Is Photography Really Art?

I work in the world of photography now—photojournalism to be more precise. It's a field I was not really knowledgeable about 2 or 3 years ago. Of course, I can see a beautiful picture and have a "wow" moment, but I never really knew much about photography as an art until about 2 years ago. 

Montreal, Québec, Canada                      By Mariam Sambe

Now that I’m immersed by it (it really is all around me), photography is starting to have a different meaning. The way it can be used as one of the best tools of expression is what I admire the most. I've met amazing photographers (even some who are as young as 14 years old) and learned a great deal.

Having said this, there is still something I have a hard time putting my fingers on: Is photography really art? By definition, I guess it is. The Longman Dictionary defines art as follows: “the use of painting, drawing, sculpture, etc to represent things or express ideas”. Does photography express ideas? DEFINITELY. So yes, by definition, photography is art.

Note that the title of this post is “is photography really art”? Emphasis on “really”. When someone asks: “is this really true?” it means that they accept that part of it is true, but are doubtful about the other part. So this is exactly what I’m doing with my “is photography really art?”. By definition, it is. No questions asked. But what about the rest?

 Haliburton, Ontario, Canada                                        By Mariam Sambe  

Here is my issue, in other forms of art (sculpture, painting, drawing for instance), I find that it requires WAYYYY more attention, patience, creativity, thought, skill, and meticulousness to produce art. Now this is not to say that you don’t need all this for photography. Of course you do. But probably not in the same level.

In 1 hour, a photographer can take hundreds of pictures, whereas a painter can paint 1 landscape. Of course, out of the hundreds of pictures that the photographer took there might only be 1 that is beautiful. Yes, but she still had about 100 chances to make it right, didn’t she? And if that doesn’t work, she can always use Photoshop and add some touches to it. The painter doesn't have that option, if he messes up, he messes up. 1 chance to make it right, and if it doesn't work, he starts all over again (or change what he was planning to paint).

In addition to that, art school in general takes a minimum of 4 years of study (plus amazing talent). Photography school takes 1 year, maybe 2. Doesn't this mean in a way that painting, drawing and sculpture require something more than photography? Most people become photographers without even having to go to school. They are self-taught or simply talented. I started to take photos myself. Some of my pictures are terrible, some are just okay, and some are great. Does that mean I’m an artist now? That’s it? Just like that?

Is Photography really art? I posted this question on my Facebook wall. Below are a few comments I got (for confidentiality reasons, I only put my friends’ initials after their quote):  

Gondar, Ethiopia                                 By Mariam Sambe

 “It is. Truth is, good photography takes talent, imagination, creativity, etc, so I do believe there is a point of it being an art. Now are other forms of art more art than photography? I can debate that.” W.N.

“Definitely art... There are photos and then there is art, you can see a million pictures but when someone can communicate story, emotion, beauty, imagination in their photo...that's art.” T.S.

“What's so creative about pointing a freakin' camera and clicking??? It is not art. Granted, it takes skill and patience to find and take the perfect picture but it's definitely not art. I'm not belittling it and I have seen some incredibly breathtaking pictures but it's not art. It's just a skill” K.N.

“the pure process of taking of pictures might not necessarily be considered art by some, but that's not all photography entails... it is about the selection of the motif, the lighting, the overall scene. There are millions of pictures taken all around the world on any given day, but only a select few have the overall beauty that a piece of art has. Those pieces of photography are definitely art, whereas the rest is just pure "picture taking" by everyday people. It’s almost comparing a painting of your 10 year old daughter to a Picasso...” R.W.

Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA                        By Mariam Sambe 

“ L’art de la photographie dépend plus du photographe à mon avis. c'est l'intention du photographe qui donne du sens à l'image et au message communiqué. Quand il y a de l'art dans l'âme et l'œil du photographe, il y en aura forcement dans le travail produit. ” K.C.

Is Photography really art? Clearly, there is no straight answer for this... In reality, I think it depends on how each of us defines art. The matter of fact is, a photo piece can be as breathtaking (if not more) as a painting or a sculpture—even if it might seem simpler to produce it.