Basics of fine-art photography/Creating works in abstract photography

Abstract photography is a genre that is the art of displaying a visual image that has no direct connection with objective world.

Uncertain, vague, indefinite, ambiguous, indeterminate...

General information edit

Abstract photography, also known as non-objective photography, replaces the usual dogma of image recognizability by offering a kind of unreal image instead. A fragment of the natural scene is isolated in order to hide the original context from the viewer. Works in this genre are deliberately staged, demonstrating a seemingly fantastic combination of objects. The effect is achieved with the help of lighting solutions, shades, shadows, and textures; the goal pursued is to convey a feeling, sensation, or other impression.

This genre is based on the perception of form, color and lines (rather than the details and objects characteristic of a conventional image). Proponents of creative direction, abstracting from patterns and stereotypes, moving away from the standard representation, visually transfer the viewer to the world of strange, mysterious images.

Ways of implementation edit

You can create an abstract image using a standard set of photographic equipment — camera, darkroom, computer; or by direct manipulation of film, paper and other media, including digital ones.

The ability to think outside the box is important, combining an artist and a surrealist; to see a hidden mean in object that is featureless at first glance.


The photographs presented on this page were created by the author in 2022 (based on available material) specifically for Wikibooks and have not been previously published.

Gallery edit