Demand of Illustrated Photography in Contemporary Art

Abstract

Photography is a widely known and celebrated art across the globe that gained even more popularity with the advancement in technology that provided every individual with a camera in their hands. The art of Photography has been used for ages for several purposes such as recording events, taking portraits, sometimes discovering the new world, selling and buying products through advertisement, etc. The advancement in technology has revolutionized the art of clicking pictures into an entirely different skill called ‘Illustrated photography’. This new art has thus transformed ancient photography. Unlike other photographers, professionals here use photos to illustrate any action, story, or any other product in a better form i.e., with some form of visualization that not only makes the product more interesting but also provides customers with a virtual tour of whatever product they are considering for their purchase. Therefore, they are ideally creating a fantastic and more realistic scene that would be impossible to photograph. As a consequence, illustrated photography gained acceptance as it offered all those opportunities that photography couldn’t. As both photography and illustrated photography is a means of visual communication and expression; sharing a common foundation of aesthetics; this study endeavours to understand and study the history, evolution, and characteristics of illustrated photography. Further, it focuses on drawing distinction between photography and illustrated photography along with its emergence. Moreover, the research endeavours to investigate the major illustrators along with the pioneers in the field of illustrated photography with their contributions. The study also attempts to trace the difference in the function of both photographers and illustrators and the contribution of newly skilled illustrators in the field of art and aesthetics.