this morning on a daily national news programme, there was a story about the five best iphone apps and this beautiful but ill-informed reporter came out with a statement that just floored me... so i had to respond.
"As a professional photographer, I must take exception to Ms Macdonald's comment that by using an iphone app you can "take photos and look like a professional photographer".
No, you will look like a person who uses a phone to create snapshots.... some interesting images being created these days and it is exciting to see three year olds getting involved with snapshots. But using the term professional in the same breath as iphone is just stupid.
You are denigrating those of us who are professionals and debasing the concept of true photography. Those of us who pre-visualize and use our education and experience and creativity to produce an image that is strong and stands on its own must stand up to this insanity..... a crooked snapshot with burned-out highlights and skin tones looking like george hamilton at the melanoma clinic is not art... it's just a crappy photo. If you photoshop an image to death or maybe create a fine looking image through your computer, are you a professional photographer or professional photoshopper? If you give me a scalpel and a mask, I still don't think you would let me do an appendectomy on you.
It is wonderful that the digital age has so many people enjoying the creative process of taking a photograph but this dumbing down of the arts and the lowering of standards/expectations to the point where
having garage band software on your mac makes you a "musician" is creating a populace which doesn't know what a professional artist truly is. The standards
are becoming more in tune with..... well, it's good enough. Recently, a new self-proclaimed professional in town advertised father's day family portraits at $20 for 20 minutes. I recently spent 3 hours with a family celebrating the parents' 50th wedding anniversary... and yes there is a difference.
There is a difference between a professional and those with a camera and business card. And let's not get into comparing those who only shoot digital and those, like myself, who have embraced the newest digital gear but also employ the beauty and permanence of FILM!
My complaint about iphones and digital cameras is that too often, they lead to the theory of spray and pray or if you throw enough "mud" at the wall, something will stick. If you want to make your iphone images look like those of a professional photographer then study the work of some of those professionals......learn about composition, exposure etc. Don't just stick a phone in front of your face with one hand and go click..... do it right.... and once. You can take beautiful photographs with an iphone.... books have been printed with these images..... but it is the person behind the camera whether or not it is a plastic Holga camera or an 8x10 camera owned by Karsh at one time.
Creating professional-looking photographs requires more than a cell phone and an app'........ so when you hire a "pro" to do your wedding and he leaps around*
snapping with his iphone, you might want to consider
that you have made an error. *But then CTV seems to promote this new professionalism!
All the best,
Richard Brown www.richardbrownphoto.ca"
"As a professional photographer, I must take exception to Ms Macdonald's comment that by using an iphone app you can "take photos and look like a professional photographer".
No, you will look like a person who uses a phone to create snapshots.... some interesting images being created these days and it is exciting to see three year olds getting involved with snapshots. But using the term professional in the same breath as iphone is just stupid.
You are denigrating those of us who are professionals and debasing the concept of true photography. Those of us who pre-visualize and use our education and experience and creativity to produce an image that is strong and stands on its own must stand up to this insanity..... a crooked snapshot with burned-out highlights and skin tones looking like george hamilton at the melanoma clinic is not art... it's just a crappy photo. If you photoshop an image to death or maybe create a fine looking image through your computer, are you a professional photographer or professional photoshopper? If you give me a scalpel and a mask, I still don't think you would let me do an appendectomy on you.
It is wonderful that the digital age has so many people enjoying the creative process of taking a photograph but this dumbing down of the arts and the lowering of standards/expectations to the point where
having garage band software on your mac makes you a "musician" is creating a populace which doesn't know what a professional artist truly is. The standards
are becoming more in tune with..... well, it's good enough. Recently, a new self-proclaimed professional in town advertised father's day family portraits at $20 for 20 minutes. I recently spent 3 hours with a family celebrating the parents' 50th wedding anniversary... and yes there is a difference.
There is a difference between a professional and those with a camera and business card. And let's not get into comparing those who only shoot digital and those, like myself, who have embraced the newest digital gear but also employ the beauty and permanence of FILM!
My complaint about iphones and digital cameras is that too often, they lead to the theory of spray and pray or if you throw enough "mud" at the wall, something will stick. If you want to make your iphone images look like those of a professional photographer then study the work of some of those professionals......learn about composition, exposure etc. Don't just stick a phone in front of your face with one hand and go click..... do it right.... and once. You can take beautiful photographs with an iphone.... books have been printed with these images..... but it is the person behind the camera whether or not it is a plastic Holga camera or an 8x10 camera owned by Karsh at one time.
Creating professional-looking photographs requires more than a cell phone and an app'........ so when you hire a "pro" to do your wedding and he leaps around*
snapping with his iphone, you might want to consider
that you have made an error. *But then CTV seems to promote this new professionalism!
All the best,
Richard Brown www.richardbrownphoto.ca"