| Commercial photography explained |
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The commercial photographic world can be broken down to: Advertising photography: photographs made to illustrate and usually sell a service or product. These images are generally done with an advertising agency, design firm or with an in-house corporate design team. Editorial photography: photographs made to illustrate a story or idea within the context of a magazine. Photojournalism: this can be considered a subset of editorial photography. Photographs made in this context are accepted as a documentation of a news story. Portrait and wedding photography: photographs made and sold directly to the end user of the images. Fine art photography: photographs made to fulfill a vision, and reproduced to be sold directly to the customer. Landscape photography: photographs of different locations made to be sold to tourists as postcards. The market for photographic services demonstrates the aphorism "one picture is worth a thousand words," which has an interesting basis in the history of photography. Magazines and newspapers, companies putting up Web sites, advertising agencies and other groups pay for photography. Photography as an art form: Manual shutter control and exposure settings can achieve unusual results Classic Alfred Stieglitz photograph, The Steerage shows unique aesthetic of black and white photos. At first, fine art photographers tried to imitate painting styles. This movement is called Pictorialism, often using soft focus for a dreamy, 'romantic' look. In reaction to that, Weston, Ansel Adams, and others formed the f/64 Group to advocate 'straight photography', the photograph as a (sharply focused) thing in itself and not an imitation of something else. The aesthetics of photography is a matter that continues to be discussed regularly, especially in artistic circles. Many artists argued that photography was the mechanical reproduction of an image. If photography is authentically art, then photography in the context of art would need redefinition, such as determining what component of a photograph makes it beautiful to the viewer. The controversy began with the earliest images "written with light"; Nicéphore Niépce, Louis Daguerre, and others among the very earliest photographers were met with acclaim, but some questioned if their work met the definitions and purposes of art. |
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