My answer is : How the hell would I know?
It’s an interesting question that I read in a photography forum. Some excerpts from that question …
Competent photography, we argued, could be attained by most people. As a competent photographer you could take some nice pictures of sunsets, supermodels on beaches or race cars. You may know all there is to know about tripods, lenses, ISO numbers and the like – and be able to put that information to good use “out in the field”, as it were. A competent photographer could show their photos to people and elicit comments like “Wow – that’s nice!”
But what defines a “photographer as an artist”?
We all know what that means (I think) – the photographs transcend the normal “here is a picture of something” or “this is what I saw once” type function, and start becoming something else.
I am unsure of where to draw the line between “artistic” and “pretentious” when it comes to such things – and am also unsure as to whether “photos as art” necessarily have to prove a point, as it were.
So what’s your take on this?
i’ve been trying to figure this out myself for quite some time. 🙁 lol
simply put, artistic expression is one wherein the photo is trying to achieve a certain effect. if a photographer simply takes a nice scene and displays it. i wouldn’t call it art at all, that’s called journalism. however, if say a photographer wants to use the colours in a sunset to represent the dying glory of the day or something, this, i call art.
at the end of the day, art is about expression. and i dont think people express by chance or mistake. lots of painters and sculptors out there have a certain thought process as to how to draw or sculpt, and then do it in accordance to the impact they want it to achieve.
😀
Kinda agree with you, Gerald. One thing I realise is that many people seem to take a photo, then go home sit in front of the PC and try figure out how to interpret it, give it an interesting title and try to make it ‘art’ instead.
well, unfortunately in asian cultures, the form is often emphasized more strongly than the function 😀
shouldn’t it be the other way round?
the title of the photo should be already in your head when you want to shoot it. not only after you’ve shoot and sit in front of it trying to think of a title.
just my thoughts anyway.
Candy, that’s the way I love to make my photos but I’ve seen and know of some who does it the other way round. Nothing really wrong perhaps but I somehow find doing that uncomfortable. Maybe it’s just me. 😛
Gerald, wow. i really like wat you’ve said. I’m gonna work on that.. brilliant!
Yep, art has no rules or boundaries anyway… 😛 No right or wrong way to create art.