As photographers, we should always ask ourselves what’s the importance of art in our society? The first – and often neglected – step in any artistic endeavor should be defining our personal views, values, and photographic interests. This search will help you find answers and – hopefully – provide a solid path for your journey. Unfortunately, it took me over 10 years of trial and error to finally realize this universal truth. But, I can assure you that clearly identifying my photography interests led to noticeable improvements in my photography.
The importance of art
Generally speaking, the importance of art will differ between people. Nonetheless, a true piece of art should always evoke some sort of reaction from the viewer. Not necessarily a good reaction, just a reaction. Personally, I tend to have a more visceral response to photographs portraying the human condition. All good photographers in this field have the uncanny ability to capture fleeting moments that can change our whole perspective about the world in a few seconds.
With that in mind, now we have two factors to use as a guide during our artistic journey. First, a continuous exploration of our passion to find subjects we care about and believe are important to share with people. Second, a search for ways to capture and present your work in a way that will move your audience. I fully appreciate those are not goals to achieve, especially since we are always aiming at a moving target. In reality, our artistic journey will inevitably be full of detours and hurdles. However, while these challenges are important to improve your skills and consolidate your voice, they also represent a real challenge when it comes down to keeping true to your final goals.
The trap of technology
As you enter this personal journey, you will start looking around in search of inspiration. You will probably look at the work of people you admire and consume photography content, much like this post. The more you learn, the more questions you will have in your head. During this stage, you will inexorably end up in one of those photography forums discussing the latest gadgets and sharpest lenses. And now, the attention you should be focusing on the art form will be stollen by technical aspects of the photography trade. This is a very dangerous trap since it has the potential to hinder your quest to find your personal voice and style.
Now, you must remember that focusing on technical aspects such as whether your camera can capture 90 megapixels is as useful for the art of photography as shoveling your sidewalk during a snowstorm. Better camera gear will not necessarily create a better photographer. When I’m on the field shooting an image, I like always to remember this simple universal truth, “Garbage In is equal to Garbage Out.” It doesn’t matter if you have the most expensive camera gear available; the final result of a badly captured image is a bad image.
If you want to become an artist, you should focus on learning the artistic aspects of photography. Maybe, instead of buying expensive gears that will be lying on your gear bag, use this money to visit a museum or buy a book from an artist you admire. At the end of the day, beautiful images are created by the photographer’s vision and experience, not by the camera gear used.
To conclude:
To illustrate the point, I’m sharing my cellphone captures. I was only able to capture many of those images because I had a portable camera in my hands. For me, the photographer’s vision will always trump the gear used.