The pictorialism movement in photography shows the aesthetics of photography and a set of principles of photography as art. It is usually the main object in the picture in focus and everything else blurry. The straight photography movement in photography means the image has not undergone any changes. These photographers believe that the artistic quality of portraits is due to the theme, composition, favorable location, and lighting used. This kind of photo implies more details and makes the main object stand out. Photography began to be understood and appreciated as an art form, accompanied by innovative techniques and production techniques used by photographers.

The pictorialism movement in photography:

The straight photography movement in photography:

Edward Weston’s photographs mostly consist of one main subject that fills most of the space of the photo. The photos are all black and white, and the background is usually darker than the main subjects. This makes a contrast between the object and the background which emphasizes the main object. The straight photography movement had a big influence on Edward Weston because his artworks are all kinds of straight photography movements. He had been taking photos of both real and abstract objects discovered. Aaron Siskind is also a photographer who uses straight photography movement, his photos record the real world ‘seen’ by the camera in an abstract way. However, Uta Barth is not a photographer who uses this technique. Her photos were taken to investigate and observe behavior. In multiple of her works, she explores the transience of light and its ability to overwhelm and completely destroy human vision. Andreas Gursky’s work also does not show the elements of straight photography. His work shows large-format architectural and landscape color photos, often using high angles of view.