Sunday Spotlight On: When does it become fine art?

With a documentary/photojournalism background I find myself struggling to convert over to fine arts photography. For so long I have always been told that the two does not coexist and that fine arts is more visually appealing while documentary work needs to just be approached heads on. I was also told that posing your subjects whom you are documenting takes away from the storyline and it becomes portraits instead of documentary work. If documentary photography is about infinite situations, actions and results and photojournalism is about life in real time, then why can’t I make these into fine art photography? I choose to look at the “staged” images that I create as a paradox of reality. It is real life situations in a staged setting.

I am in the beginning stages of creating a series of fine art portraits on children and their heritage. Being located here in Hawaii, there are tons of different nationalities that are living amongst each other either transplanted, natives or military families such as myself. The children which whom I come across are sometimes dressed in their native heritage clothing while other families tend to dress their children in everyday attire. I find it fascinating when people pass their heritage and beliefs down to generations in order to know where they came from. These children know their past and where they came from, but what about the children who do not know? I recently mentioned to a friend about my concept and that I needed more people to complete my series. The next day I got a phone call from a genealogist from the University of Hawaii that they would like to speak to me for a collection of fine arts portraits of their subjects. After I met with the department heads and explained my vision as well as showing them some portraits that I have already completed, they commissioned me to create the entire series with their real life subjects after they have been notified of their heritage. This will be a 12 month commission and although some things will change, I can still explore creative ways document my original idea but with children and adults. 

I created the image shown for a class assignment but it did not quite fit with the rest of my already existing images. I wanted to pursue this as documentary but still play with the idea of making these into fine art. I believe that as I continue to explore what type of photography makes me happy, I will begin to create images that represent my style and all of the numerous ideas that are swirling in my head.

Quiana P Jackson. Heritage, 2014. 

I am your Sunday Funday Ambassador! Go forth and shoot!