Photography has come a long way in getting recognised as an art form. While painting is an abstract art, Photography focuses on the physical realm. A photographer’s eyes capture a scene from reality. Their visionary approach turns a simple reality into a piece of art. Have you heard the phrase, “Beauty lies in the eyes of a beholder?” The same applies to a photographer; Art lies in the eyes of the photographer. However, recent technological advancements have blended the digital dimension and reality. It is becoming increasingly challenging to tell the difference between real and computer-generated graphics. However, it was all possible with the help of photography. How’s that? Let’s discover.
Replicating Reality
As humans, we have continually striven to replicate and create reality. Think about all the video games so far. The ones that started as a block of pixels have now advanced to the graphics level, where they appear photorealistic. We are continually chasing a perfect replication of reality in video games. The same applies to ‘digital arts.’ Indeed, there are many different branches, but all the advanced software and tools focus on bringing the most realistic results possible for the artists. We get inspiration from reality, after all. Whether it is drawing a tree, a firetruck, or something else, all exist in the physical realms, and that’s why we can imagine drawing it.
Manipulating Reality In Photographs
Almost every artist and photographer has heard of the photoshop tool. What was its purpose? To become a versatile photo editing tool. It was then used for photoshoots of the models to tweak their features, makeup and more. Indeed, makeup could only do so much; they had to rely on photoshop for editing. At first, it was all about capturing reality, but with continually advancing tools. We also started using our creative sides to edit and enhance the photographs. This led to many abstract concepts, as well.
Photography As A Base Of Creation
Today, when we want to draw something, like a world, or a scene, we take references from the photograph. Even if you want to draw a human being or a creature, you need photographs to show you the details. The visuals, even if in digital format, are all photographs. We are also rapidly moving towards AI tools. The tools that can change your portrait into scenery or more. This advancement, while astonishing, still uses photographs as a baseline to do anything. This shows that photographs, in any format, have become the backbone of the rising digital arts.
Creating Arts Through Photographs
Now, taking the example of AI arts tools once again, we can tweak any photograph using AI tools. However, when you go overboard with the basic editing, the photograph turns into digital art. A photograph is only a photograph for as long as it is relatable to reality. Once it becomes an abstract concept through editing and art, it becomes something entirely new. And this new spectrum is known as digital arts. Now we have different tools and algorithms, all working to create art. You might have heard of generative arts, as well. All of these tools utilise photography as the base, or the reference, to work optimally. And hence, photography is turning out to be the mother of digital arts.
Photography In The Realm Of Digital Arts
Let’s take an easy-to-understand example here:
When you capture a photograph today (via camera, phone, etc.), it is stored in a digital format. Ergo, it is already digital media, not physical media.
If you edit it further through tools, you’re only magnifying what wasn’t possible in reality. Hence, it turns the photograph more into digital art.
If you go too abstract, it will turn into a complete digital painting, portrait, etc.
If you don’t go too abstract and stick to realism, it is still a digital art form at this point.
It doesn’t mean that photography makes digital art any easier. You still need to have a creative outlook to understand the implications. But considering the alternatives (like painting, drawing, etc.), it is certainly an easier way of generating digital art, even for those who want to do it as a hobby.
There’s no need to create an NFT for art to become digital art. But platforms like SEED.Photo have made it easier to turn photographs, or your art pieces, into NFTs.
Photography In The World Of NFTs
There’s no need to create an NFT for art to become digital art. But platforms like SEED.Photo have made it easier to turn photographs, or your art pieces, into NFTs. What are the implications here?
You can upload photographs, including the RAW files, and turn them into NFTs. It will be like turning your photographs into Digital Art.
You can edit your captured photographs and turn them into different versions for a series of NFTs.
There are many platforms out there that allow creative digital art (done via innovative tools, graphic designing, etc.) but not supporting photography. As we believe photography is the mother of digital art, as the oldest form of digital media, we are firmly working on expanding photography and getting it recognised as digital art.
Revamp – Photography’s Association With Creativity
Once upon a time – Photography was just about capturing the moments taking place in reality. Two personalities, like presidents meeting together, would be captured in the photograph as an evergreen moment. Later, it became available to the masses, and people started capturing all sorts of moments. Then came the individuals with a visionary approach. They saw the beauty in nature, real life, portraits, and more. Hence, we received photography as an art form that everyone could enjoy. These people could see the beauty in the mundane reality and, with editing tools, could enhance it further to look fantastic. And now, we have high-end editing tools that enable photographers to manipulate their pictures and generate new art forms. This transcends to the Digital Arts. Hence, it is proof that photography is already the mother of digital art. It doesn’t have to become the mother of digital art. The sooner the artists worldwide acknowledge it, the better it will be.
SEED Editorial team is the department within our Creative Department that reviews submissions, edits, and formats manuscripts and prepares them for our blog publication. Our team of editors also create and publish genuine manuscripts, so they are ready for publication on the SEED blog.
The photography industry, which was valued at $10.79 billion globally in 2019, faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, resulting in a steep decline to $7.65 billion. Major camera manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fujifilm saw substantial revenue drops, while the global photography services market fell from $36.42 billion in 2019 to $27.3 billion in 2020. Despite a slow recovery from 2021 to 2023, the industry has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, with 2023's valuation still 11% below 2019. The rise of smartphone cameras capturing 85% of all photos has also impacted traditional camera sales, presenting ongoing challenges for the industry.
In Web3, protect your IP by registering it on the blockchain, using cryptography for security, constantly monitoring for infringement, and leveraging AI-driven platforms. These strategies help safeguard your digital assets in a decentralized environment.
Money has been a cornerstone of human civilization and economic development. It's a way to store value and acts as a medium of exchange, allowing people to trade goods, services, and more.
