Can photography be considered art? Definitely Yes. Although photography does not yet have the same global history as painting, sculpture, or theater, it does, and it is longer than cinema. Over the period of its existence, photography can boast of many great masters and really valuable, high-quality, historically important photos. In addition, they are recognized in the art world. Well, for the most Mercantile connoisseurs, the fact that photos can also cost millions of dollars will be important.
Exhibitions, galleries, auctions, international competitions, world recognition, films and books about great photographers, isn't it a recognition of photography as art? All the signs seem obvious.
About creators and masterpieces
But is every photographer a Creator? Absolutely not. We see a lot more people with cameras than photographers. Having a tool, no matter how expensive it is, does not make a person a Creator. It makes him the owner of this very tool – whether it is a camera for a thousand dollars or for ten. Expensive tools do not affect the price and value of the work. You can create masterpieces with simple tools and a simple camera. It all depends on the vision of the world, the moment, the understanding of what is happening, how much the photographer feels the world in General and the person in particular, if this is a portrait shooting.
It is portrait photography that attracts the most attention. Photos with people most often receive nominations in the annual awards, when they choose the best works for the year. This is not due to the fact that people are best in photos. Photos with people evoke deeper emotions. Such photos often touch on acute social problems. They draw the world's attention to a particular issue. Or simply convey the strong emotions and mood of the people being photographed.
For example, the works of Peter Lindbergh. They are filled with a certain depth of emotion and experience. The heroes of the photo are full of emotions and reflections. The emphasis on emotions, on memories. 90% of Lindbergh's works are made in black and white to emphasize the mood that he wanted to convey. These photos are like freeze-frames from an amazing movie. And it's not for nothing that Peter worked with Hollywood celebrities and world-class stars. Such photos are worthy of exhibitions and various galleries. If the author was interested and pursued other goals, then his works could be sold at auctions to those art lovers who hang pictures in their home or apartment.
We can say that Peter Lindbergh was a follower of the school of empathic portraiture. It is not quite correct to refer him to a certain direction, but given the principles that he followed in his work, this will be the closest. Peter empathized with the models. Many of them were his friends. This, too, was reflected in Peter's photographs. There was no constraint, no psychological barriers, no isolation. Unless the image being shot required it.
His characters were often melancholy, thoughtful, immersed in their experiences. But it was a dive for the duration of the shoot, a dive that Peter achieved because of the sympathy that was felt for him. He was jokingly called the hug champion. Therefore, you can imagine what a pleasant atmosphere reigned on the set... This is also art. The art of creating such a mood and creating similar works.
Of course, it's not just photos with people that win a calling. Take a photo that was seen by almost everyone who used a computer at least 10 years ago. Remember the splash screen on the Windows XP desktop? This photo cost Microsoft many millions. Few people know the author of this work, but it is a fact that millions of people around the world have seen it. Well, the authors of many paintings are also not known by people. Munch, Klimt, Bosch-not all of these masters are recognizable, but it is impossible to consider them far from art because of this.
The photographer's path
All the artists in the art and come because they want to Express themselves. Through paintings, plays, novels, music, sculpture, and photography. Photographers can and could paint pictures, but in the transience of the world choose the best option when you can draw with the touch of a button. At the same time, there is work both before and after. You should prepare a shooting scenario, work out an image, idea, prepare a model or models, and organize them all. And then do post-production. Photo processing, preparing for printing. Shooting itself takes less time than everything else. But this process is no less interesting and exciting.
Many of these moments pushed me to pick up the camera. Although, it is as a person with a camera that I have been for a very long time. As a child, Polaroid, then film cameras, the first digital "soap box", and after University, the first SLR camera and the desire to photograph everything. Only two years ago, I began to regard photography as art. There were first attempts to shoot people, organize a photo session and a set of fears, a lot of "what if" and hundreds of doubts about each professional issue.
Over time, I gained experience, added confidence, learned to work with light, build light schemes, organize shooting, solve questions about the location or what else I have to deal with in the process. Up to the point that I contacted the company of developers and found out the details of the location. Photography posed new challenges, and I had to solve them. And the further you go, the more interesting the tasks are. It feels like I've never had more fun than along the way. When you constantly create new challenges for yourself and raise the bar in the quality of work, in the quality of life, it is very cool.
With experience comes an understanding of how to implement a particular idea. And most importantly, these very ideas come to mind, and you have to think about them. Where to find a suitable location, what image is suitable for a person, what light scheme will be more advantageous, how can this be removed? Then, however, it happens that you look at ready-made photos, and you realize that you don't like them at all. At such moments, I thought that maybe this is not what I'm doing. But I re-read the reviews, objectively looked at my work in General, asked for constructive criticism, and continued to photograph, create and get up.
You can be as talented and even brilliant as you like, but only through hard work can you achieve results. Art is no exception. How much time van Gogh spent on copying paintings, on practicing drawing people... Only in this way can you achieve those significant results when your work begins to be noticed and exhibited in galleries. Or you need to have such a unique vision that the first works make a splash, they are noticed by different publications and popular Internet resources, and then the next morning you can Wake up famous.
Photography is definitely an art. It all depends on the approach in which it is implemented. Either this is banal reportage photos, and even with a stupid statement, or it is something interesting and highly artistic, thought out to the smallest detail in each photo, when you really create a picture that is not ashamed to hang on the wall in your apartment. And every time you need to strive to surpass yourself in a new job. Art also requires constant development.