Pictorialism

Photo Taken By: Edward Steichen

Photo Taken By: Heinrich Kühn 

The Pictorialist photographers believed normal photography was not art, because an invention was creating the photo, not a person. To make photography into a true art form, the Pictorialists would put vaseline on their camera lenses or chemicals on the photos. This created the effect seen in these two photos, causing them to look almost like paintings rather than photographs. I like this style because it's so different from most photos I see, which are in sharp focus and have bright colors. The soft effect of Pictorialist photos is interesting to me, and gives the photos an old-fashioned feel.