Mark EspositoFine Art Photography Blog

Having transitioned from Art in Music to Art in Photography, I’m constantly analyzing the unique nature of FIne Art Photography relative to Photography in general.

There are all kinds of Photography – Portrait, Photojournalism, Wedding, Sports, Nature, Landscape, etc… Each of these areas are so specialized, and the skills so different that most photographers work in only one of these disciplines. They may change lanes every once in a while just for fun, but they’ll need to get back to their area of expertise to be successful. It’s just too difficult to be a jack of all trades. (and master of none is not good on the resume)

Quality vs Quantity

My objectives and interests in life led me to Landscape Photography, and Landscapes must eventually be expressed as Fine Art, and the Fine Art Print. We have no avenue for selling quantity, nor would we want to, for that emphasis would usually mean that Quality must be sacrificed. As I mentioned in my article entitled What is Fine Art, it is important that the work truly is Fine. Mass producing on cheap paper is out, as is cutting corners on any materials used in Printing, Matting, or Framing. There is something unique about art made by hand, and only available in limited quantities. I’m not just talking about collectibility as an investment. There is also the feeling you get knowing that you own something that wasn’t mass produced. For those with enough disposable income that might be an exotic car, or rare antique. For others it is some kind of Art. Fortunately today we can own Art that is unique due to the nature of Fine Art, and it’s limited reproduction, be it a painting or Fine Art print.

If you’ve never purchased a Fine Art Print, or don’t have an idea of what goes into producing it, let me elaborate from my own experience.

The Painter of Light

While there are all kinds of reasons that people take photographs, the most unique aspect of producing Art in Photography is the agonizing dedication to a single work, or print. I recall reading comments made by Ansel Adams to the effect that he was happy to produce twelve museum quality prints in a year. Compare that to a gentlemen on the Internet that wants to shoot a million photographs, (more power to him!) and the nature of Fine Art Landscape Photography becomes more clear. In this respect what I do is more closely related to the experience of a painter than it is to other avenues of photography. This idea is less understood than I had imagined. All photography tends to get lumped together in some ways, and yet, what could be more different than photographing a basketball game and being out in the wilderness for 3 days trying to produce one great photo. Cameras are used for Passport photos too. :^})

The Fine Art print is the best work of an Artist, and is usually the product of weeks and sometimes months of work. It is produced in somewhat limited quantities due to the fact that it is done by hand, and each print must be perfect.

As I’m writing this, it dawned on me that this kind of article would not be needed if we were discussing a Painter with brush and canvas. My Mother is a Painter and I’ve seen for many years the time it takes to complete a painting. This seems to be common knowledge with painting. Not so with Photography.

At the end of the day, Fine Art Photography is much more akin to Fine Art Painting than it is to any other kind of Photography.