Clearly this week has a bit of a theme happening with color versus black and white. As a photography major I obviously spend a lot of time taking and editing photos. I have taken color and black and white photography classes and find beauty in both aesthetics however recognize that there are very different things that must be paid attention to when working in either filter.
With black and white things become more ambiguous. It becomes much easier for us to place ourselves in the photo as we are no longer identifying with the colors but instead with the mood. In black and white you can't tell that I have red hair or pinkish white skin versus pale white. You can't see the color of the walls or the golden hour of the day. All that you focus on are the different values of light and dark and the composition.
In color photography the shade of a flower can completely change a photo. The clothing's color choices become apart of the narration where as in black and white the narrative is within the mood created by the values and composition or lines. In color if the photo isn't balanced correctly it can change the tone completely and throw off the meaning taken away from it. Lighting doesn't become as much of an issue (although is still very important) because color can be used as a crutch to make the photo appealing even if it isn't really a "good" photo. Some claim that the art of photography was lost when color was introduced while others praise the day it was invented.
I think we live in a world where we can see the advantages of each and not limit ourselves to just one or the other. I do see how the art of photography can be lost to color by the pretty factor distracting from the art of the medium especially when you look at a lot of the advertisements and commercial fashion editorials today. This ties into the minimalist topic that has been on my mind this week. Color in terms of minimalism can be considered clutter while in photography color can be seen as a crutch. It's interesting how through two different mediums color still takes on these complex connotations.
I in no way am claiming that I am not making just pretty pictures because sometimes that is all I'm trying to get. I want to capture something that is beautiful to me and maybe that is why the fine art community doesn't always accept my work. I try to keep a narrative in mind, my core beliefs and of course all of my training and research. Although I don't want to try and become the next great photographer I do love working with the medium and want to try my best to be able to make great photos that to me are beyond just being pretty. That are more thought out and have a meaning beyond that visually appealing factor. That's something I hope to see more of in the future of fashion blogging. Even though most of us are stylists more than photographers we are still presenting our medium through the medium of photography, especially if we take and edit our own photos. It's important to understand these conceptual things and of course the technicality's. We shouldn't just rely on our looks and pretty clothes to make our blogs successful, without good quality in all aspects of our blogs not many people will take us seriously beyond someone that just likes playing dress-up.