Seguro que a estas alturas, como buen aficionado/a devorador/a de fotografías ajenas, te habrás emocionado con alguna imagen sorprendentemente mágica o irreal que ha llamado tu atención, ¿Verdad? Esas imágenes extraordinarias casi seguro te evocan por lo menos una de estas dos preguntas: ¿Por qué? Y ¿Cómo? El por qué, tendrás que buscarlo en el fondo de tu ser, porque de eso se trata, eso es lo que quiere el/la artista, mostrarte lo más oculto de su ser, sus sueños, sus instintos? Y el cómo, lo intentaremos resolver en este artículo, pero primero haremos un breve resumen del significado del surrealismo para entender qué es y cuáles son sus principales objetivos y características.
Surrealism appeared almost a century ago and completely changed the way art was perceived, understood, understood and expressed, its revolutionary and provocative conception is based on spontaneity, uncontrolled creation of the mind, exploration of the subconscious and the world of dreams., to reach the true essence of the human being along this path.
- It is an art that goes beyond reality or social conventions.
- Seeks everything unique in the background of the human spirit.
- The wonderful.
- The ambiguous.
- The strange.
- All that is one of the most renovated spaces of our essence; our most basic instincts.
- For all this.
- It is an art that we conceived as unreal.
- That allows us.
- By its expression.
- To enter the magical and mysterious world of the artist who created the work.
The main drivers and creators of the movement were Marx Ernst, André Masson, Joan Miro, Man Ray, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali, all of which employed various techniques such as free writing, collages, the found object or the free association of images, among others.Other.
And now that you’re a little more in the context of surrealism, let’s see what we’re really interested in, how we can apply theory to the practice of photography, for that we will see 10 different ways of getting a surreal photograph.
La Perspectiva forzada es una ilusión óptica creada a través de la combinación de diferentes tamaños y planos en una imagen.
A moon in a basket, a dog in the foreground with an open mouth that seems to eat someone walking in the background of the picture?Or something as well known as the typical image of someone holding the Taj Mahal from above.
All these images are real, there is no editing behind, but it is the perspective used that gives us these impossible images that deceive our gaze.
Here is an example of this type of perspective
And here are some tips for creating images with a forced perspective:
Es una técnica bastante sencilla que puede aportarte resultados sorprendentes. Se trata de fusionar dos imágenes en una sola, a través de sobreponerlas una encima de otra.
Hay algunas cámaras que disponen de esta opción directamente en el menú, pero si no dispones de esta opción , hacerlo a través de un programa para procesar imágenes es muy sencillo.
Aquí tienes una imagen hecha con doble exposición
In this fantastic article you can read tips to create excellent double exposure images.
And don’t forget to take a look at the challenge that has been launched on this topic here, your images will surely inspire you.
As the name suggests, it is the technique of painting with light.You can get incredibly surreal images with a long exposure light show.Basically it’s about finding a preferably dark spot and a point of light that can be whatever you want; candles, flares, flashes?Anything that gives light, even the stars themselves or the moon, just to capture their movement, the poses must be long enough.
Once you’ve decided what you want to “draw,” it’s about placing your camera on a tripod and Bulb mode, which means the shutter will be open as long as you decide.And from there, you start drawing and creating a unique and amazing image.
Here is an image made with the lightpainting technique
If you need to know more about the process, you can read this Iaio article where it explains it perfectly.
And if you want to get a little more inspired, see what a fantastic selection of photographs taken with light painting brought the participants to the challenge of this theme.
It is a technique widely used by surrealist artists, and it is essentially a question of entering the art category of existing common or everyday objects, which are not normally considered artistic.For example, in 1960, Marcel Duchamp exhibited a bathroom at the New York Museum as part of his work, using this concept of found object, which can be a modified but still recognizable everyday object, and generally decontextualized, giving it a more unreal and shocking meaning.
