I was watching one of those reality shows one day (although I’m not really into reality shows). It was about some up-and-coming artists. One girl had her first art show. As people looked at all of her art, they would make their comments, naturally. One person talked pretty bad about photography, as if it is not an art because people just snap and shoot things. She said it’s the easiest form of art and too easy. I beg to differ. I’ve seen the type of stress photographers can be under. Yes, they are pointing and shooting something that already exists. But that’s not the end of the story. Depending on the subject, many photographers start working hours or days prior to the actual shoot. If they are working with models, that means working with multiple people to schedule dates, times, locations, discuss themes, concepts, styles and negotiate payment terms. Among other possibilities, many times these people would include the model, a make-up artist, and a hair stylist. At some point before the shoot, the artist also has to sketch out their plans for the shoot; how they want the make-up and hair, what type of clothes the model should wear, how should the light be, etc. etc.. After the shoot, the photographer has to go through every single photo (more than likely 100’s) to find the best shots. Then those shots have to be edited which can be a time-consuming process. Finally they have to wrap everything up by putting these photos in the desired form and getting them to the client. This is not an exact science I’m describing. I figure there are many other strategies and types of subjects that photographers use. My point is that it is not just as simple as “point and shoot”. That’s what us regular folks do with our little digital cameras that can fit in our pockets or purses.
I am not a photographer (that’s probably obvious). These are just the things I have personally witnessed. I’m sure there are many other tasks that take place of which I am not even aware.
I guess that’s my rant for the day. On a side note, my current favorite photographer is Urban Jungle Photography. I really like the pics (hope my photographer friends don’t find out. :-0 ). Here is the Facebook page.