When we step out of our house, for some event or a vacation to enjoy ourselves, to attend some family function, or just simply we get to dress up for the day in our OOTD (Outfit of the Day). Our first reaction is always “Let's take a picture, let's click a selfie” or maybe ask another person beside us, to click our “Photo”. Photography has become an integral part of our lives, as today everyone has a camera and we love to share these photographic images.

Photographs have always been our way of treasuring memories, moments which we feel are important. In today’s digital era, where we all have our camera phones, so we don’t need any specific reason to click pictures, just take out our phones and click a picture if something catches our eye, photographs are one of the best media to capture moments.

For ages, we have treasured memories in form of paintings, drawings and as technology advanced, we moved from roll cameras to DSLRs, from waiting days for photographers to develop our film rolls to today’s times of getting photos clicked and printed instantly.

From Camera Obscura to Camera Phone

World's first camera was invented by French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, sometime in 1816, he technically took the first photo on a homemade camera, with silver chloride-covered paper, and with time there were gradual developments in camera and field of Photography.

From Camera obscura, technologically we advanced over years from Panoramic camera to Kodak Roll cameras, Polaroid cameras, Automatic focus cameras, Digital Cameras and in the 2000s we came across our first mobile camera phones and now we capture images with the highest resolution and great clearer picture quality with megapixels technology.

Photography has always been a medium to capture memories as photographs, but when we enter this field as a professional, as an artist – Photography becomes the medium to express, to share the vision of the Photographer’s art. It defines how he sees the vision in front of him, how aesthetically he captures the view.

Every Photograph has a story

A photograph may be simply defined as capturing light through a device and creating an image, but photography as an art is way beyond just clicking a picture. Every photograph taken, narrates a story in itself, it not only captures that particular moment, but it also expresses the view captured and how the photographer has envisioned it.

Not all pictures captured are some for artworks, some might just be random clicks as initially photography was considered to be an individual’s hobby or simply a field of interest, but over the years Photography has not only grown as a profession but also as developed as an art, where we come across various Photography exhibitions, art museums which exhibit photo artworks, which allows us to see works of many talented professional photographers who add aesthetics to even a simple photo.

Photography as Profession

While organizing any event-related in any professional field, a dedicated team of photographers covers events. Specifically, no big event is complete without an assigned photographer capturing the same.

Even in personal lives, for any major event like Birthdays, Weddings, etc., Photographers top the list when planning out functions. If we look in our entertainment field, in Films, Television or journalism photographer are an integral part of these professions and they have a whole team dedicated with Director of Photography to their assistants.

Photography as Art

Art, as we all know is conscious and creative usage of our skill to produce aesthetic objects and convey our thoughts, emotions through our artwork. Comparatively to other arts, like Paintings, Music, etc., Photography is a new medium, it may not be part of the traditional art form, but its primarily a Visual Art which can be considered a part of both Commercial and Fine Art, where Photographers can be recognized as Artists.

Photographs can be considered as artworks, as many of them are clicked and developed specifically for creative and artistic expression. The everyday random pictures, selfies, portraits cannot be categorized as artwork but images captured with a specific concept or idea depicting a thought, an expression of the photographer’s vision can be exhibited like any other form of artwork. A Photographer can create art in various genres, what we artistically can call “Snapshot Aesthetics”. Where photographer captures everyday life, with an artistic flair, it can be Still photography, Capturing Nature’s beauty, Wildlife, Black and White captures, landscapes anything that conveys his vision, his thoughts, turning his photography into conceptual art.

Images captured with a specific intention of Portraiture or depiction of a theme, a concept does become part of fine arts and Galleries around the world do exhibit these artworks.

Even Fashion Photography blurs the differentiation of commercial and fine art, as few fashion images are captured for creative expression and eventually become part of collectibles.

Photography is primarily a Fine art, which is created in line with the artist’s (Photographer) vision, it is his/her medium of creative expression, to convey a thought, emotion, and message unique to the artist, when he captured the particular moment.

Like all other visual arts, Photography includes elements of art –Line, Shape, Balance, Color, depth, Light, positive-negative space, etc. Art photography promotes various aesthetic approaches.

Photographer - An Artist

Like any other visual artist—Painter, Illustrator, a Photographer is considered as an artist when he or she uses the medium of photography, also masters the use of the camera, just like other artists learn how to paint or draw and create art pieces.

The majority of photographers are self-learners, but they do develop their skills as they gain experience over the years and learn the technical aspects of managing and using camera angles and capture images creatively, after analyzing contrast, lines, perspectives, backgrounds.

A photographer creates art not only through the image he captured but also how he embodies his concept or idea and successfully conveys it to the person looking at the image he photographed. It should have characteristics of a good photograph technically and artistically it should convey the story.

Photography Artistic Contribution

Photographers, their artworks, images are great contributors to art movements, and they become an integral part of history as they pictorially record every development, every change in every field, any important event which defines the particular era. Photography also changed the way people saw pictures, only in drawings or illustrations, it actually democratized art as with photography pictures are clearer, more accurate and they are easily accessible compared to Pained Portraits and Fine artworks.

A beautiful image captured with perfect angles and successfully conveys the photographer’s vision is what makes a simple photo transform into a piece of art.

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