Horror and Macabre Photography Defined

We horror fans are a unique breed of people. Not unlike those that jump out of planes, hang from tall bridges on nothing but a glorified rubber band, or gamble with ridiculous sums of money, we get a thrill from being scared. Two professors at UC Berkeley in California performed a revolutionary study which showed that some people can experience positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Using horror movies and horror movie fans, these professors showed that "the peak of [the horror movie fans'] happy feelings occurred during the most frightening segments of the film clips". What does that mean? It means that horror fans are happiest when they're most scared. [You can read more about the study here: Can horror make you happy?]

So why am I telling you this? Well, first of all if you're a horror fan, you should feel a little special right about now. And also because it's more proof that our brains all function differently. People who don't enjoy horror simply feel different emotions (i.e., only the negative ones). We all respond to art in different ways as well, even within the same genre such as Horror and Macabre; the variations all affect us differently. There are different types of horror. There is the blood and guts a la the Saw movies, there is the atmospheric horror a la Hitchcock, there are representations of real death and killers a la SE7EN, and the grotesque/disturbing/supernatural a la Poltergeist and the Exorcist... I could go on, but you get the idea: there is a big variety in what constitutes "Horror and Macabre". Furthermore, if you noticed, I reference a lot of movies and that is because I see this genre of art as entertainment. Just like horror and dark films are entertainment, so is Horror and Macabre Art Photography.

What is Horror and Macabre Art Photography?</u>
The Horror and Macabre Photography Gallery is a very specific genre and the gallery description states that it is intended for "photographs which focus on the frightening, grotesque and disturbing." That may seem like a rather broad definition, but it actually narrows it down to a very specific type of art.

First, this is a photography gallery which means that the majority of the piece should be created in-camera. Adding blood splatter brushes, a crackled texture to skin, or cloning out the iris and pupils of your eye makes your work a photomanipulation.

Second, and most importantly, the "frightening, grotesque, and disturbing" refers to work that has an atmosphere. Again, think about horror movies. Despite the fact that there are many different sub-genres of horror, they all have one thing in common... atmosphere. That eerie creepy feeling that crawls up the back of your spine, the bump in the night, the twisty turny thing your stomach does when the splatter of blood hits the ground.... THAT is atmosphere.... it's the demon in your closet waiting for the night to fall to come get you and the thrill of it all.


What is NOT Horror and Macabre Art Photography? - The Miscat Problem</u>
What ISN'T horror and macabre because it doesn't have an atmosphere? A graveyard on a Tuesday afternoon, your friend with a hangover and messy hair, gummy bears killing each other, your Halloween costume picture in your living with your little brother's 5th grade portrait hanging on the wall in the background.

Personally, I believe that art thrives and grows better without definitions and rules because it is my personal belief that, as artists, we need to keep our minds as open and free as possible. But when it comes to submitting work on dA, it's important to remember that while you can create anything your mind can conjure up, you should submit to the proper gallery. Why is this so important? Because when browsing for art on dA, ANY art viewer should to be able to find the art they are looking for when they go to a specific gallery. Besides, it's not fun looking in a gallery for awesome art of a certain kind and finding everything but the very images you are looking for.

I don't like focusing on the negative aspects of the gallery, so this will be pretty much the only time I bring up the miscats and the only time I will outline what does not belong in the gallery. I believe we can, together, create a wonderful gallery where horror and macabre fans can go to get their fix. We can do this by focusing on the great work presented. Massive features to follow If you know of work you want featured, get a hold of me!

But in the meantime, I do want to go over what does and does not belong in the gallery. If you're considering submitting to the Horror & Macabre photography gallery, have recently submitted there and aren't sure if you put your work in the right place, or simply want to gain a better understanding of the genre on dA, please take a few minutes to read on. Let's roll up our collective sleeves and dig right in!


IMAGES THAT DON'T BELONG:</i>

Ghost Snapshots

That little pale circle in your snapshot may or not be unearthly ectoplasm, but the image is still a snapshot and belongs in you Scrapbook.

Real Life Tragedy

If you witnessed and documented a horrible car accident or a horrific fire, your clear and well-presented image and commentary on the tragedy probably belongs in Photojournalism. Just because the event was horrific and macabre, doesn't mean that it belongs in the Horror and Macabre gallery. Remember, this is a gallery intended for dark entertainment with an atmosphere, not the documentation of real horror. Needless to say, a snapshot of your car wrecked after an accident is a snapshot and belongs in your Scrapbook.


Real Death

Be it human or animal, there is absolutely no doubt that real images of death or often both horrific and macabre. There have been many renowned photographers that have photographed corpses and have done it in such a way that to call it anything but art is sacrilegious. If you want to know what that work is like, you can look into Joel-Peter Witkin, although be warned that you will see images that many would find disturbing. The current images of such nature that are submitted to the Horror and Macabre gallery are of animals that have been killed in one way or another and also of human corpses either in autopsy or preserved. Do these belong in the Horror and Macabre gallery? Do these belong in a gallery that is otherwise 98% fake special FX?  Is it too jarring for a browser to see a tons of images of fake death only to stumble upon a real one? Well, this becomes a judgment call and it's often more of a gray area than anything else. Some of of these images are the documentation of death and a editorial commentary on it. In those cases, these works might be better suited in Photojournalism. However, most images are snapshots of roadkill with absolutely no artistic intent and they will be treated as snapshots and moved to the Scrapbook.  If an image is deemed just unnecessarily gory it will be reported as a Policy Violation. These types of images will be treated on a case by case basis and I genuinely welcome any and all input that you have. If you have strong feelings about this one way or another let me know, I'm ready to listen. A strong community response accomplishes a lot more than you may think.


