Art and Creativity: Is Photography Still an Artform?

Sometimes, it seems to me that photography has always been regarded as a bit of "the ugly stepchild" of the art world.

Of course, many people will insist that photography is an art form in and of itself — as much as any other visual creativity — while others will say that it is nothing of the sort because the creative output is being mechanically created rather than by human hands.

Regardless of what your perception might be, there is little doubt that the art (or not!) of photography has changed considerably over the past century.

Photographers used to have to make huge investments in equipment, as well as in film and film development and the skills required to set up a scene or shot to get the perfect outcome - without wasting a huge quantity of resources - were considerable. So were the skills to run a darkroom to your specifications.

These days, we not only have digital cameras with amazing technology, somebody with a half decent smartphone and some good editing software can create "professional looking" images. And it would probably be fair to say that a lot of people who - from a training and artistic education perspective - are little more than "a person with a camera" are now out in the photography space calling themselves "photographers."

How do we most accurately look at the situation? Do we say that the profession of being a photographer has more or less been ruined? Or do we look at it from a more positive perspective and say that the barriers to entry have been removed and in many ways the playing field has been evened? What does it even mean to be "a professional photographer" anymore?

Not so long ago, our daughter got married and the wedding photographer was — as often as not — using her Samsung Galaxy phone as she was using her Nikon DSLR camera! But when you can shoot RAW and get a 200MP image from a phone camera... does it matter?

I have personally spent most of my adult life in the category of being "an Enthusiast with a camera," but I would never actually call myself "a photographer" in the professional sense.

We might also consider whether this discussion even matters. Perhaps it is up to each individual to define themselves and "what they are doing" in some way. I don't have a concrete answer to that but that doesn't mean I'm not curious and fascinated by the way an entire field within the greater world of Art and Creativity has changed... and continues to change.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment, if you feel so inclined!

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