The Photographer Who Legitimized Color

Photography Tips

Back in the days of photography, it was only black and white photos that were recognized by professional photographers as a true art form. Then came photographer William Eggleston with his vibrant and colorful images who was able to change all of this. He is credited with legitimizing color photography as a fine art form through his works. His photographs monumentalize subject matters that we come across in our daily lives. His ability to study, capture, and portray the complexity and beauty of the mundane world are what makes his work so special. To talk more about William Eggleston and his work, today we have writer and photographer Tatiana Hopper with us:

“Looking at the photography of William Eggleston is opening our eyes to the physical qualities of an image but also to the many life lessons that come with it.”

Before discovering and adopting color photography, Eggleston also started with black and white photography. And as Hopper shares in the video, you can see how spontaneous those photos were. It’s as if he was not very concerned about having a great composition, but instead focused more on capturing the interesting moment and what was happening in front of him.

After he was introduced to color photography, Eggleston turned to photographing more of the typical photography subjects. This included ordinary American landscapes, buildings, daily life, and objects. And he was not interested in their significance. It was their shapes, colors, and formal qualities that intrigued him.

Hopper points out how Eggleston’s photographs appear timeless. And that’s all because of how simple and genuine his images appear. People even classify Eggleston’s images as “dreams” and looking at some of the examples of his work, we couldn’t agree more.

Further into the video, Hopper also discusses how Eggleston used the concept of “emptiness” in his photography and also shares some images from his different projects. Be sure to watch the complete video to get better insight into Eggleston’s work.

What do you think of William Eggleston’s photography?