Criteria 5
Understand how the introduction of digital photography has changed the practice of photography
There are many ways in which digital photography has changed the practise of photography, the first being that it is easier to take images. In the past taking images as difficult at it took time and precision, whereas now DSLR's are so cheap to buy that most people can afford one. They also come with an Auto setting which means you can take high quality images with the camera and you don't even need to understand apertures or shutter speeds as the camera does it all for you. This means that anyone who has an interest in photography has the ability to become one if they wish. This also means that the market for photographers has now become so flooded that it is very difficult to make a living off being a photographer unless you are well established in your area. Some many people are taking so many images that the true value of pictures is being lost, this isn't helped by the fact that every phone comes with a camera that takes photographs of a good quality. There's millions of images being flooded onto Facebook, Instagram and the internet every single day that barely any of them are even really being valued for what they are.
IMAGE (REF FIFTY SEVEN)
Above is a picture of Instagram and how many people have uploaded pictures to the hashtag Instagram since it started, 227,618,210 and that's only one hastag on Instagram. So it shows how much we are flooded with images on a daily basis all day long. Most newspapers no longer employ in house photographers because people want the news and the images so fast and phones take such good quality images that newspapers are now happy to use images the people send in off their phone. This benefits the newspapers as they don't have to pay as much or nothing at all compared with having to pay a in house photographer a full time wage. It's also quite sad that people don't value high quality, composed and professionally taken images to see the news anymore, there just happy to be the first to know. This has also added new dangers, with our children gaining the ability to take images of themselves at ease with their phones. This has been a new way for paedophiles to groom children by requesting images from them and then using these images to blackmail them. It is also not just children, many images of adults have been used against them, it has become more popular for consenting adults to send "nudes" to each other, but the problem is these images last forever. Photography has also become a way to create new fads, for example the #nofilter where people post images of themselves with no make up on, and more popularly known the selfie.
IMAGE (REF FIFTY EIGHT)
This has now become so popular that adults, teenagers and older children are posting pictures of themselves daily on social media. This has made the new generation extremely vain and is causing not only self esteem and confidence issues but also bullying. Women and men alike have never felt such pressures to look good or post images of their everyday lives to feel good about themselves and show off, these images are what they are doing, what they are eating, to what their children are doing. This also causes safety issues with children being posted on social media in school uniforms with their details, which all makes it so easy for people to find out any information they require about you and your children.
5.2 - Evaluate how pixel manipulating software has influence the image making process.
Editing software has changed photography drastically, it has opened up more options that most photographers will ever need. Through editing software we can now change every single aspect of an image, from colour to clarity to how big someone's nose is. This has changed the way we create images as most photographers now spend more time editing than they ever will actually taking the photos. It also means that the standard of perfect looking images has been taken to new heights and unless you are not only a good photographer but also good at editing then it's extremely difficult to compete.
IMAGE (REF FIFTY NINE)
As you can see from the image above this is the type of photograph children's portrait photographers dream of taking but none of it is real. It's completely edited in every way and it shows how high the standards are set. This also sets up new obstacles for photographers because it is very easy to get editing wrong and it is so easy to spot editing mistakes, this has built up the pressure on photographers to really be perfect in all areas. Even though there is this need to be perfect editing software does also aid photographers, as it means there is less need to get it correct in camera because the little mistakes can be corrected in editing. This means that as long as you are good at editing you don't need to be a good photographer to be classed as one, which is an issue a lot of true photographers find annoying.
IMAGE (REF SIXTY)
The image above is perfect example of how a photographer can enhance and make an image look much better with good editing skills. Although this can take photography to the next level it can also be classed as morally wrong. Mental health in younger adults and older children is at it's highest and the images of perfect photoshopped images is definitely one of the leading causes. Everyone spends so much time on social media looking at these images and having their self esteem lowered because they don't look like that, when in reality the image they are looking at has been edited so much it's impossible to ever look like that.
IMAGE (REF SIXTY ONE)
The image above is an example of how much photographers are editing women to look thinner now. This sets young girls unrealistic goals and this is happening in every area, bigger boobs, tanned skin, smooth skin, flat tummy's, these are all being posted into social media all day long everyday for everyone to see.
