In the field of photography, fine art photography is regarded as one of the most creative spaces for people who capture images. When doing this kind of work, the photographer has to rely on their imagination, creativity, visualisation and accuracy. It does not come naturally for all photographers, but once they have mastered it, they admit that the satisfaction is not comparable to many. Some of the tips for doing fine art photography are as follows.
Do Research
You only know what good art is when you have been exposed to good art. The same applies to photography. Before you hang your camera on your neck and step outside to go and start snapping, do some research. Find out what some of the fine art photographers have done. Look at individual works with a critical eye. Ask yourself what inspires you in a certain photograph and ask yourself if you can do something similar to it. Your research should take you back in history, and if possible, you should go to a library, take up a photography book to examine with an eye not to copy but to learn.
Be Personal
The difference between fine art photography and other forms of photography is the fact that fine art photography needs to evoke emotions. You need to give it a personal feel and deep meaning that will resonate with the people who are looking at it. Resist the urge to redo what other people have done before. Inject a unique touch to your photos. Do not obsess over the fine art concept, instead, just snap what you are passionate about and let it take shape.
Focus on the Light
What makes fine art photography stand out is the lighting. You should never underestimate what the perfect light can do to a mundane scene. It can turn it into a masterpiece. Natural light is always the best, but even then, you should photograph at different times of the day depending on the kind of image you want to capture. For instance, if you want to give a calm feeling, photos taken at sunset are the best.
Be Patient
This sounds like a cliche, but in fine art photography, it matters a lot. Patience pays. Sometimes, you will need to take more than 100 photos for you to find the perfect one. There are other times when you will sit still waiting for the sun to be perfectly aligned to the sky, or for the right drop of rain to fall on the water. It may sound like a chore, but the results are always worth it.
Think About Editing
There is a raging debate about whether edited photos still merit to be considered as fine art photography. Depending on what you want to achieve, you can do some enhancements on it by checking on contrast, cropping out some things that do not add so much value to the photo and giving the image the right perspective. As long as you are not introducing things that were not in the photo before, it should not be such a big deal.