What is was the Pictorialism Movement in photography?

Pictorialism, depicted photographs more as pictures then as real life photographs. the photographer would modify the photographs that they had taken and change it into something new and more like a painting. people who took pictorialism photographs were not considered as straight photographers. they  broke away from the path that “normal” photographers took and created something unique and new for its time.

In this image the photographer modified an image that he took and reinvented it as art. the photographer played with the different aspects of the photograph and changed it to make it to look like a painting instead of a photograph.

What was the straight photography movement in photography? Why was it popular amongst photographers?

Straight photography was a movement that was very popular amongst photographers during the mid 1950s. Photographers would take really sharp images that focused on a subject while also focusing on the detail in the photograph. It was popular with photographers because it depicted the realism of the world in a “pure way” without any bias.

In this photograph the photographer took a photo of a pepper. The photographer purposely made the photograph clear and sharp to distinguish it from a painting.

How have Edward Weston and Aaron Siskind (above) been influenced by the Straight Photography Movement?