Fine Art Landscapes

Neil is a multi-award-winning photographer based in Devon. His career in graphic design has given him a unique style and he runs a varied range of workshops including seascapes, woodlands and close-up photography. See more of his work at: www.neilburnell.com

What is fine art photography? This is a tricky question as it can mean so many things to so many photographers, and in the end there is no single ‘right’ answer to this question. But to me, fine art photography is a creation based on the vision of the photographer as an artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The result of fine art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion.

While there doesn’t seem to be a definitive explanation or set of rules for what a fine art image is, there are things that can help define what it is, namely the photographer’s vision, an idea they would like to convey, and the technique they use to achieve it.

Let’s take a look at this process: before work can become fine art, the photographer should have a vision of what they think their work will look like. Following that, the artist must have an idea they want to pursue, a message, or even an emotion they want to evoke. The idea can be anything: for example, it can be as simple as creating a long-exposure seascape using neutral density filters to slow shutter speed.

After getting a vision and an idea, you’ll want to think about technique. There are several techniques that can be used both in-camera and in post to achieve your vision. This is a bit easier to talk about on a case-by-case basis and as such I will go into more detail in this article regarding the techniques I use.

I’m going to share the process I went through to create five of my series of images. First, we’ll look at the vision and idea behind each, then the approach and techniques I