Impact of Photography on Fine art and Graphic Design...

How has photography not impacted fine art and graphic design?

 I wonder if Niepce had any idea how photography would turn the world upside down when he took the first photograph. Even today, photography is looked at as not an "art." In my opinion, photography is one of the greatest art forms that has been or ever will be. It uses the same elements as any fine artist or graphic designer (such as color, composition, positive/neg space.)

The impact it had on painting was freeing. Although, at the very beginning when photography came about painters saw it as a major threat to their jobs. Before photography, families would pose themselves for hours in front of a painter to always remember that moment in time. With photography, it offered a faster, less painless way to capture the family. Not only was it faster and painless but the price was drastically cheaper than paying  a painter. The upside of photography was that it freed the painters from the confines of painting reality to a "t." The painters had to adjust to not being portrait painters anymore and some because of not wanting to change their ways, lost their jobs. But, for some, adjusting to a less structured way of painting was liberating. They no longer had to stick to exactly what they saw.. they were creative and found great freedom in painting whatever they wanted. Even though photography seemed to be the strict art form which freed up painting, people discovered that they could use the photograph in interesting ways and created photo montages, sandwiches, etc. 

Graphic designers have always had to keep up with the latest trends for their designs to matter in society. When photography came around it wasn't long before designers were choosing to use photographs to help sell something or depict a particular emotion. Ideas began spreading like wild fire and pretty soon people were experimenting with photographs and messing with photos to create a surrealistic image. Today, so much of a designers work revolves around photos. Whether it is the research process that a designer goes through before they begin their sketches or using a photograph along with a specific typography..without photographs designers would be miles behind where they are currently.

Photography influenced the art world in ways no one could have imagined but it also has affected everyday life. Cameras are everywhere. Even little children carry cameras around with them. Hard to imagine if you remember the huge, bulky cameras that photographers started off with. Photography is one of my loves and I cannot imagine what life (esp. art) would be like without it. It captures the moments that people don't want to forget and as the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words."  Here are a few images that in my opinion have changed the world.