A Call to Overthrow the Cult of Sharpness!

John A. Stovall wrote:
I'm getting tired of seeing in photo forums all over the net posts
like this:

"Which is the sharper?" "I went through 8 before I got a sharp one."
"Should this upper left corner be sharper at f/1.4 in a 100% crop?"
"How do I know if I have a sharp one?"

I'm calling for an end to this. If you don't have something to say
with the photograph all the sharpness of a KH-11 lens system won't
help.

Photography is not about sharpness. It's about communication.

It's time we started looking at just what we want our photographs to
say not if they are sharp.

Smash the Sharp and Free Expression!



I could not agree more. Gaussian blur is a frequently used tool when I work
in Photoshop. Who wants to be able to count the freckles on a 30 year old
woman's face anyway? The only time sharp has any use is in pictorial
advertising photography.