Fine Art

The power of a photograph is beyond time. As photographers who pursue various genres, it is also important that we understand how it is a social tool. I recently traveled to Kerala, India to document one such ancient tradition.

Welcome to the second official entry in my exploration of fine art printing, paper, and why we're meant for more than cell phone screens. In this entry, we're looking at a paper that absolutely blew my mind from the very first test print I ran.

Silhouettes have been a source of artistic inspiration for as long as there has been art. But why is that? And have you recently exploited this genre in your photography?

New York City is more than a city; it’s a symbol worldwide, a place where everything seems possible but everything has already been done by someone else. As part of a personal project, Philippe Echaroux went there and tried to make something unique, unlike anything else that had been done in the Big Apple.

If anyone knows how to put together an incredible fantasy ensemble, it's creative portrait artist Laura Sheridan. Want to know where you can source amazing pieces like her for fantasy photo shoots? She's got a list for you.

Your work is greater than a Graham cracker sized cell phone screen and you know it. When it comes time to select which paper you print on, you've got a lot of options. Let's take a closer look at a few things to consider when making your choice and examine one example up close.

In this article I'll share five tips on how I actually improved my photography. Here I'm not talking technicalities such as sharper images, shallow depth of field, using a tripod, or removing your lens cap.

Ask yourself a pretty simple question: how hard do you work? If your honest answer is that you work pretty darn hard then it's important to come to grips with the idea that social media will never be able to showcase that hard work; you need to be printing your images.

Prints by established photographers can sell for thousands of dollars, and, if you choose wisely, can increase in value over time while also looking good on your wall. If you have a lump of money burning a hole in your pocket, why not consider a limited-edition, signed print by one of the art world's most recognized photographers?

I always wanted to shoot the portraits of a classic Bharatanatyam dancer, but by adding a modern touch to the 2000-year-old traditional dance form. Here is how we created dramatic dancer portraits with a little technique and lots of imagination.

While there are plenty of aficionados still shooting film, there are very few capturing images onto small sheets of glass, and then playing with potassium cyanide, naked flames, and lavender oil varnish as part of their post-production, techniques which date back to the mid-19th century. In this short video, documentary photographer David Gillanders discusses the collodion wet plate process and explains why he loves creating these unique images.

Around two weeks ago, Lee and I made a bet over my image, "Atlas and the Sun." In a limited 50 print run the goal was to sell 49 in ten days and make Lee buy the last one to place above his desk.

As a Londoner, New York strikes me as a similarly quintessential city. How then, in this most photographed of places, can a photobook surprise you?

With a basic clear tank or transparent plastic sheet, there are several creative ways to photograph water just waiting to be explored. These techniques can be as basic or intricate as you want them to be.

There's still plenty of families and communities that heavily rely upon the forestry industry. Finland, a country many of us associate with deep woods and arctic temperatures, continues to carry the strong legacy of those who spent their lives working in the forest, and as such, photographer Sanna Vornanen celebrates the lives of lumberjacks all around the world through her latest project.

Known for his lifelong commercial work as a celebrity and portrait photographer, Sandro Miller (who goes simply by "Sandro") recently captured an amazing set of photographs that show the range of modern and traditional, native cultures of Papua New Guinea.

You may be familiar with portrait photography, but have you ever had the pleasure of experiencing the fine art form? If you haven’t, it’s time you did. Fine art portrait photography has exploded in the luxury portraiture photography market in recent years. The results are superbly evocative and make simply stunning wall art.

Almost a year and a half ago, I undertook the most technically challenging photo shoot of my career. I was fairly proud of the results and the community rallied around it but Lee and Patrick have publicly criticized the image. This will hopefully settle the debate between us.

What started as an innocuous trip to the craft store ended with myself and a model sitting in my studio with tears running down our faces. I shouldn’t say that it ended there, though, because the first session of A Woman’s Soul was only the beginning of a month-long process of emotional vulnerability, bravery, and change.

At some point, all creatives fall into ruts where it’s difficult to imagine new concepts. Unfortunately, inspiration doesn't always present itself. Sometimes we have to create it. Below is a list of practices I follow.

It took me until high school to meet and befriend a set of identical twins. Growing up, I had always assumed identical twins were basically the same person.

“It’s like a Mercedes-Benz. You drive it off the lot, it loses half its value," says artist Peter Lik, describing his own work. This brutal article from the New York Times examines the extraordinary amounts of money that people continue to spend on Lik's work and how he has created his own speculative — and lucrative — economy.

Rooftops hold a certain allure but it's not just urban explorers and extreme sports narcissists that are drawn to the tops of buildings to capture this alternative view of the city. Photographer and Artist Alain Cornu drags a 4x5 field camera onto the rooftops of Paris to create stunningly beautiful images that feel like portals into another world.

Peter Lik, whom many believe is the world's most successful photographer, recently released an image that is pretty unbelievable.

Sometimes, photography is too easy. After churning out perfect images left and right, I really felt I like I needed a challenge that would put my God-like skills to the test. Of course, that’s complete crap, but occasionally I do see the need to challenge myself and alternative processes are a great way to learn about the craft of photography while having a bit of fun floundering in failure. To that end, I’ve learned my first alternative process: the kallitype.

This week's episode of Critique the Community brings a lively discussion between Lee Morris and Mike Kelley on what makes a quality fine art photograph. We received hundreds of image submissions from the Fstoppers community and Lee and Mike hold nothing back with their critique. In the midst of everything, we also play a prank on Mike.

"I get invited into strangers' bedrooms to photograph real sex," shouted the headline. A few days ago, I encountered the work of Roxy Hervé, a London and Paris-based artist/photographer who had been interviewed by Vice. The headline wasn't accurate (and has since been changed), but as I found out from speaking to a few other photographers, it did lead me to discover how easily boudoir photography can turn into something else.

British fine-art photographer Natalie Lennard, also known as Miss Aniela, was recently interviewed by Framed as part of her Birth: Undocumented fine art series. Lennard, who first gained notoriety on Deviant Art for her unique self-portraits, and later rose to prominence as a conceptual fantasy photographer, has thrown all the skill she's built over the years into her latest personal project celebrating the miracle of birth.

Our next episode of Critique the Community will be focused around fine art. If you would like to receive feedback for your best fine art photo and have your chance to win a free Fstoppers tutorial, make sure you follow the instructions below. We will be selecting a total of 20 images next week so make sure to get your submissions in before Wednesday, January 24th at midnight.

The world of fine art photography exists in the lofty shadows of the photography industry, it’s secrets hidden behind an air of elite mystery. While endless tutorials on how to make a living as a portrait photographer can be found with a quick google search, how to make a living as a fine art photographer remains a more nebulous subject. Last year, award-winning Fine Art Photographer Jason Matias made $60,000 selling fine art prints, and he’s taking away some of the mystery by sharing part of his journey — and solid advice — for budding fine art photographers who want to do the same thing.