Photo-Manipulations

It's becoming increasingly difficult to draw a line between photography and photomanipulation, and in a lot of situations being able to draw that line isn't important. But for the purpose of submitting your work to dA - somewhere where people browse the different galleries to look at specific types of art - it does matter. The gallery description for photography here states that the gallery is for images "featuring a very minimal level of digital manipulation". That leaves a lot open to interpretation as people's ideas of 'very minimal' differ. Here's a helpful guideline: if your work is a composite of two or more images, if you've added heavy brushes and textures, added blood, changed facial structure, or just inverted your image it belongs in the photomanipulation, digital art, or darkroom gallery.


Funny Stuff and Liek OMG i'm sooo scary!!11!

Often, there are photographs submitted to the Horror & Macabre photography gallery which would be much more at home in the Humorous photography gallery. If your photograph is less about capturing the darker things in life and more about making people giggle (Lego men murdering each other, bleeding gummy bears, fruit with angry human faces drawn on it, to give a few examples) or is 'LOL scary', it does not belong in Horror & Macabre. Remember though, the Humorous photography gallery is still an art photography gallery, and isn't a dumping ground for snapshots.

If your description reads ANYTHING like "Liek OMG i'm sooo scary!!11!" and your image is in the Horror & Macabre gallery, it's probably in the wrong place. You with a hangover, your friend falling over, your cat yawning - NOT Horror photography. Horror & Macabre is an art photography section, not a place for your snaps...no matter how scary that hangover might have been. These images belong in your Scrapbook.


Halloween Costume Snapshots

Halloween can be a scary time of year, and while you might find it a bit disturbing to see your friend dressed up as a vampire pretending to bite someone else, it doesn't mean that the party snap you take of this belongs in the Horror & Macabre gallery. There's a huge difference between a costume and set created for the purpose of taking an artistic photography and a snapshot of someone who just happens to be wearing a costume at a party (or a theme park, or a convention), and it's important to remember this when submitting your work to dA. If you create an amazing costume from scratch and want to show off your textiles skills, you can submit a clear, well-taken photograph to the Artisan Crafts --> Textiles --> Costumes gallery. Photos of you, your friends, someone at a party or a convention in costume are generally snapshots.


Special FX Make-Up

While special effects make-up is often a big part of horror photography, if you're an SFX make-up artist and you want to show off your make-up skills without the greater context of a considered concept, take a clear, focused, well-composed photograph and then head on over to Traditional Art --> Body Art --> Make-up gallery. Ask yourself what YOUR art is - when you planned your work, did you plan the make-up or the photograph? When you answer this, you'll know where your image should go. That said, when submitting to the make-up gallery your photograph should still clearly show your hard work at it's best - no blurry webcam shots here!


Scary Places, Not So Scary Situations

Late at night, a graveyard, a church, a forest or even that alleyway out the back of your apartment block can be a creepy and downright macabre place to be (and to photograph), but on a bright sunny day, these are simply places. Remember that Horror & Macabre photographs should "focus on the frightening, grotesque and disturbing". A graveyard, war monument, church or decrepit old building is not, by default, frightening or grotesque in any weather or at any time of day. Consider the meaning of your photograph and the atmosphere it presents, not simply where you took it.


Theme Parks and Museums

So you went to a theme park with a horror-themed ride and took a snapshot of the ride, or the entrance to the ride, or some of the people who work at the theme park wandering around in their costumes. It's Horror & Macabre photography, right? Wrong. It's a holiday snap. Furthermore, going to a museum and photographing a display of shrunken heads, mummies, or ancient torture devices does not automatically mean the image belongs in Horror & Macabre photography. Again, consider your photograph, not just where you took it.


Ever So Slightly Goth

Ok, so you might find goths a bit frightening (or think that your gothiness makes you a bit frightening to other people), but a portrait of someone wearing black eyeliner and looking into the camera with wide eyes is not automatically a Horror photograph. Have a look through the People & Portraits galleries to find somewhere more appropriate for your portrait. A photograph of you in all black and in dark makeup in a graveyard does not automatically mean your image is Horror and Macabre. It might be more appropriate in Emotive Portraits depending on your message. Remember, Horror and Macabre Photography focuses on a genre that is more like horror movies rather than just something your parents might be frightened of. And if it's a snapshot (or a badly lit grainy mess taken with your webcam), put it in your Scrapbook.


Minor Injuries

Had stitches? Got a blister? Took a snapshot of it? Please don't submit it to the Horror & Macabre photography gallery. It's still a snapshot, and while you might find your stitches disturbing, a snap of them that you took with your phone does not constitute art photography. If you want to show off you icky injuries, keep it to your Scraps or your journal. And it should go without saying that pictures of REAL self-injury do not belong on dA at all. I cannot stress that last part enough.



(Majority of sections written by and/or adapted from the Horror and Macabre Guide written by EveryNextDream and arachnid15 and a great big "Thank you!" goes out to both for laying down the groundwork.)

For more information on Horror&Macabre Photography, please visit the Horror and Macabre Photography Resource Guide.