As Abstract As It Gets

Tips for abstract photography

- Nandana James

An explosion of colours and curves, obfuscated nuances and an uncanny attention to detail. Abstract photographers conflate all these elements to articulate their artistic freedom, flouting rules and focussing on those seemingly nondescript details. The result? An expression of the photographer’s idea of reality, transcending the conventional, rigid notions of what reality is. By way of a definition, abstract photography can be called an experimental and avant garde way of manifesting an abstract, imaginative version of the objective world, further subject to the creativity of the photographer.

Abstract photography is one of the most evocative means of affirming a popular sociological dictum that reality is nothing but a social construct. Though often fraught with claims that the art is too abstract to understand, the aura of mystique and enigma associated with abstract photography is elusive in any other form of photography. The abstract nature of such photographs also serves the purpose of taking the attention away from the actual object being captured, instead focussing on colour, shape, patterns, texture, lines and the like. Back when photography was still in its nascent stage, the notion of using photography for anything other than documentation seemed radical and outrageous even. But now, it is popular in unfathomable ways with the myriad options and possibilities thrown open by the advent of digital cameras, photo editing softwares and post-processing techniques. Social media platforms have also reaffirmed its popularity with multitudinous photos posted on Instagram with the hashtag #abstract, and with its numbers sometimes superseding that of #fineart and even #photojournalism. Though abstract photography challenges the conventions and rules applicable to other forms of photography, there are quite a few things to be kept in mind before making your foray into this abstract, nebulous form of photography.