Beauty in Photography – Robert Adams

Beauty in Photography is a series of essays written by Robert Adams, which explores the meaning of ‘beauty’ and what it means in photography, as well as his own interpretation on what beauty is.

In his first essay ‘Truth and Landscapes’ he discusses how landscape art must include an essence of the artist, so it isn’t just a documentation of the location it was taken, it is more personal and artistic. I agree with Adams in the sense that the photographer should be connected to the photo and show off their personality within their work, however, i believe some natural forms can be beautiful without a personal touch, for example the shapes of mountains and the reflections of lakes.

In the second essay, AdamsĀ talks about the essential importance of beauty in art. He describes beauty as not necessarily ‘pretty’, but is much more complex and elusive to define. However, he said that the particular element that radiates beauty for him is form. He tells us that successful reflections of formĀ  photographs, paintings or sculptures, are beautiful. However, he contends, beauty is tied to the subject matter and therefore not all important photographs are beautiful and in fact some are disturbing

In my own opinion, i both agree and disagree with Adams’ studies because i agree that a photo should have a personal touch or a sense of the artist’s personality, however i do enjoy to look at images for their aesthetically pleasing shapes, and forms, and find a lot of images ‘beautiful’.

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