Aspiration

Aspiration

By Bekka Bjorke, age 16

You have your camera.You have your dazzling array of lenses, your
filters, your tripod. You are a photographer.

Honey, please. Too many times have I seen someone don the photographer
attire and think that icing is all you need to be a "photographer."

When you grab your camera, P&S, SLR, whatever, you look to take good
pictures, right? When you shoot, you initially shoot to please
yourself I'm sure. When you start becoming more seirous you shoot to
please not only yourself, but your audience. Photography is an art
form after all, some people have the eye, some people don't. Please
don't take that as an attack if you're an aspiring photog out there,
take it as an opportunity to learn. Personally, I don't think I'm that
great a photographer. I look back on my photos that I once adored and
nearly gag. I'm in a constant state of growth and learning, my style
changes, my subject matter changes, who likes my photos changes,
everything is caught in flux-- nothing's definite.

I too have struggled with the, "Oh no, my camera sucks, so I can't
shoot well with it," syndrome. No lies, having a better camera will
give you better quality photos, but that doesn't meant a P&S has to
give you bad ones. Upgrading to an SLR is quite a commitment, and
unless you really plan on marrying yourself to your body and lenses,
you really don't *need* one. Ack, I'm not trying to dissuade people
from buying cameras or taking an interest in photography, or hell,
even for supporting the economy by spending a fortune on gear, but if
and when you do buy an SLR, please don't think that makes you a better
photographer. It can't be stressed enough, but the camera doesn't make
the pictures, the body behind it does.

Too many times have I seen someone (particularly teenagers) get their
hands on a nice camera and think that it makes them a "photographer."
Well, what really defines a photographer? This looks like a job for
Google!

photographer n. Someone who takes photographs, especially as a
profession. It could be said that a good photographer is a combination
of an artist, craftsman and scientist, since knowledge and skills from
all three professions play a part in good photography.

An artist. That kind of goes without saying, we all [try to] see
artistically, and aim to capture that.

A craftsman. Instantly I'm thinking composition and lighting, and
being able to contorl or at least use your surroundings to your (and
your photo's) advantage is an aquired skill. It takes practice.

A scientist. In the age of digital this doesn't play such a prominent
part (and no, Photoshop isn't science), but understanding the
technology involved with your camera certainly is. Shutter speed,
f-stop anyone? Shooting on automatic may be fun and easy, but
understanding what your camera is automatically doing helps with the
creation of the photo a lot. Being able to shoot in completely manual
ain't half bad either. And on the note of photoshop, sure you can
post-process in a darkroom too, but taking a semi-decent picture with
the intent of making it good in Photoshop is ridiculous. That's not
photography, that's digital art, there is a difference. "Wow, your
picture are really good, you must have really good Photoshop." Someone
almost lost a head when they said that to me.

"Someone who takes photographs, especially as a profession." Hmm...
I'm not professional, aspiring sure, but no where near close to being
pro (unless I take that job as a photographer's assitant in the city
but... that's another story). Having the equipment doesn't make you
pro, even if it is what the pros use. Your friends may see your 300mm
lens and think, "DAMN!" and decide right then and there that your
pictures must be great because of the flippin' camera, but that
doesn't mean those pictures will be. Photography is cool. It's awesome
even, but don't think that anyone with a shutter button under their
finger can make it as a professional. It's one of the most competitive
fields out there, it's not easy to carve a deep niche for yourself.

Be your own harshest critic before you prance about with dreams of
being a professional photographer. Sometimes there's things that even
practice and more practice can't fix.

Happy shooting. :)