Photography

The main difference between photography and more traditional visual arts, such as painting, is the complexity of its technology. In any of the arts, the first step towards excellence is mastering technique - learning to use a specific technology skillfully and effectively. With regard to photography, this means that you must learn to control the camera and darkroom equipment, rather than letting them control you. No artist, however creative, can produce a masterpiece without a sound basis in technique. On the other hand, no amount of technical skill can make up for a lack of artistic vision. Both of them are essential. The goal of any artist is to use good technique creatively. Simply speaking, a camera is a machine that produces a two dimensional (flat) copy of a three dimensional scene. The process by which this is done may seem like magic. (In fact, when cameras were first introduced, many people all over the world thought that they were magic.) Fundamentally, however, there's no magic in the camera. It is just a box with a hole in it. You supply the magic. When you as the photographer, use a camera creatively, it changes from a simple and mechanical machine into an artist's tool. Instead of making random copies of things, it begins to say something about them. Here are some of the technical questions a photographer must answer to every photograph: How will the lighting affect the clarity and mood of the photograph? How fast should the shutter speed be? How large a lens opening should be used? What should be in focus? What belongs in the frame, and what does not? What lens should be used? All these factors influence each other, and they all affect the final photograph. A photograph is "successful" in the technical sense when these factors all work well together and are combined with correct darkroom procedures. When a creative composition is added, the photograph becomes aesthetically successfully as well. You must learn how to control each of these factors to achieve the effect you want. But it will take time. As you may already know, it's often hard to keep all of them in mind every time you take a picture.

A lot more matters in a true photograph. A photograph is, or should be, an artistic interpretation of an event,  person or object. Its purpose is to tell the viewer something about its subject. It should show not just what the subject is, but what it is like. And it should do so with impact and style. To accomplish this, a photograph must be composed. All its elements must be selected and arranged to work together toward some unified effect. The main difference between a snapshot and a photograph is the care with which each is produced. Taking a snapshot involves little more than pointing the camera in the right direction and clicking the shutter. Taking a photograph requires paying attention to every detail within the frame, and getting all of them just right, before the shutter is clicked. That is what composition is basically all about: paying attention. No matter how interesting your subject may be, you have not really photographed it until you have placed it carefully within the frame, gotten rid of anything that distracts attention from it, made sure that all the various elements are working together. In a broad sense, the subject of a photograph is far less important than its composition. Absolutely anything can be photographed well or poorly. Once you've begun seeing with a photographer's eye, you'll discover that there are wonderful images all around you far more than you could ever hope to capture. Whether you continue to practice photography or not, the way you look at the world around you will probably be changed forever. Photography is an art of discovery. It is an exploration of the endless variety of line, texture, shape, light, motion and perspective - all the fundamental elements of composition. Before focusing on each separate element, it is important to develop a sense of how they all work together. Not many people have an opportunity to learn to explore the world in this way. Enjoy the exploration.