People commonly view digital photography as a technological advancement which created a separation between modern times and the old-fashioned studios from earlier eras. Our real actions in the world do not create any genuine advancement. The process of asking a model to position her body on one leg while releasing her shoulder tension and rotating her head slightly amounts to more than simply placing her in a pose. You are quoting a text written in stone 2,500 years ago.
Fine art photographers from today need to recognize the historical connection between Carrara marble and silicon sensors because they originated from the same time period. It is the difference between a snapshot of a naked body and a timeless image of the human form.
The Canon of Polykleitos: Why We Stand the Way We Stand
The Greek sculptor Polykleitos made the bronze statue Doryphoros (The Spear Bearer) during the 5th century BC. The statue functioned as a physical monument which displayed its fundamental values through its design. Polykleitos introduced the world to contrapposto — the counterpoise.
Look at your portfolio. Your most effective photos show models who maintain straight body positions when they stand up. Probably none. People naturally seek out the S-curve shape which appears when the hip extends while the opposite shoulder lowers. The exact position which Polykleitos defined consists of being both relaxed and prepared to start moving. He understood that beauty emerges from irregular forms which create harmony through their rhythmic patterns. The process of telling a model to break the body line requires the same geometric solution which the Greeks accomplished.
Digital Marble: The Texture of Light
Digital photography presents a dangerous attraction which photographers need to protect themselves from because it offers flawless results. Artisans used their skills to create a polished marble surface which duplicated the way light passes through human skin (subsurface scattering). The Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles gained fame because of her stunning appearance and because the stone structure appeared to allow light to pass through it.
The current practice of using Frequency Separation and AI skin smoothing techniques produces images which contain excessive digital modifications. The process converts human skin into plastic materials instead of producing marble-like objects. People need to make texture their primary concern because the digital age demands it to achieve classic visual attractiveness. The image requires us to remove all skin pores together with vellus hair and minor vein appearances. Why? The great sculptors maintained human characteristics in their work because they chose to perfect human shapes through their materials. Your “material” consists of pixels yet you focus on biological subjects.
The “White” Lie of Antiquity
Many people are shocked to learn that Greek statues existed with their original vibrant paint schemes which used bright colors. Time exposed their true nature until they became the white marble which people honor as a work of art today. The historical event which occurred by chance established the complete visual style which we now recognize as “Fine Art Black & White.”
The process of removing color information (chrominance) allows us to discover the shapes (luminance) which our minds automatically connect to the white remains of ancient structures. The process of converting raw files to black and white photography involves more than color removal because it transforms human bodies into historical artifacts which exist outside the present moment.
The Pixel is the New Chisel
When you are in the studio check your histogram but remember to consider the chisel. You are showing the actual form or you are only taking its picture? The tools have evolved from hammers to megapixels yet scientists continue their quest to discover the permanent mathematical structure which exists inside the short-lived biological body.
