Are you a photographer or an artist?

[karlyh]

I think that what you're doing right now is exploring your photography techniques much like an artist/painter tries out a new brush --he tests it out before he makes a work of art. So you are absolutely on track. You already have a vision, i.e. you go for what is pleasing to you, so whenever you take "photos like everyone else", remember you're just "playing with your brushes" --when you feel confident with your camera technique, you'll get closer to what you want in your photos. You're not a pretender

Good post, Karlyh

Thank you Helene...

I used to paint Native American art.... rather it be on wood or ceramics or canvas.. I mixed my own colors most of the time. Sometimes I would get stuck on a particular detail and I would have to step away from it. The color would come to me in the night... usually around 3am and I would be up painting... I had to, I seen it.. I needed to get it.
That's the best way I can describe how I feel behind a camera. It is like being in a zone and everything around me is tuned out. And I actually call it being in the zone..lol
Now if I can get the technical aspect to follow what is in my mind at the time.. I may at some point be pleased with myself. As far as I'm concerned, personally, for me... with the exception of a few photos.. I've been making 'snapshots'... Am I self critical?... very much so, but as honest as I can be and it is why I'm here, pushing to get that aspect that is missing and trying to learn the things that I need so it will ultimately apply to me and what I want to convey.

I've said all that to realize Helene said the same thing....... with less words..LOL Thanks peeps!

 

[Browncoat]

...I may at some point be pleased with myself. As far as I'm concerned, personally, for me... with the exception of a few photos.. I've been making 'snapshots'... Am I self critical?... very much so...

I think most of us feel this way. We're usually our own worst critic. Even with all the photos I've taken to date, there are maybe only two or three that I would actually hang on my own wall.

And I'm there with ya on the 3:00am thing too!

 

[Browncoat]

American Suburb X is an excellent website about photography and culture if you have an artsy, yet edgy urge to feed. There was an excellent post by Paul Graham that touches on the very subject we've been discussing. It's a great (yet long) read. Check it out:

The Unreasonable Apple

 

[Eduard]

Interesting read Anthony. I think the author is missing a point though. Photography, with a little effort to learn some basic tenets, is approachable to all of us and appeals to the lurking artist. It isn't all about making a gallery print.

 

[Browncoat]

Photography, with a little effort to learn some basic tenets, is approachable to all of us and appeals to the lurking artist. It isn't all about making a gallery print.

I think this is a valid point, but there is a flaw with it. Do we not try to separate ourselves from the weekend warrior with his point-and-shoot? Are we not calling ourselves "photographers" as opposed to just a camera owner? The distinction between ourselves and the other guys is almost always implied, because we aspire to something more than just the average camera owner's mentality of simply trying to capture a moment in time.

 

[ohkphoto]

average camera owner's mentality of simply trying to capture a moment in time

I'm thinking about the first primitive human that discovered how to "paint" something on the wall of his cave. Soon everyone was doing it, and don't we now call it primitive "art"? Maybe that's where the masses are right now with digital photography --it's that desire to "create" that drives the evolution of art. I think that "capturing a moment in time" is part of the magic of photography for anyone who has ever picked up any kind of camera.

And I love Eduard's comment about the "lurking artist" . . . it's a very good point.

Best Regards

 

[Ruidoso Bill]

Now I know what I am, a Lurking Photographer!

 

[Curt]

For me I think of the camera as an extension of my mind and eyes (what I see & feel).
I hope to create a visual that will provoke thought, to make people think.
I find a subject that interests me and hope it will interest others by showing that image to others. It depends on my mood at the time. The subject could be simple, or complex??
Sometimes it’s all about color, while other times it might be lighting, or shading & texture, but foremost it’s the subject its self. But I always try and make it interesting to myself first. I can only hope other find it interesting as well.

