Author: The Photographer Clay

Are you a photographer or a photographic artist? I used to think of myself as a photographer and for many years that was an accurate description. I would take photographs and with minimal effort afterward put the image out in the wild. During the past 2 or 3 years, I believe in my own humble mind, that I am more of a photographic artist.

What is a photographic artist

Photographic art and fine art photography are very loosely defined.

.Photographic art or fine art photography is a loosely defined genre. One definition I have found is “photographic art“, “artistic photography” and so on, the term “fine art photography” has no universally agreed meaning or definition: rather, it refers to an imprecise category of photographs, created in accordance with the creative vision of the cameraman. The basic idea behind the genre, is that instead of merely capturing a realistic rendition of the subject, the photographer is aiming to produce a more personal – typically more evocative or atmospheric – impression. One might simplify this, by saying that fine art photography describes any image taken by a camera where the intention is aesthetic (that is, a photo whose value lies primarily in its beauty – see, Aesthetics) rather than scientific (photos with scientific value), commercial (product photos), or journalistic (photos with news or illustrative value).

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/fine-art-photography.htm#:~:text=Known%20also%20as%20%22photographic%20art%22%2C%20%22artistic%20photography%22%20and,accordance%20with%20the%20creative%20vision%20of%20the%20cameraman.

Wikipedia defines fine art photography as

Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stands in contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer; and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to advertise products, or services.

Wikipedia

I decided to call myself a photographic artist and my work as photographic art because I don’t just “snap” a photograph with my camera and throw it into the wild without ensuring the image portrays the look and feel I want the viewer, even if it is just me, to experience. To achieve the look and feel I wish to portray may involve a significant amount of post-production work in photo editing software, it may involve creative lighting, or it may involve manual adjustments to camera settings. It often involves all three.

Many of you have seen the photograph above from a Facebook post in the group The Digital Photography Forum. Where I posted the final version compared to the original.

I take these steps with nearly all the photographs I produce not only just portraits but landscapes, still life, macro, sunsets, pets, you name it.

Changing reality

Some would argue I’m changing reality but I argue perception is reality. I used to loathe that term as it frequently appeared to work against me but if we expand on that term a bit it makes more sense.

Even in the so-called straight photography the photographer, to some extent, alters reality. We can alter reality by the choice of lens we use, the choice of the aperture, the choice of shutter speed, the choice of metering, the choice of composition, and so on.

Perception is reality

Reality is an individually defined state. Two people can look at the same scene and the same event and have two different perceptions of what they see or happened based on their life experiences. This doesn’t make either view more or less realistic just different.

Photographic art versus photography

I used to take offense when someone referred to my work or the work of others photographic art rather than photography if they did post-processing. Nowadays, it’s a compliment. I’m an artist not merely a photographer.

What are you?

What is the cost of your artwork? Do you even attempt to calculate the cost of your work? Do you figure the cost of your artwork? Some would say, “well I do my artwork for me and if others enjoy it so be it”, but what if someone wanted to buy it? How would you price the piece? Would you just throw out a number? I know many have a set rate based on their actual cost of doig business but did they use real data to calculate that? I’m sure some did, others maybe not, but what about us, the hobbyists or “weekend warriors”? Do we base a number on our hourly rate of pay? Do we base it on hour overtime rate?

There are internet stores that you can upload your artwork to and open an online store for potential customers to browse and buy your artwork. The internet store has a base price they established and then it allows you to ad your markup but how much is too much or how much is too little?

Many of us, have fixed costs we can calculate, such as the cost of Photoshop/Lightroom, which I caluclate at 32.8 cents per day based on the $9.99 price plan, not counting sales tax. We can project the cost of our computer based on let’s say a replacement every three years, or did you even figure that cost in?

The whole point of this post is to get me, and hopefully others to, at very least, think about how you price your photography and artwork.

Working for exposure is often a hot-bed topic. Some people do this frequently, some do it from time to time and some never do it. I submitted some images from a photo session with the metal band Harvest the flesh and the Metal Maidens, The images were submitted to an online magazine where they were published. My pay, zip, zero, nothing, nada. While it was an interesting, somewhat entertaining photo session it was the last time I did something “for exposure”, where the only person who made money was the online magazine.

I do photo sessions as a trade for time sort of thing where it benefits both me and the models for use in our respective portfolios, so that isn’t what I mean when I say I don’t work for exposure. To me, if anyone makes money from an event or photo session, we should all make money. Some people would argue that doing some sessions for exposure allows you to make “connections” but I would counter that with you can still make connections without the free work.

I get it, creatives are often asked to work for free. Models, ah, you just have to wear the clothes, walk and stand. Photographers, you just pus a button.

In my area, we are innudated with these so-called fashion shows where models and photographers work for free. I recently saw a person wanting to do a free session but wanted someone with tuxedos to allow them to use the clothes for free. The only person making money is the show’s promoter. While some of these may be fun, they can also be a lot of work and at the end of the day, I only put money in someone else’s pocket.

While it may not always be about making money it often comes to would I rather be making someone else money or making art for me. I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of working for exposure.

Like all growing, growing as a photographer we may experience growing pains. Sometimes it comes at the cost of a negative critique, the temporary loss of motivation or inspiration. The pain of change and experimentation that doesn’t work. Again, like all growing, there are many advantages. Your art becomes better, more mature. You are able to see deeper into your subject and express yourself more openly.

This growth may not come easily. It requires change and change can be scary. If we change we don’t know what the future holds for us. Will people like the change? Will I like the change?

So how do we grow as a photographer? For me, it has been looking at the work of others, both good and bad. It has been looking at my previous work and developing a plan to improve upon what I have done in the past. It has been listening to photography podcasts, reading articles and books on photography. It has been learning new techniques and skills in Photoshop and Lightroom, but greatest of all it has been getting the camera off the shelf and just trying something new. Not all the new things I have taken photographs of have been seen by others. Much of it wasn’t worthy of being shown to the public. That has been one of the pains of my growth recently as a photographer. Now, I believe I am ready to start getting some of my new and improved content out into the wild after all, what good is growing as an artist, or more accurately for me now, a visual storyteller and content creator.

Keep after it, start growing as a photographer, visual storyteller, and content creator. Let’s make some art.

I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts in a blog I started a couple of months ago. I enjoyed this so much I desired more options, so I have changed the site that is hosting the blog. Sadly, I am so far unable to import the previous posts to the new site. I haven’t given up yet but like many things in life moving forward is sometimes starting over, unlike photography. In photography, we still have our previous work, well as long as we have done backups now in the digital age or still make prints. We also maintain the knowledge we gained along the way. Even though we may take our previous work and knowledge with us along our journey we do need a makeover now and again as an artist. It was once said, “If I could have made this photograph five years ago, I haven’t grown as a photographer.”

Welcome to my journey.  This is a place where you can follow me on my photographic journey and rambling thoughts.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton