What Is A Photo?

[Hinfrance]

I'll take all that into consideration before I next press the shutter.

     

[DigiDiva]

A hen party or a birthday party - you want to capture your friend on the karaoke or doing a silly dance - point and shoot - a snapshot. If your friend is dancing in a show for example, then you have to consider lighting, composition etc to capture the moment right. That's more a moment to treasure than a funny memory to capture and reminisce upon. Not necessarily a piece of art though. Hmmmm... making me think now.

[Reinardina]

Singing and (silly) dancing shots can still be taken with background and composition in mind, as the action will last long enough.

I take a lot of snapshots on the hoof, and try to keep composition in mind. It's something I have had to learn, and I'm still far from expert.

I have been thinking a bit, about what a photo means to me, since this thread started.

I am mostly curious to see what I have captured. I mainly photograph 'life,' and hardly ever set up scenes to shoot, so it can be very surprising what I actually 'caught.' Serendipity is very much my friend.

With poor eyesight, I can see the 'broad lines,' but not the details, so I often find surprising things in the back ground. Sometimes these detract, sometimes they add to the picture. In the last case, I pretend it was done on purpose.

I always think, my next photo will be better, so I have to go on.

I do like to 'play' with photographs, and often turn them into images that do not resemble photographs at all.

[ABERS]

I would like to make an analogy with golf (I like analogies  ).

Snapshots equate to the level of golf where you try to get the ball through the windmills vanes, up over the hill, through the tunnel and into the hole via the Tiger's mouth. A lot of fun but not too serious in the world of golf.

The next level up is a well manicured par three course, with flags and a bunker now and then, and people even have a few clubs and sometimes a bag!

Next we're getting serious. A full blown 18 hole course with all that that entails. A dozen or so clubs, perhaps a trolley and a plentiful supply of balls. Then comes the urge to invest in more equipment and different clubs to improve your game, but until you learn to handle and use the clubs you have, your estimated 24 handicap never seems to improve. (Sound familiar?).

Then you start hitting it straighter and you begin sinking those awkward eight foot putts more often and you think "Mmmm perhaps I should think about getting an official handicap card". So you do and enter a tournament now and again. At this stage you start to think, "I wonder if I could make it as a Pro?". And you tell everyone you're a golfer, rather than saying "I play golf", a subtle difference there I would maintain.

Then comes the realisation that you don't have the wherewithall to be a pro, and the kids enjoy a square meal now and again, and just resort to trying to improve and tell everyone "I just do it to keep fit and enjoy myself".

So snapshots are usually the beginning which lead to better things and a pastime/hobby that is enjoyable. It's usually about the Par Three stage that the Artist Syndrome comes into it.

The other thing, as you get older it's the knees that go, either on long walks or getting down to eye up a putt or composing a low camera shot. I would add it's not getting down it's getting back up.

P.S. For anyone who has never played or tried to play golf this may sound even more silly than it is, so please accept my apologies.

[Reinardina]

I don't play golf, but know enough about it, to understand the (very amusing) analogy. You are probably right.

I still consider myself a 'housewife with a camera,' even though I had three photos in a gallery once, and am regularly mistaken for a press photographer. I suppose this happens to everyone, who shoots events with anything bigger than a mobile phone or tablet. I often play along, as it is too time consuming to explain things. It also makes it easier to photograph people, as they often ask to be photographed.