And how is a picture worth more than a thousand words?Here is an image that adapts to the surreal technique of the found object:
Sure, you’ve made a lot of collages throughout your life, but have you tried it on photography?And I don’t mean any image editing program, I mean preparing a live scene by combining multiple images.For example, in a portrait. Look at the following image:
Simple, isn’t it? But at the same time surprising and mysterious
Surrealism, in an attempt to delve into the essence of the unknown, into the depths of the human being, has many doses of mystery and unreality.Light, as always, is your great ally in the search for everything you want to express.Give your images an unreality, a drama, magic… everything you can conceive of in your mind.It’s just a matter of being aware of your possibilities and knowing how to play with them.
Take for example the following image, it is an image that shines by its apparent simplicity, here there is only one face and a little light, but the effect obtained with the latter does not leave you indifferent.
A photograph is the sum of countless variables, starting with the imagination of each photographer, the knowledge of his camera, the behavior of light, the temperature of color and a long etc.The same goes for weather conditions, where misty landscapes are perhaps the most inspiring in surreal photography, because they evoke mystery or the unknown, because fog allows you to see something but not enough, which instantly makes you want to see more.There, feeling that something is happening but escapes your knowledge.
If you need advice on how to photograph fog, you can’t miss this article.
Since most of us share a fairly similar culture, we also share common symbols, which can be great allies in photography when it comes to transmitting a specific message and for the viewer to correctly perceive and understand it.
For example, a withered flower transports you to lost beauty; to decay, you associate wings with freedom, a butterfly to the ephemeral or a clock over time, these symbols are a message in themselves, and playing with them to explain your image can bring a very interesting visual narrative.
Is there anything more surreal than flying objects or people unable to themselves?To fly your protagonists, you have two options; one without Photoshop and the other with Photoshop.
The first option without an image editor is also known as Bed Jumping and, as the name suggests, is to jump on a bed and photograph the subject while in the air. To get this image, you will need support for your camera, flash, timer mode if you are the protagonist, camera in automatic mode and some other attempt to get the desired effect.
Here’s an article that contains everything you need to know about jumping into bed.
For the second option, yes, you’ll need some basics of Photoshop, but since surely many of you have already given yourself to its charms, it won’t be difficult for you.
Basically, is it about putting our theme? Flying over some surface that supports it: a box, a chair, etc., thinking if it can be easily removed in Photoshop, once we have the image of our subject and the material we use to hold it, we take a second photo of it scene without any object.
Here is a video tutorial where you explain it step by step
The possibilities of this technique are endless, as are your imagination and creativity, here are some examples of images:
Everything that allows us to change conscious reality to show our unconscious reality will be valid for your surreal photography.As you well know, there are many filters in the photograph, here is a list of some filters that you can find related to special effects.
Playing with them and getting to know them will open the doors of creativity.Of course, you also have the ones that offer most mobile phones today, so if you want to start playing with them and see their countless possibilities, you can start with The question, as always, is to take pictures, with what you have at hand and according to your possibilities.
Ready to turn your imagination into reality? Creativity above all, the possibilities in photography are endless, just like your imagination, and contrary to what you usually think when you look at a surreal photograph that inspires you, many of the effects obtained can be easily obtained, without the need for tweaks or tweaks.great knowledge of Photoshop.Yes, there are many who have worked with image editing programs, but many others shine precisely for their simplicity, their minimalist message, simple and deep, and on a personal level, it is these that make me stay in front of them more wondering more: Why?What, how? Because how it is relatively simple, it is about learning such or that program, but those that have been made with basic objects, simple, those that only need a little light, a piece of mesh or a deep message, are the ones that sometimes penetrate.the most, the ones you remember the most and the ones who most deeply touch the soul.
So there are no excuses to embark on the wonderful world of surreal dreams, ambiguity, surprise, mystery, feelings or deeper instincts?And show the world what you’re made of and what do you have to say about it?
Y si te ha resultado útil o interesante esta artículo, ya sabes, compártelo, ¡Gracias!