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BE AN ARTIST
Even though photography has been around for 170 years, only within the past 25 years has it been widely accepted as a true art form with collections to be found in major museums and corporations throughout the world. Obviously, not all photographs are considered great works of art and are worth little except perhaps to the person who shot them. But the important thing I want to convey to you today is to develop a state of mind that your photographs can be important, that taking pictures can be an art, and that as a person deeply interested in photography, you are an artist. You paint with light, and your subject is life itself. Look at your photography as a wonderful opportunity to create.
How can you begin to think of yourself as an artist? First, by likening yourself to a sculptor. A sculptor begins with a block of stone, his whole. By then chipping away with his chisel, he ends up with his finished work. Thus, by process of elimination, a sculptor revives his completed art. Similarly, a photographer derives his finished product by a kind of process of elimination, a zeroing in on his subject. An initial look at the subject is the photographer's "whole". Then by proper lens selection, camera angle, selective focus, light direction and quality, time of day, etc., the photographer "chips away" like the sculptor and ends up with his finished art. Remember that it's not the chisel carving the stone... it's the sculptor. Similarly, keep in mind that it's not the camera making the photograph...it's really you!
Learning to visualize in advance is very important in your photography and will help you to think in terms of an artist. When you are composing a picture in the viewfinder, try to visualize the image as a finished print. This is especially true for those who work in black and white where an interpretation of tones and contrasts is necessary. Even when you don't have your camera with you, practice looking at things as if you were seeing through a viewfinder. You'll be amazed at what you will see.
Yet another way to bring out the artist in you is to say in your pictures how you feel about your subjects, remembering that you and your subject are the two most important ingredients in making a picture. If you love trees, for example, communicate this love through your photographs. Try to make a meaningful statement about trees in your pictures of them.
The idea of a photograph, as in any art medium, is to create a visual interpretation of what you saw and felt and to share your vision with others.
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