Creation: photography

[in response to essay question #3]

Whether or not photography can be categorised as a ‘fine art’ is a debate that has been active since its invention (Deschin, 1960). Photography became a commercial industry in 1839 with the release of the daguerreo-type, created by the French inventor Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (Baatz, 1999). “Until the late 1870s, the technical complexities of the photographic process were so great that only professional photographers and a very few avid amateurs chose to pursue the practice. In the 1870s the photographer had, for example, to prepare the photosensitive materials; adjust the camera settings; expose, develop and fix the glass-plate negative; and print and fix the positive paper copy” (Jenkins, 1975). In present times, with the coming of new technology – especially digital photography – anyone with a reasonably decent camera has the ability to produce a fairly high quality of image. So where does that leave ‘professionals’?

Professional Vs Amateur:
When we refer to an ‘amateur’ photographer, we mean a person who takes photographs more for a hobby than an occupation. This is not to say that mothers who take photos of their family in front of a nice background on Christmas are amateur photographers. Rather, people who go out on a somewhat regular basis and take photos of whatever they want because they enjoy it.
For the professional photographer, the highest grade of equipment and most advanced software is essential. This will often include (although, depending on the job) a very expensive digital SLR camera (price ranging anywhere from five thousand to ten thousand dollars) and the latest version of industry standard image editing software (which is, at the moment, Adobe Photoshop CS4 which can be bought for around AU$900).

For the amateur photographer, these costs can be easily avoided. A decent digital SLR camera can be purchased for around one thousand dollars.
As for software, GIMP would be fairly well suited for an amateur’s needs. GIMP is an open-source program – i.e. free – which enables the user to perform most of the basic editing techniques.


Amateurism in Photography:
Amateurism has always been an important aspect of photography as a creative industry. Roland Barthes has said “unlike other art forms, in photography … it is the amateur who masters the profession rather than the professional as the amateur is closer to photography’s noeme (meaning, essence)” (Grange, 2005).

Roland Barthes

When talking about photographers as artists, how does one really tell the difference between an amateur and professional photographer? Perhaps a better question would be: what is an artist? It could be argued that an artist is not someone who merely creates aesthetically pleasing pictures, but rather someone who can look beyond the surface value of something and extract the meaning below. Someone with a heightened sense of awareness, things cease to be merely things and become variations of thought, experience, feeling and are expressed creatively through a chosen medium (Deschin, 1960). In understanding this definition of an artist, one can see that ‘artistry’ does not come from a fixed period of study or practice, but from life experience and acquired talent. Therefore, an amateur photographer is, in theory, just as capable in producing creative works as a professional.

“…it would be going too far to suggest that the painter acquires skills and the photographer does not, but photography’s peculiar relationship with chance means that an amateur can photograph in a more meaningful way than he can paint [sic]” (Grange, 2005). Here, Grange is referring to an element of photography that some people call 'in-built amateurism'. This general view of photography has been around since the 1880s, exemplified by the then Kodak slogan "You Press the Button, We Do the Rest" (Grange, 2005). One of the reasons for this view is the 'mechanical' aspect of photography; a mechanical instrument is the medium by which the artwork is created. Hence the criticism often lies is suggesting that the person behind the camera does less to create art than a painter standing in front of a canvas. However, what this criticism omits is the fact that the person behind the camera must react to and actively shape the subject matter at hand; the photographer must exercise the element of selection far more specifically than the painter (Deschin, 1960).


Photography as a Profession:
Photography has become an integral part of many industries. Advertising, real estate, fashion, journalism and tourism are just a few of the industries which utilise photography. In areas such as journalism - wherein the photographed subject may be sensitive - there are elements of experience and ethics which render an 'amateur photographer' useless. It is in these industries that professional photographers find their place; ‘amateurs’ do not usually possess the qualifications or experience required for the job.

One of photojournalism's most famous photos. 'Afghan Girl' taken by Steve McCurry in 1984.

Conclusion:
In the early years of photography - due to its technical complexity and high expense - only a few so called 'professionals' chose to practice it. Since the 1880s, with the coming of the Kodak Box Camera, technical advances have speedily made cameras more accessible and affordable to the budding photographer. Today, almost anyone with a decent camera can produce a high standard of image. Being able to produce a high quality image and perfecting an image is often the difference between a 'professional' or 'amateur' photographer. However, in terms of artistry, professionalism and amateurism seem to be less of an issue. As a profession, photography has become an important part of many industries. Some have even been revolutionised by it, like journalism for example. Photojournalism introduces an element of 'being there' that words could never replicate. It is in industries such as these that professional photographers find their place.



A short compilation of famous photojournalism images.

View this essay in Google Docs.

Bibliography

Books:

Baatz, Willfried. Photography: A Concise History. London: Laurence King, 1999. Print.

Grange, Ashley La. Basic Critical Theory for Photographers. New York: Focal, 2005. Print.

Newton, Gael. Shades of light photography and Australia, 1839-1988. Canberra: Australian National Gallery, Collins Australia, 1988. Print.

Journals:

Deschin, Jacob. "Photography as Art." Art Education 13.6 (1960): 7-10. JSTOR. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.

Jenkins, Reese V. "Technology and the Market: George Eastman and the Origins of Mass Amateur Photography." Technology and Culture 16.1 (1975): 1-19. JSTOR. Web. 20 Oct. 2009.

Millard, Charles W. "Photography's Problems." The Hudson Review 27.4 (1975): 577-81. JSTOR. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.

Snyder, Joel, and Neil W. Allen. "Photography, Vision, and Representation." Critical Inquiry 2.1 (1975): 143-69. JSTOR. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.

Websites:

Beckman, Tad. "Photography as Art." Tad A. Beckman. 24 Nov. 2004. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.

"Daguerreotype Photographs: The Daguerreotype." American Memory from the Library of Congress - Home Page. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.

Liukkonen, Petri. "Roland Barthes." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.

All images taken from Google Images.