5.3 - Critically explore how the concept of truth in photography has changed with the advent of digital photography.
Since editing software has been around it is hard to know what to trust in images and what not to and this is used in so many ways. Major companies now use this as a tool as a way to market their products, from weight loss products to makeup by photoshopping the results we are then more likely to buy the products as they seem to work perfectly.
IMAGE (REF SIXTY TWO)
Above is an image of how skin can be smoothed out but many makeup companies use the same techniques to make their products look flawless to convince people to buy the goods. This has caused many shoppers to distrust companies and photographs of the results of products in general. Another way it is hard to trust photography and what the truth is, is in the news and political areas. Many images are now photoshopped for propaganda uses to change people's minds in voting and to encourage people to behave how they want them to. Below is an example of the way in which photography can be used as propaganda.
This was the caption for the image above (REF SIXTY THREE) "The BBC has been accused of “extreme bias” after it featured a “Photoshopped” image of Jeremy Corbyn against the Kremlin skyline during a segment about escalating tensions between the UK and Russia on Newsnight, despite presenter Evan Davies’ attempts to justify its use." These type of images make people fear trusting anything that they see, including newspapers and anything on the internet. It also makes it difficult to know who and what to trust and what decisions to make especially when voting.
5.4 - Evaluate the links between illustration, computer generated images and photography.
Illustration is a way of creating images on the computer, these images can be of anything and range from logos to full paintings, but they are all created on electronically. According to (REF SIXTY FOUR) with the illustrator program you "Get all the drawing tools you need to turn simple shapes and colours into sophisticated logos, icons and graphics."
IMAGE (REF SIXTY FOUR)
The way in which illustrator could be used in photography is by merging the two, this has very popular in advertising, it has also been used in fashion photography. Below is a perfect example of how the two can be merge to create an enhanced image that shows not only the persons ability in photography but also in illustrator and is eye catching and interesting.
IMAGE (REF SIXTY FIVE)
Computer generated Imagery is the creation of a picture using imaging software, it is very similar to what illustrator does. According to (REF SIXTY SIX) "CGI is used to produce images for many purposes including visual art, advertising, anatomical modeling, architectural design, engineering, television shows, video game art and film special effects, as well as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications."
IMAGE (REF SIXTY SEVEN)
The image above is an example of a CGI picture, but it shows that it is very realistic, this could be used to merge with photography images to enhance them further or even to create images for gaming and cosplay. This would help photographers to create realistic images based on characters that do not exist.
5.5 - Explore the relationship between contemporary and fine art photography.
Contemporary photography is current photography, so anything that has been taken in the last 30-40 years, according to (REF SIXTY EIGHT) "Over the past few decades, the medium has been defined by new technologies and formats, among the most important being color photography, digital manipulation, and large-scale printing techniques." An example of contemporary photography would be the image below by Tamara Abdul Hadi, it's very plain and simple but it has been taken using current technology and developed using current techniques and editing software.
IMAGE (REF SIXTY EIGHT)
Fine Art photography is a style of conceptual photography, so that it is more than just a picture, it makes you feel or think, according to (REF SIXTY NINE) "Fine art is about an idea, a message, or an emotion. The artist has something that they want to have conveyed in their work." it is where an artist plans and develops the idea of a piece of art, that makes you think and feel, and uses his camera and editing tools as a way to create the piece rather than it just being a photograph. Below is an example of fine art photography.
IMAGE (REF SIXTY NINE)
The way in which the two are related is that they both create a genre of photography, Contemporary Fine Art photography would be pieces of art that are created with thought and concept, by using modern day photography tools, such as modern cameras, lenses and editing software. These pieces of art are created around modern day subjects and materials. Below is an example of a Piece of Contemporary Fine Art photography.
IMAGE (REF SEVENTY)
The above image was created by Andreas Gursky and is of a modern day building using modern technology such as editing tools to lengthen the building, and I do feel he created this image with an idea of what he wanted you to think and feel. When I look at this image there is something about it that makes me feel very calm and relaxed, the patterns and the length of the image, it's very powerful.
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