Why don't artists obsess over sharpness in the way that photographers do ?

[tlitody]

The title says it all really. Why do we as photographers obsess over sharpness and resolution when artists don't seem to even have to think about it. Could it be that it's really not important providing there is enough contrast to define an edge we can detect by eye. After all, there seems to be consensus that female portraits are better with a softer rendition. Why do we think (mostly male I think) that males should be given a harder rendition. Is this just engrained stereotyping in photographers?

Discuss....

 

[Spyro]

In theory, a sharp print with a huge amount of detail is only one of many possible artistic interpretations of a scene. There are countless others, and none is necessarily preferable. Its up to the artist.

On the other hand, you will rarely see artists who regularly sell prints to galleries carry anything smaller than a 6X7, and they will obsess about sharpness and 100% crops as much as the last DLSR forum gearhead...

 

[will-i_am]

saying artists don't care about sharpness is as much a stereotype as saying men should be sharper than women in portraits. They might care about sharpness in that they care that the image is not sharp, its as much as an exploration of style as trying different painting techniques.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Why do we as photographers obsess over sharpness and resolution when artists don't seem to even have to think about it. .

Not all photographers obsess over sharpness and resolution. Some are more concerned with what the photo is all about.

RFF members are a great group of people. But not at all representative of the total population of photographers.

 

[amateriat]

I'm thinking of a photographer who was profiled in a mid-70s Canon F-1 print ad. One of her statements in the ad was "I can always make an image through a lens softer, but never sharper!" In my case, I do care that the hardware perform to a given standard. What I decide to do with it in my hands is my business.

Barrett

 

[filmfan]

I once mentioned sharpness to a distinguished professional photographer (Peter Turnley) and he laughed at me....

 

[FrankS]

There are several possible responses to this question:
1. Your premise that photographers care more about sharpness than artists is both a presumption and generalization on your part and thereforenot valid.
2. What's the difference between an artist and a photographer? Isn't a photographer an artist?
3. If you mean photographers on RFF, well, many of us tend towards gearheadedness and are more interested in the technical aspects of photography than the average bear.
🙂

 

[maggieo]

I like Bill Pierce's bit of wisdom, which can be found at the top of his forum here:

"Never ever confuse sharp with good, or you will end up shaving with an ice cream cone and licking a razor blade."

 

[flip]

You've obviously never handed-out pencils of different length and sharpness to a group of 4 year old artists-in-making.

 

[Brian Legge]

Finding a sharp lens is just more difficult than finding soft ones. 😉

The option of shooting a corner to corner sharp image - when it makes sense - appeals to me. That isn't every image. A few of my favorites are blurry and soft but its about availability of the right tools.

 

[Pablito]

I personally know 58 artists who obsess over sharpness. 41 of them are photographers. The others are chefs. NEVER ask a chef about their knives......

 

[Gary E]

I personally know 58 artists who obsess over sharpness. 41 of them are photographers. The others are chefs. NEVER ask a chef about their knives......

It's like dejavu... Just last weekend, before he headed out for a BBQ at a friend's place, I was packing my knives along with the food. My wife asked "What's with the knives? They have them as well, so why carry them? Are yours sharper than theirs that you have to bring them?" I gave her a look as if someone said my 35 Summicron IV bokeh king was over rated. Seriously, the last time I used someone else's blunt knives I almost hurt myself 😡

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

You guys forget that there are a lot of different types of photography and not everyone in the world is a photojournalist like Peter Turnley. A journalism type photo doesn't need to be sharp, but there's really no excuse for a landscape or architectural photo not being technically perfect unless you're doing something like pinhole or holga/toy camera work.

 

[mto'brien]

OP art, pop art, photo realism, new media... I could go on and on about many, many more art movements that were concerned with sharpness.

Sharpness is a compositional element in photography, as well as just about every art form I can think of, including music and writing. It's a good tool to have.

 

[tlitody]

You guys forget that there are a lot of different types of photography and not everyone in the world is a photojournalist like Peter Turnley. A journalism type photo doesn't need to be sharp, but there's really no excuse for a landscape or architectural photo not being technically perfect unless you're doing something like pinhole or holga/toy camera work.

Oh yeah? How bout the Irish artist Anthony Klitz, he painted london landscapes. You won't find a sharp one. Can't we photographers start something like an impressionistic photography movement. Are we stuck in a rut ?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Oh yeah? How bout the Irish artist Anthony Klitz, he painted london landscapes. You won't find a sharp one. Can't we photographers start something like an impressionistic photography movement. Are we stuck in a rut ?

Been done, its called Pictorialism in the United States, but those photographers took care to focus correctly and they used tripods. The softness came from soft focus lenses and filters, textured and colored papers, and hand retouching work on the prints, which give a totally different and much nicer look than people today get by simply being careless and lazy. Pictorialist style fell out of style for decades here, but its being explored again by a lot of younger photographers.

 

[mto'brien]

Can't we photographers start something like an impressionistic photography movement. Are we stuck in a rut ?

Already happened with Pictorialism. It is actually having a sort of comeback these days...

EDIT: Sorry, Chris, I didn't see you beat me to it.^^^

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Already happened with Pictorialism. It is actually having a sort of comeback these days...

EDIT: Sorry, Chris, I didn't see you beat me to it.^^^

I think we were typing the same time, but I was faster with the POST button! 😀😀😀😀

 

[tlitody]

I want to see more. I came across these some time ago but rarely see anything like it today.

http://normanrileyphotography.com/page1.html

 

[mto'brien]

well, here's a painter (Richard Estes) that is obsessed with sharpness:

And a photographer (Irina Lawton) that isn't: