Labels and titles, we all love them and hate them. Many love putting those inititials behind or in front their name, PhD, CEO, DC, VP, PA, the list just keeps growing. We also like to get creative with job names, Chief Sanitation Engineer. We go to the coffee shop and order a coffee from a barista, literally a “barman/barmaid”, but barista sounds so much better, to us. So why do I refer to myself as a photographic artist?
I use the term photographic artist a lot. I refer to you all, my audience, as photographic artists, I call myself a photographic artist. Why not just say photographer? For me, there is a difference. Both take photographs but in my way of thinking for different reasons.
When I have told people I am a photographer one of the first things they ask, “do you do weddings?”. Often the first thing many non-photography people think of when they hear photographer is you’re a wedding photographer. No, I don’t do weddings.
I adopted the term photographic artist because I work towards creating art with my photography not a Xerox copy of a scene or subject. For me, the term photographer describes one who takes photograph that may or may not be art, portraits, commerical, product, architecture, journalistic, or artistically. I use photographic artist just as a person uses photojournalist. The term photographic artist narrows down my range a bit to define my intent to create something artistic, even a portrait.
My goal is to get more photographers to join me in the creation of art through the use of photography. Follow along with me and become the photographic artist you want to become.
Photographer Clay 
Leave a comment