The Quieter Things

Minimalism: A style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity -Merrium-Webster Dictionary

     I remember when I first started art I felt like all of my ideas had to be larger than life with elaborate Photoshop as my tool to create visions beyond what I was capable to capture with the lens. I was always better at editing than I was at strait photography. I took a photo then edited it into a great one but now I feel like I have grown as a photographer to meet where I was as a Photoshop artist. One thing I have really noticed about my personal style lately is that it is largely influenced by the minimalism movement. I have learned that the beauty of the photo is enough and that Photoshop is a tool to enhance. While I do still love composing fantasy out of reality, I can say that I am enjoying the art of photography in its purest form which is something I was unable to do several years ago.

     Currently at my college, almost every time we critique each other's work in class someone will say about another's work that their subject is too centered and it would be better if they framed the image with the subject lying on one of the thirds. In some instances I could agree, but there were plenty of times when I was irked at the phrase "too centered". Minimalism praises symmetry which typically leaves the subject directly in the center. When an image is well executed then the minimalist styling is quite soothing. I love knowing that the image could do nothing with anything more. It's a style that no critique can add to.

     Here are a couple shots I have been taking recently that I really love because of how simple they are. They are close to me even though I wasn't working on them until 2 A.M. on Photoshop.

Minimalism is where the frail are seen and the quiet are noticed. It is where subtle is blinding and chaos is ignored. It is the poet with one line and the painter with one stroke.

P.S. Try to ignore the watermark in the images now. I only do it to protect myself and my art.

My Stance on Photoshop

Negative views of Photoshop

     We live in an age where we no longer trust photographs anymore due to Photoshop and other photo editing programs. People will passionately critique fashion magazines for over Photoshopping their models and twisting society's view of what beauty is. I think it has come to a point where Photoshop has a lot of negative views. As a photographer Photoshop is simply a tool I use. I feel so fortunate to live in an age where it is so quick to fix elements in my photographs. I can take out the giant pimple on a person's nose because they unassumingly wouldn't want it in a permanent photograph. I get color into my photographs that wouldn't exist in nature. It's an artistic tool used to manipulate the world for a completely new view whereas before photographs just replicated scenes as they were seen in real life.

There is a line

    I am always on Photoshop and I don't think I will ever stop using Photoshop but I do believe there are standards to be held. Being an American woman I feel all the pressure the media places on us to look skinny and perky. One rule I try to always stick by is keeping a woman's natural figure in the photographs. Tools used to remove fat in Photoshop are giving woman an unreachable vision of what beauty is.

People want to look great

    To be completely honest I do airbrush skin and I am sure it is very obvious in my photos because my models have completely smooth skin. What I want people to understand about art is that it is a representation of life. Paintings, photographs, drawings and pretty much any other form of art will have a piece of the artist inside of it. My style has come to the point where I remove blemishes and create a smooth skin. I feel like my photographs are heavily exaggerated to the point where it is obvious that Photoshop work was done in order to romanticize the image. I don't try to create this false view of a person and try to trick the viewer into thinking they are looking at an unnaturally gorgeous person but that they are looking at a gorgeous photograph.

Before

After