 

[Browncoat]

Take the following for example. Here is a straight-out of the camera shot:





Any schmoe with a camera could've taken this photo...in fact, one did. Me. I was recently at a MMA (mixed martial arts) event, and this is one of the fighters staring down his opponent between rounds. But because I am an artist, I saw something more in this scene. The bad lighting didn't distract me or discourage me from taking the shot. There was something in his face that made me press the shutter. THAT is what I wanted to capture. Now all I had to do was edit the photo so that everyone else could see what I saw:





This fighter's world is black and white. It's just him and the guy standing 20ft. away, and no one else matters. In fact, there is no cage, no crowd, no anything else. Every bead of sweat has been intensified because he has worked hard for each and every single one of them. Incidentally, the fighter loves this shot. So does the promoter, and is having this version blown up to poster size.

For me at least, the camera is just a tool. I don't fully understand DoF, proper lighting, or a number of other things, at least not yet. Frankly, I don't really care. When I look at something, my mind's eye interprets what I actually see vs. what I would like to portray. I do my best to use the camera to get it as close as possible so that I can do what I need to do to turn it into something dramatic.

And that's the difference. I think a lot of photographers do this on some level. They see something special and attempt to convey that to the viewer, as opposed to someone just taking a snapshot.

 

[fotojack]

Excellent examples and great explanation of what you see in a shot, Anthony. Well done.

 

[Carolina Photo Guy]

Am I an artist or a photographer? I paint landscapes so I must be an artist, right? But I also record imagery in stark reality. So I must be a photographer.
I think that we all are BOTH, depending on the subject matter and the moment. For example, Lensworks piece clearly conveys both stark reality and emotion. The emotional content
may have been enhanced in post, but the homeless person clearly was not posed for the piece.
On the other hand, Anthonys fighter was also a chance shot taken advantage of. However, the emotional content was enhanced in post. Either way, BOTH these pieces are art. And BOTH pieces are photography.
When I compose a landscape, I may use unconventional materials or tools. Does that make me MORE of an artist than the painter that uses ONLY normal brush and paints? Of course not. Each of us uses WHATEVER is at our disposal to capture and display our vision. Would Ugg have preferred a Nikon D90 and a large format printer over his finger and cave made paints? Well, probably not since he could not have plugged it in anyplace to charge the battery, but you get my point. We use what is at our disposal.
Perhaps we can call ourselves artographers?

Pete

 

[LensWork]

For example, Lensworks piece clearly conveys both stark reality and emotion. The emotional content
may have been enhanced in post, but the homeless person clearly was not posed for the piece.

Pete

No post enhancement. The image in my first reply to this thread was from a scan of the original print that I submitted to Life back in the '80's as part of a photo essay on the homeless in Los Angeles. The print was a straight print from the original negative, not even so much as any dodging or burning was done.

 

[CMAY]

I like photography as a hobby, but I also believe that it is a form of art. So I would like to think that I'am both photographer/artist. It really depends on the subject I'm photographing and what I choose to do with the photo afterwards. If I'm taking portaits for friends then I just consider that plain old photography. However, I like the candid photography the best ,when you capture those unexpected moments that you will never get back in one's life time and to me that could also be a form of art. Then there are the photos or nature, wildlife, insects, animals etc....those I also consider creating an art piece. It really doesn't matter the media you choose as long as you're expressing your artisic talents within you're photography.Its all about what is behind the lens and not in front so much!

 

[elliottimages01]

I am a photographer and i really love watching good photographs. Photography is my passion as well as profession. I enjoy my work a lot.

 

[johnwartjr]

This thread really inspired thought in me.. and clouded lines...

 

[PhotoAV8R]

I am a photographer and i really love watching good photographs. Photography is my passion as well as profession. I enjoy my work a lot.

Confucius say,

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. ​

(That's why I chose aviation as a career. It was great to think, "I'm getting paid to do this.")

I've got a lot of work to do to get from photographer to artist.
​

 

[kayte]

I like to think I'm a photographer first and artist second. I take photos and try have them tell a story of whatever moment or situation without any written words- so in essence, I am producing works of art.

 

[Carolina Photo Guy]

I like to think I'm a photographer first and artist second.

Why does there have to be a first or second? Why not BOTH equally?

Pete

 

[kayte]

Carolina Photo Guy: very true very true, never thought of it that way but you would think I would. Every shot I take I try to be artistic but obviously I'm a photographer...if that even made sense, lol

 

[photobugjb]

If I am working for a client usually I am a photographer.
If I am shooting for myself mostly an artist. I love them both.