On Photography

I don't necessarily see a lot of photography as art. While there are photographers qua "artists" who utilize the medium to portray things, most of the time, I think people are using photography to display other people or nature's doing. Where the art is in photography is the individual's selection of their gear, framing, editing, grouping, and exposure.

Producing an appealing or "professional"-appearing photo is significantly less technically difficult than most other forms of what we consider art, though. An amateur musician cannot accidentally stumble upon a masterpiece as easily as a photographer can be granted an opportunity to capture something impressive. There are so many crutches that enable a photographer to feign artistic motive. An example being that utilizing gear like a film camera can enable a user's inexperience to appear endearing or intentional.

Is there something wrong with this? Not at all. Would I qualify most self-described photographers as artists, though? Also no.

A lot of the photos portrayed on this website fall victim to this exact problem I am proposing. They may be visually appealing, and I have learned how to utilize my eye and gear to produce an appealing photo, but those photos are not something I am producing with the intention of communicating a deeper message. After-the-fact meaning may be assigned to them by me or the viewer, but I think the intention behind the creation of the product is where art often lies.

The NameYourVices project is where an artistic vision is preconceived before shots are taken. I use other projects on this website to sharpen my skills with my toolset and produce appealing images.

Photography is a victim of the fact that, with several forms, you aren't granted the ability to even consider what you want to say before the shutter clicks. If photographers did so, stunning moments would be missed. I am not trying to say there is anything wrong with photography as a medium. I mostly just see it as less preconceived than its relatives. This also doesn't diminish the form; it is merely different and should be acknowledged.

Photography as a form raises the question, "When does a work become art?" The answer is dependent on the consumer; it doesn't even require the creator to believe the item has value, but I do believe photography grants the user much more leeway in this regard than other forms.