom, ceremony and walk should be chosen taking into account the lighting conditions. For example, a hotel or restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows, gatherings in nature and an open-air ceremony, etc. After all, one of the advantages of the film is a magnificent picture full of tenderness, air and color, which you will receive after scanning. If the banquet takes place not in nature, but in a room with artificial lighting, then reportage, as a rule, I shoot on digital camera... Also, the couple should take into account that shooting on film will take a little more time. The rule here is "not quantity, but quality", how many frames will be obtained as a result depends on the saturation of the wedding day, on average it is 30-40 frames already selected per hour.

Elena Kozhina on digital and film:

Couples today are spoiled for choice in the possibilities Photoshop gives them. Until now, for many, photography and good photographer are just tools for self-affirmation in their beauty. Some people need not live emotions, but processed photogenic faces and nothing else. Film is free from this tendency of people to see an improved version of themselves in the photo. Therefore, I strive to work only with her, I am a fan of truth, purity and sincerity in people. And of course there are couples who appreciate the film and the moments that don't repeat because they are real. Just one frame for one moment, no repetitions. The hole is also good in that the colors that it conveys chemical composition closest to what we see with our own eyes. If you have any reflex camera, you know what dull photographs are obtained and only after processing they light up with those bright colors to which we are accustomed.

"Just one frame for one moment, no repetitions"

Organization of a wedding in Moscow is significantly different from other cities, since Western trends and trends reach the capital faster. This imposes a huge responsibility on organizers and contractors, because they set the bar and direction for the development of the wedding industry throughout the country. Not surprisingly, in some regions, not a single couple of newlyweds still heard about film photography. How film is treated in Moscow, I asked our experts a question. How the interaction between the newlyweds and the photographer takes place, how often couples turn to precisely for film photography, and whether experts tell the difference between digital and film today.

Olga Plakitina:
More and more couples choose exactly film shooting for the wedding, as such shots will be a priori tender, romantic, emotional and "lively". As for me, my portfolio contains photographs taken only on film, so I can conclude that it is this kind of photography that attracts my clients. It is very important for me that my tastes of vision of how the wedding photography should match with the client's. The main thing is that we are on the same wavelength and the couple fully trusts in terms of photography. Then the result will be excellent!

Maxim Koliberdin:
It so happened that the couple and I never discuss the shooting format. In working with me, the newlyweds are interested in the result: they see my photos, know how I work and sincerely trust me. As a result, they admire the beautiful light, pastel colors, texture and mood of the pictures, of course, with the film shots in mind. That is, the choice is made intuitively - couples choose the photographer and his vision, not film or digital.

Elena Kozhina:
Every other couple makes a choice in favor of partial shooting on film. But I think that a more rational solution would be to hire a second photographer, because the rush interferes with shooting on film, prevents the creation of unique shots. It would be better to give the film photographer the opportunity to create highly artistic images at their own pace, and the digital one to reflect on the photograph every moment of this solemn day.

Film photography is a whole process of creating a work of art, and the soul of the author is reflected in every moment of the creation of this masterpiece: from the creation of the frame to the moment the finished photographs are handed over to the newlyweds. The process of manual processing and development, as well as the choice of photo paper and an envelope for finished pictures, gives even more soulfulness to film photographs. Film photography is a real way, in which there is soul, inspiration and emotion, each film frame is unique, just as the story of each film photographer is unique. Photo experts shared with the newlyweds the story of their creative path in the Fine art style.

OLGA PLAKITINA

A couple of years ago, when I saw the work of my Western colleagues, such famous Fine Art photographers as Jose Villa, Elizabeth Messina, KT Merry and Erich McVey, I was struck by the beauty of the film frame. For a very long time I could not achieve such color and airiness by processing my digital images. After that, I decided to purchase this professional Contax645 film camera and the film itself and start shooting and getting the same result that I have long dreamed of as a photographer.

MAXIM KOLIBERDIN

Since childhood I have been interested in art and painting. In his youth, he became interested in yoga, plunged headlong into this philosophy and energy, there was even his own yoga studio. By the age of 23, apparently, some channel of inspiration had opened and I was madly drawn into creativity. Digital photography I was no longer satisfied with it, I did not understand why it was impossible to reflect in the frame that magical color, texture and atmosphere as in American photographers. In general, American photography was the ideal for me at that time.
Although this was relatively recent, about five years ago, no one in Russia knew, spoke or wrote about film photography. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to create such pictures: I studied various processing options, photo effects, filters, even read big volume color correction is like the highest mathematics in photography.
And, finally, the famous photo shop on Arbat became a gift from the Universe for me, where I saw a Contex film camera and everything fell into place. Since then I have never parted with the film, I have been constantly improving my style, trying to develop it in Russia and teaching young photographers at my master classes.

