Robert Adams’ “Beauty in Photography” discusses the themes of aesthetic, of form, and what makes a photograph truly “beautiful”. He writes about how photography, as an art form, is in a sense broad and limitless, yet at the same time relies on the photographer themselves being able to see and love the idea they wish to convey, and the practices through which they intend to capture their desired image. He goes on to mention how photography is an imitation of form, and how a beautiful photo can be fairly simple, and not shocking, but it must do so with the respect of its predecessors, and that one must take inspiration from existing works, whilst still creating something that feels inherently different. He makes an interesting case for how a good photo usually appears simple in its design, as if the camera was simply picked up and immediately a perfect representation of life was captured, and that there is an underlying question about why photographers go to such effort to create what is, in essence, a lie; One that takes a lot more effort than could ever be known simply by looking at the image. While I appreciate his views and reasoning, I believe that art being subjective means that one cannot simply define art, nor beauty, as a truly defined idea. With so many people producing and engaging with art, it is hard to agree that a blanket definition could ever be agreed upon by everyone, as art is meant to be appreciated differently by each individual. For this reason, his piece is an interesting look into his view of photography and its portrayal of beauty, but it does not merit being considered fact, as I myself as an artist and a reader did not truly identify completely with his ideas of what defines beauty.