The fine art photographer is usually experimenting with lots of ways to make new images.
The essence of a fine art photographer is summarized in one word: play. They’re often playing around and trying new things far more than other photographers. They don’t care about algorithms. They march to their own drum. And most of all, they often don’t have much of a budget to work with. Sometimes their creations are born out of pure boredom. But these tools won’t bore them at all. We went into our Reviews Index to find some of the most fun things to satiate your creative appetite.
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house by our staff. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Waygu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve thoroughly reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge.
Pro Tips for the Fine Art Photographer
Here are some essential tips for the Fine Art Photographer. Keep these in mind when picking gifts:
- Try to create your own in-camera profiles.
- Creation happens in the camera. But it doesn’t need to stop there. You can play around a lot in Photoshop. But it’s a whole lot more fun to do it all in-camera.
- Use your camera’s multiple exposure modes.
- Some cameras have a mode called Live Composite. It composites images together over time. Give it a try!
- Don’t shy away from the black and white modes in the camera.
- Most cameras have cool filters like a toy effect or a cross-process look. Use those with these products, and you’ll have a whole lot of fun.
- Shoot longer exposures often. You’ll photograph a world that looks like a painting.
Tiffen Pro-Mist 1/4 Filter: The Halation and Haze Effect
In our review we state:
“When walking around with the Pro Mist filters, we found it really hard to not like what we shot. Sometimes we wished the effect was even stronger than what it was. But with the 1/4 filter, you’re going to really like shooting into direct lighting. Practically speaking, I thought it was going to affect autofocus performance. Afterall, you’re basically making the image softer. But thankfully, that wasn’t the case.”
Lensbaby Omni Pack: The Fine Art Photographer Meets Character
In our review we state:
“Modern cameras and lenses can sometimes be too sharp and clinical. They lack the imperfections that sometimes give images unique optical characteristics. As a photographer who occasionally likes to introduce distortions and other lighting effects into my photos for added visual impact, the Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System allows it with ease, and without having to juggle between different crystals and prisms in one hand while holding a camera in the other. The magnetic Effect Wands stay put securely onto the Filter Ring thanks to powerful, rare earth magnets and can easily be re-positioned and adjusted to generate a near infinite amount of interesting in-camera effects without having to resort to adding them in post-production via Photoshop (cheating). My only wish is that Lensbaby will offer custom Effect Wands in the future so I can affix my own collection of crystals and prisms to them that I’ve amassed over the years.”
7Artisans 50mm f1.1: Grab an Adapter for This One
In our review we state:
“Oh man, am I in love with this lens. Want that soft look? You can get it. Want that super sharp look? It’s got that. Want lens flare? Oh man, does this lens control it just right! The 7Artisans 50mm f1.1 surely has character to it. In the same way that I’ve always felt that Leica, Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses have a specific character to them, so too does this one. I don’t think that it’s meant to be 100% perfect but it’s surely gorgeous in every single way.”