What is Photography?
This is photography.
Deciding to write this post had me thinking of the famously quoted phrase from the late Vince Lombardi. He pulled together his team of professional football players at the beginning of training camp to lead them on their path forward to the ultimate prize, what would be named the Lombardi trophy. He, being their coach, held up a football and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” Each member in the room clearly had an idea of what was being held out in front of them, as they had spent their lives dedicated to carrying said item across painted lines on a field. At this point in their careers, even doing so for money. The slightly crude responses to such a statement are inevitable.
A profound story in its own right, however, if you start throwing your cameras around like the pigskin displayed before the Green Bay Packers, then maybe photography isn’t for you. I know I said anyone can be a photographer, but if I saw this I would hesitate to bring you on my next outing.
In any environment of education, I want to start with the severe basics and definitions. In this article, I will present my working definition of what photography is, what it is not, and best practices on how to think about taking photos moving forward.
What photography is.
Most people could give you a technically accurate definition of photography. It is the act of taking photographs with a camera. Fairly straightforward, but a technical definition will only take us so far. What I’d like to define is a new way of looking at photography in order to better enjoy it to the fullest.
Photography is the act of taking photos, but modern advancements in technology have allowed the general public the ability to chew gum, walk, play fortnite, and take pictures at the same time. Is that what photography is, taking photos of your overly priced meal at the hip, new cuisine downtown, and posting to the ole Insta? Maybe. But photography has come to have a whole new meaning in my life. It’s no longer the act of pushing a shutter button or tapping a screen. It’s simple, yet far more profound.
Photography is capturing what you enjoy.
In photography form, of course. I wanted to steer away from the specifics and gear our minds toward the heart of the matter. We often see things that are appealing to us. At times, we will see something and it will spark an emotion. Other times a passing glance will inspire us to visualize something meaningful. What I believe is at the heart of photography is in that moment, you are able to fully capture what you visualized.
My lingering and often overused example is one of taking a hike up a mountain. I’ve gone on several hikes in my lifetime, nothing noteworthy. I don’t have selfies of me dangling off the sides of El Capitan. However, of the hikes I did manage to survive, many of these were done with my father. A smart man, in his own right, he would often dismiss the need for a camera on such an adventure. Cameras are heavy, more accurately the lens are heavier. Survival guides would not advise the carrying of unnecessary accoutraments such as expensive, highly engineered glass. Water, typically water supersedes most forms of modern technology, dispate with Gen Z’ers say.
While my dad and I are out hiking, you may hear the occasional exasperated sigh of being overwhelmed by the beauty in nature. At the peak of the hike, when everyone is out of breath and wanting to sit down, you hear the inevitable, “Josh, you should take a picture of that!”
Seeing as I vaguely do this for a living, I don’t disagree. Photography pretty things is kind of up my alley. However, lets take a closer look at the implications of the statement.
Hypothetically, I will stand where he is standing, grab my camera, point it in the general direction, and push the shutter button. I take this image back home, do some touch-ups in post-processing, and email the image to my dad to bless him on Father's Day. To which, he will look at the image and externally say something along the lines of, “Wow, so beautiful. I have such a talented son.” Internally, he is wondering how the result was so underwhelming.
He saw the beauty in real time. He experienced that moment. However, seeing the picture in his email did not arise in him the same emotions, the beauty, that depth he felt that day. I took a picture, and technically that is the bare bones definition of photography. However, it didn’t serve its true purpose. It isn’t the deeper meaning of photography.
Something on top of that mountain captivated his attention. Maybe it was the feeling of accomplishment of hiking for all those hours. Maybe it was the fact that he’s retired and feels more free to enjoy these moments. Maybe he was relishing the fact that he was spending quality time with family. Maybe it was the elusive hawk flying overhead, the specific way the light was contrasting the other mountains, the excitement of hundred foot vertical drop, the smell in the air reminding him of childhood camping trips, the list goes on.
I know none of that. I see what I see. I feel what I’m experiencing. I have my own emotions and reflections, and at times I don’t see anything worthy of capturing. Other times I’ll capture a black and white photo of a dead tree. Or I’ll zero in on a single fliower emerging out from a rock. My point is that there is only one person equipped to capture that moment in the way that is being visualized. That is the one who originally saw it. The one who felt it. The one who experienced it. You.
What photography is not.
Using my example above, it is clear to see that I took a photo. That could be defined as photography, as I knew enough to physically push down a button that triggered a digital response of opening and closing a shutter. Many technical bits and bobs happened during that fraction of a second, far more than I’ll ever understand in this lifetime. Frankly, nor do I care to learn all the ins and outs of how the photo was ultimately captured. However, the reality is that I have met the minimum requirements of photography.
The main difference between this line of definitions and thinking is that nothing meaningful happened. I acted upon impulse and took an arbitrary photo. We can continue to think about photography in these terms, however, this is what causes many people to pick up a camera and a short time passes until they realize they never enjoyed it. I’d suggest that our thought process and baseline understanding on the topic would be better served by shifting off the technically accurate definition.
We are not simply taking photos. The truer, more meaningful way to love photography is to capture what you enjoy. What you enjoy will ultimately be reflected in your photos regardless. But the point would be to lean into that genre, that style, that subject to your hearts content. It is no longer about others perceptions or others desired photos. You are free to take the photos you want, in the way you want, in an effort to capture what is meaningful and desirable to you.
Moving forward, I want us to have a shared understanding of what photography is. While we will address specific functions and techniques in our photo taking, we must start with the foundation of what photography truly is. We are passionate about photography, as it is often our deepest feelings represented in an image. It is the beauty that we see that we strongly desire to share with those around us. Photography is capturing what we enjoy.