One thing that isn’t discussed often is the different phases that photography, as an art, has been through. Art prior to photography, for instance, has a long history with several distinct periods. Classical Antiquity, came directly before Renaissance Art, which was followed by the types of art that were produced during the Age of Enlightenment — Rococo, Neo-Classicism and others. Photography has
distinct periods like this, but the art form isn’t nearly as old, so they are fewer and shorter.
To date, we have passed through three distinct phases: traditional photography, modern photography and postmodern photography. Some would even argue that we have moved on from postmodern to post postmodern, but that is a discussion for another time. For now, let’s take a look at each of the unique
phases and the kinds of photography that they are known for...