whats a real photographer anyways ?

[removed account4]

Jerry
I don’t have a definition but others do. People
Have claimed color photography isn’t real photography
And nothing but portraits are real photographs and if someone
Doesn’t process or print their own they are other than a real photographer..
And forget about using anything but a proper camera...That’s why I am askin

 

[baachitraka]

...a person or thing makes the transition from lomography to photography.

 

[Wallendo]

I do virtual photography on APUG and real photography in the real world.

I find these arguments somewhat silly.
Frequent arguments include:
Real photographers get paid for their work. So do prostitutes. Is sex without the exchange of money not "real sex"?
Real photographers have professional equipment. I have no doubt that a lot of poorly exposed, poorly composed and generally uninteresting photographs have been taken with Leica cameras and lenses. Carpenters are assessed by the quality of their work, not the brand name of their hammers.
Real photographers make images as their sole source of income. In that case, the "real" photographers are the guys who travel from school to school taking school pictures. As well as the paparazzi.
Real photographers manage every step of the process in the darkroom. This effectively excludes the vast majority of professional photographers in the 21st century who use digital equipment.
Frequently, it seems that "real photographers" are those who build themselves up by tearing others down. If your work stands on its own merits, you should be proud. If it does not, criticizing the efforts made by hobbyists/enthusiasts will not change that fact.

I think of myself as an "amateur", in the sense the word once had, as someone who makes images for the love of the art, without hope of financial gain. Unfortunately, the word has a different meaning in modern language and had connotations of lesser skill, commitment, and achievement. To many, this may not qualify me as a "real" photographer, but I suspect my situation is shared by many Photrio members.

To me, a real photographer is one who pre-visualizes an image, and uses photography to the best of his ability to create that image and strives to perfect his technique.

 

[Helios 1984]

Jerry
I don’t ya e a definition but others do. People
Have claimed color photography isn’t real photography
And nothing but portraits are real photographs and if someone
Doesn’t process or print their own they are these than a real photographer..
And forget about using anything but a proper camera...That’s why I am askin

I heard many things about "real" photographers. They don't use neck straps or tripods, they don't need to post process, they get it right with one shot, every single picture they do is contest material, they use Nikon or Canon but never Pentax, they use FF only, only shoot B/W, never bracket, never use built-in flash, always hold their cameras with one hand under the lens, carry their gears in a Billingham and blog.

 

[faberryman]

Does it really matter who is a "real photographer" and who isn't, or for that matter who is a "lomographer" and who isn't. Shouldn't we be more interested in the images individuals create rather than labels?

 

[TheRook]

Everybody is a photographer these days. Screw the real photographers. I want to be an unreal photographer.

I like the way you think!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Is the guy driving the Google camera around on top of his car, snapping multiple images every couple of metres, a photographer? I mean, some of those snaps are well composed, and interesting... Or how about the person who screen shots these street views, and manipulates them in PS? I've done that for fun... when I'm bored.

 

[Chan Tran]

I think all photographers are real except those that create great images but don't use any camera.

 

[Saganich]

I haven't read all the comments but will add my 2 cents off the top of my noggin:
1) Some dedication to process with negative/positive feedback ability used for improvement.
2) Creation of a coherent body of work that can be placed or justified in a historical context.
3) Publishing of work.

 

[BrianShaw]

...a person or thing makes the transition from lomography to photography.

I’m going in the opposite dircection. Do I lose my credentials?

 

[baachitraka]

I’m going in the opposite dircection. Do I lose my credentials?

No. Evolution is always bi-directional.

 

[removed account4]

No. Evolution is always bi-directional.

de-evolution is real !
just ask "bob" .

 

[baachitraka]

...that said, Man has evolved from Chimp and the reverse is also true.

 

[removed account4]

they type a hell of a romeo and julette,
when they aren't using the keyboard as a toilet.

 

[baachitraka]

I thought they are good in (snap, take, shoot, expose, press, click)ing then typing. Typing is new for me...

 

[eddie]

I think all photographers are real except those that create great images but don't use any camera.

I guess I'll have to turn in my real photographer card. I make some images without a camera...

Untitled

• eddie
• Nov 1, 2015
• 3

4x5 FP4+/MGIV/Oils

 

[Sirius Glass]

For me serious work is on film and sending email is with an iPhone.

 

[removed account4]

I guess I'll have to turn in my real photographer card. I make some images without a camera...

Untitled

• eddie
• Nov 1, 2015
• 3

4x5 FP4+/MGIV/Oils

internet hoax ?

 

[tedr1]

It seems to me the answer to the question what is a real photographer? someone who makes real photographs.

This idea is not too difficult to understand when we begin with the opposite question what is an imaginary photographer? Someone who makes imaginary photographs.

 

[removed account4]

but is an imaginary photograph something that is imaginary ( imagined imagery ), or is it something that only exists in the imagination ?

 

[BrianShaw]

but is an imaginary photograph something that is imaginary ( imagined imagery ), or is it something that only exists in the imagination ?

Not imaginary, but not physical either. One day I was strolling past Harrods DEPT Store and saw one of the most beautiful images I ever saw. It was raining so my camera, a Rollei TLR, was under my raincoat. By the time I got it out, the camera that is, the image changed and wasn’t very beautiful. That was at least a decade ago but if I close my eyes I can still see it. That was a real image captured without a camera but not physical or shareable. I didn’t imagine it so it’s not in my imagination. I actually saw it so I don’t know what to call the place it exists.

 

[Pioneer]

I also have a couple where the image I actually captured on film didn't look anything at all like what I saw at the time. And I was stone cold sober.

 

[NedL]

 

[MattKing]

I practiced law for just about a quarter century.
I've observed that photographers are more keen to argue about labels and definitions than lawyers are.
Everyone who takes photographs of any kind is a real photographer.
There are people out there who claim as their own the work of other's. Those making that sort of claim aren't real photographers.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

The Seven Levels of Photographers:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/7.htm