There are so many differences between portraits in the early days and today. In my opinion the biggest differences are: change in the accessibility of photography taking, technology and development of cameras.
In the past, to create photography it took more effort and time. However, Very few people knew how to take photographs and it was considered prestige to have your portrait created. In the early days of the photography, portraits models were primarily for people who could afford to pay for it. Only higher classes in the society of those times were the ones who had their portraits taken. The photographers in the past were only professional people, who had their time and work determined to create photographs, which was still not fully developed kind of art. At that time, the machine that they were using was very complex and demanded a lot of knowledge and skills, so not everybody had access to the photography world. These days we all take pictures and use cameras, we don’t need professional photographers. Also one of the differences is technology and development of cameras. Technology changed the core of the photography taking. With digital cameras we are able to take great pictures. In the past people had to go to studios and spend great amount of time to have their portrait taken. In addition, they needed time and money to get that moment preserved on paper. Today, all you need is only one click. Nowadays, we can modify and adjust with portraits such as colors, effects, brightness, and sharpness …however; we still have the similarity between pictures taken in the past with the old cameras and the ones are taken with the advanced and developed digital cameras we have now. They all preserve our memories and captures complex of the facial expression of individuals.
In material from week 2 it says: “The physionotrace can be considered the symbol of a period of transition between the old regime and the new. It is the predecessor of the camera in the technical evolution that has led to the coin-operated portrait machines and Polaroids of today. There will always be a sector in the art world which is more concerned with speed and quantity than with art; the physionotracist of 1790 is not far removed from the passport photographer of the twentieth century.”(Freund 2)
Technology as a fast developing area of our time had a great impact on photography portraits. People realized that photography reproductively could bring profit, so they were making copies of images. Also, today they can play with images and create their own and unique art.
One of the most known photographers is Berenice Abbott. He had impact on black and white photography and he has a huge contribution on scientific photography. He is one of the artists who took his chance and push all boundaries with his photographs.
Work cited:
Andrew, Paul, “Cross-processing ATN”, Speecky Boy, Design Magazine, November 16, 2008
“Berenice Abbott, Changing New York, 1935-1938”, Flickr, Dec. 15, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment