Skip to main content

Photographic clarity versus manipulated images

A young girl plays amongst the pillars at the King's Galleries, Ostend, Belgium.

Strong simple clear composition, clean colours, sharpness and good exposure are all elements of something that I call 'photographic clarity'. Good capture techniques and fine tuning in an image editing program will deliver professional results.

More than enough has been written in magazines, books and online to provide everyone with all the information required to produce the highest quality results. So why do we see so many unsharp, strangely manipulated, grungy and distorted images? I think that in a way history is repeating itself.

We have entered a new era of pictorialism and photographic enthusiasts have fallen in love with digital filters, effects and the heavy manipulations offered by image editing programs. Open most pages on a site like Flickr and you will see images dotted about that are unclear, weirdly coloured, 'over hyped' and distorted. And yes I have done my fair share of these too.

However, here's something to bear in mind for any budding professional photographer or amateur that wants to earn some extra cash. The market for 'pictorialist' images is very small - perhaps some fine art galleries. Even most of the photographic collectors I know prefer 'real' photographs. Advertising agencies, magazines, calendar and greeting cards manufactures all want high quality, clean, clear images ie photographic clarity.

If you want to see for yourself, just visit some stock library websites, or take a look at adverts in a magazine. Muddy colours, heavy vignetting, bad HDR, unsharpness etc just don't do it anywhere except on social photography sites where everyone seems to be intent on applying the latest digital filter/effect that's in fashion.

Personally I'm a bit bored with seeing all the heavily manipulated stuff. Give me good, honest straightforward photographic clarity every time.

Cheers,
Paul
www.indigo2photography.co.uk
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Paul, I love this picture! It is striking.

There is much to be said about getting out there and going to the places at which you are likely to find the magic moment when all the elements converge to produce such a striking subject.

Bravo!

Bill Gatesman
www.wmgphoto.com
www.wmgphotoblog.com
21:41
Chris Shepherd said…
Well said Paul. My personal bug-bear is images with the "HDR look" that look like a cartoonist, rather than a photographer has created them. I thought the point of HDR was to render more reality..not less!
11:59
Anonymous said…
A very thoughtful article. Thanks
17:34
Anonymous said…
yes!! that's the difference between phototography and photoshopgraphy
12:08
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Approach to taking a portrait

Portrait of Amitabh Bachchan. Click on the image to see larger version. Every portrait is different but there are also elements which are the same, whether you’re shooting the famous or the locally famous. Fame is of course all relative. It depends on profession, accomplishments or media celebrity status. Whoever the ‘famous’ individual is there are millions of people in the world who will never have heard them. For example I photographed the legendary Indian Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who amongst his many accolades was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, the highest civilian award of France. But I’m positive that many people in North America will not have heard of him – although he has more fans than Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro put together. I find that however well known a person is cracking through egos and insecurities is really important when it comes to getting authentic strong portraits. However I hasten to add that when it came to photographing Amitabh th
1 comment
Read more

Capturing the truth: The power of documentary photography to shape public opinion

Photographer, writer and artist, Paul Indigo (Photo by Magda Indigo ) Documentary photography is more important than ever because it plays a critical role in informing and shaping public opinion, particularly in today's fast-paced, information-saturated world. With the rise of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, we are bombarded with images and information daily. It can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. From a trusted source, documentary photography counterbalances the often sensationalised and biased coverage of social and political issues. Documentary photography can challenge dominant narratives and foster greater understanding and empathy by presenting a nuanced, humanistic perspective on complex issues. It can highlight underreported and marginalised issues, giving voice to those who are often ignored or silenced. In a world where many people feel disenfranchised and marginalised, documentary photography can help to create a sense of community and solidarity by
Post a Comment
Read more

The portrait photographer's motivation

Easy access to the Internet and digital photography has resulted in an ever growing number of photographers uploading their images for comments and ratings from peers. Online communities evolve and these mini-societies each have their pecking order, internal groups and communal preferences. Photographers learn from each other. On sites that have a rating system there is often pressure to conform to certain styles, techniques and even subject matter. Although I participate in numerous sites (it's great fun), I recognise the danger of becoming a herd animal and losing the edge of individual creativity. There will always be the creatives that lead the way and the imitators that can only try to follow in their footsteps. This lead me to think about classifying photographers according their inner motivation. So as a bit of fun here are a few different types: The innovator Driven to always find something new, different and creative. Wants to be leading edge. Motivated by creative satisfa
6 comments
Read more