What Is Photography and a Photographer?

Question

I've been thinking lately about the significance of photography and its relation to the viewer, photographer, and scene being photographed, which brings me to the question. What is photography? What does it mean to be a photographer? What is the difference between a photographer and a picture-taker, if any difference exists? As a secondary question, does the modern abundance of cameras affect the quality of today's photography? If so, how?

Wondering if anyone had an opinion on this topic? Of course, answers would be subjective, but if there's any blatantly best answer (yes yes, in my opinion), it'll get 10 points. If not, I'll leave it up to a vote.

Answer 1

Picture taker - just takes pictures of anyone or anything gets pictures printed at drugstores, walmart, ect.

photographer - takes pictures for money and has an eye for good backgrounds and color schemes to use in pictures, also most of the time they have the pictures printed on special paper in different sizes they also take time to cut backgrounds down to size thats called cropping

photography - is the act of taking pictures of money

Yes modern cameras do a lot for pictures they enhance each picture more

also a photographer as well as you can use a scan disk in cameras and take more pictures and then chose the best ones before you buy pictures.

not to long ago pictures where all taken on rolls of flim with only 24 or 36 pictures to take and you went a developer and had them developed most of the time you would have to pay for all the pictures and you only liked about half.

Answer 2

Call it vision, imagination, or seeing; it all comes down to the same thing: the ability to envision a final result in your mind's eye, and then to make it so with your tools at hand.

It's never been about the gear. It's always been about seeing something, knowing how you want it to look, and making it so. Making it so is the easy part; seeing it in the first place is what makes a photographer. Powers of observation are everything. Snapping a camera is trivial.

Photography will be different for everyone as it is very individual. What you are creating is individual to you the photographer. If we all took a photograph of the same landscape then they would all be different, as everyone would capture something different about the landscape through their own eyes.

Answer 3

Personally, I feel that taking pictures is the act of shooting what's immediately available in front of you.

In photography, you have an idea in mind; and whether it's planned or spontaneous, you explore all the possibilities and potential, even if it's just for a mere moment in time. The greater the risk, the greater the satisfaction.

It's all semantics, but you get the gist.

As for gear,a great shot is a great shot. It's what's behind it. Lots of nice photos out there by beginners. Many look great-- and the same. I like risk. Eventually, it takes you outside your comfort zone for some unexpected and fulfilling shots.