Benchm
Name
Compare-Contrast Essay
Score 4
What is similar and what is different about paintings and photographs? Write an essay for your teacher, in which you compare and contrast paintings and photographs. Be sure to write about your ideas in detail.
Paintings and photographs share many similarities, but they are also different. I’m sure that Anne Geddes, the famous photographer of babies, may have a completely different view of her subjects than Leonardo da
Vinci had of Mona Lisa. Still, both ways of producing pictures can have incredible results.
Photographs and paintings are alike in many ways. First of all, both amateurs and professionals can make them. Professional photographers often create breathtaking images, and collectors will pay a high price to display such works in their homes. On the other hand, an amateur with a camera can simply point and click. Before you know it, the person fills photo album after photo album with exciting shots of family and friends. Similarly, a famous painter may spend years developing his or her unique style and finally become famous. Even though most amateurs will never be famous, they still can have fun with oils or watercolors. They will enjoy expressing themselves and giving their paintings away as gifts. It is wonderful that both forms of art can be enjoyed by many people.
Also, both photographers and painters can fix mistakes. Photographers
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can change images by airbrushing and by the way they develop film. For example, photographs of fashion models are sometimes airbrushed to make the models look flawless. A photographer can also develop a photo to look shadowy or bright. Likewise, painters can paint over an error or even scrape off certain kinds of paint. Though both types of artists aim for perfection, they might not reach it on the first try.
Despite these similarities, photographs and