Abstraction
 Part 3 Abstraction, Art and Documentation

Do not copy nature too much. Art is an abstraction.
Paul Gauguin
1 - Introduction

In this essay, part three of a four parts series about creating abstract photographs, I want to take a look at the different goals we can have for creating photographs.  The purpose of this endeavor is to bring clarity to our motivation as photographers and to outline the differences between abstract and documentary images.
2 - What Is Our Goal When Creating Photographs?
I see four main goals for creating photographs.  The reason we create photographs can be to:
1 - Document the subject
2 - Capture an expressive or emotional moment
3 - Create artistic photographs
4 - Create abstract photographs
Let’s see what these four categories consist of.
3 - Document The Subject

Documenting the subject means taking photographs that show the subject as it is, the way it looks to anyone that sees it.  No attempt is made to use a dramatic quality of light or composition.  There is nothing remarkable about the image ex...