ELENA KOZHINA

Consciously and voluntarily, I started taking photographs in 2009. Before that, my acquaintance with photography began at the age of 9, my father taught me to love film photography. Wedding photographer this is one of the stages of growth, from an amateur, and I had a choice, either to strive to work in the studio and to shoot not really emotional moments, or to shoot the real emotions of people at their holiday.

For me as for wedding planner, creating turnkey weddings, every detail is important that affects the mood of the newlyweds and their guests, both in the process of preparing for the wedding and after it. I create emotions that remain in my memory for a lifetime, and it is very important for me that they are bright, happy, rich and bright, like film photography! I hope this article will help many newlyweds make the right decision when choosing a wedding photography format, and I will help them create a celebration that they want to remember again and again!

You've probably already heard about the popular style of wedding photography. fine art... And if not, then let's look at this trend, find out where its legs grow from, and give several examples of the successful application of this style by our Belarusian photographers in practice.

Let's start with the fact that the concept of fine art is applicable not only to photography, but also to fine arts in general, because, in fact, it is a product of creativity, which aims exclusively at aesthetic pleasure. And if in the classical presentation wedding photography is mainly reportage, then fine art photography is often staged.

Such works, ideally, can claim the title of a full-fledged work of art with all that it implies (exhibitions, museums, auctions and high price tags).

Fine art as a trend is something more specific and has practically nothing to do with the fine art that we talked about in the previous paragraph. With rare exceptions, of course. And all because this is just a trend, while real art is unique. Nevertheless, we really like this trend (aesthetically), and therefore we have nothing against it, but on the contrary, we are sharing it with you 🙂

So what is contemporary fine art photography?

Taking inspiration from film shots, in particular films Fuji 400h and Kodak portra, or rather their color rendition, photographers from all over the world, if they did not switch to film cameras, then they certainly got used to adjusting Lightroom(a popular color grading program) so that it looks very similar. All this madness began with the photographer Jose Villa, widely known in narrow circles.


Yulia Galygina


Olga Kobruseva


Polina Sosnovskaya


Vitaly Ageev


Mila and Yan Kryukov


Digital photography has opened up new creative possibilities for people. Now anyone with a modern camera or smartphone can create their own photo stories. In addition to capturing the moment in photography, many modern photographers are interested in bringing their own vision, becoming the artist of the moment. In this case, we can talk about such a direction of creativity as fine-art photography.

What should you pay attention to when creating fine-art work?

Artist's vision and idea

Before starting the process of photographing, you should decide in advance what message each photograph will carry, what thoughts and feelings it should evoke in future viewers.

Fine-art photography can cover anything from complex political issues or social issues to cute pets. It will be important how the photographer and the artist in one person will reveal it, whether he will be able to surprise the public, not leave it indifferent.

@Tatiana Tsyganova

Subject for shooting

What should be the subject in the photo?

It is difficult to disagree with the statement that the correctly selected subject determines at least half of the success. future work... This is true both for inanimate objects and for people, animals, etc. Interesting facial features of the model, non-standard physique, unusual characteristics of things can be a good seasoning in fine-art photography.


@Tatiana Tsyganova

Technique of execution

When working on the visualization of your idea, creating a series of shots, it is advisable to use the same technique of execution to form the effect of the integrity of the work. The author's style always helps the photographer to stand out among his colleagues and take a worthy place among other authors.


@Tatiana Tsyganova

Photo series plan

If the photographer is faced with the task of preparing a series of photographs united by a common idea, it is necessary to think over how this combination will occur.

When holding exhibitions, the author is required to create short description of his work, for what purpose and how it was created, who or what was the subject of photography. Having previously had a plan for a photo series, writing such a text will not be difficult.

There are several questions that a fine-art photographer should ask themselves before shooting:

  • What topic is most interesting for the author
  • What message will each photograph carry
  • Who or what will be the subject of photography
  • Which technique will look the most advantageous in a series of photographs?

@Tatiana Tsyganova

Summing up, I would like to say that fine-art photography is a photograph about the author himself, which expresses his thoughts and feelings as much as possible. If you like taking pictures and, at the same time, you want to see something of yourself in every resulting image, do not waste time and try fine-art.

 

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