True or false? Anyone can be a photographer.?

Question

I see a lot of people on here post up some of their pictures and ask, "Can I be a photographer?" or "Do I have what it takes to be a photographer?"

I often see people answer with, "Sure, anyone can."

I disagree. What do you think?

Answer 1

Since I can bake a cake, does that make me a cook?



Since I can comb my hair, does that make me a hair dresser?



Since I can balance my checkbook, does that make me an accountant?



Since I can change the oil in my car, does that make me a mechanic?



I didn't think so.

Answer 2

VERY false. Just like any talent, some have it and some don't. Sure there are fundamentals to every art form, just like singing or playing an instrument, and if you learn them you can work at being better. But to be really good at photography, you've gotta have the "eye."



80% or more of what makes a beautiful photograph is the composition. (2/3 - 1/3 balance of color, value, shape, etc.) Some people have an impeccable eye for composition, and can take an exceptional photo of almost anything. Some people have a fantastic eye for subject matter too. Not everyone can make an inanimate object say something.

ALSO, when it comes to photographing people, just like with painting, getting a likeness of the subject is very VERY hard to do. Some people behind a camera (my grandmother for instance) can make even the most beautiful person look hideous. I've found, however, that the way a photographer captures an emotion behind the subjects eyes is what makes them really great.



So basically, it's a big fat lie that "anyone" can be a photographer. If that were true, everyone might as well pick up a cello too, because if we practice enough we'll all be Yo-Yo Ma.

Answer 3

Sure, anyone who has even the most basic competence can be a photographer. All it takes is the ability to pay attention and remember certain rules. There are tons of photography jobs for people with no professional experience, department store portrait studio workers, cruise ship or theme park photographers, etc.



BUT photography as an art is an entirely different story. You are not likely to see those photos taken at the sears portrait studio hanging in any museums.

Answer 4

Yes, anyone can take photographs. Some amateurs approach professional photographers in their abilities. It does, however, require a good amount of knowledge and skill to consistently make good image after good image. A person with a camera and limited knowledge about photography is not really, IMO, practicing photography.



NOTE: I vehemently disagree with the comments by Rach. If photography isn't an art then why is it exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art? A painter begins their composition with a blank canvas. They can include or exclude elements at will. A photographer begins with a scene that requires skill and vision to capture an image that people will look at time and again. If anyone can look at an Ansel Adams landscape prints or Edward Weston's shells or vegetables and say "That isn't art" than in my opinion that person suffers from severe envy and resents someone else's accomplishments and abilities. IMO, Rach should stay in the Painting section.

Answer 5

It depends. Anyone can aim a camera and press a button, but to be good at photography, it takes patience and discipline.



Also, a good photographer does NOT rely on image editing. Photoshop is a crutch. To really be good at photography, you need to understand how to work with the existing light and how to use your camera to get the pictures you want...not how to doctor them on a computer. Someone who truly understands photography could pick up an old 35mm manual film camera and know how to take good pictures with it. You could also pick up a digital SLR camera and put it into completely MANUAL mode and take good pictures, because you understand the basic rules and elements of photography. Taking good pictures means getting the right exposure and knowing how to frame the subject. These aren't written in stone, and there are always different ways you can take a picture for the message you want to create. But there are still basic rules to photography, and you have to understand those first.



Most people don't have a clue.



So no, not anyone can be good in photography...and mainly it's because they just don't have the patience. They want "kewl pics" for their MySpace page. That's not photography.



However, just about anyone can LEARN if they are really willing. Again, this means understanding the basics first and knowing how to use a camera as a tool.

Answer 6

Well anyone can be a photographer but not everyone is. We're all born with a potential photographer but somewhere along the line, it disappears. We don't practice, we don't learn, we give up, at some point we lose the potential. I guess the point that we lose the potential varies and you can always pick photography up provided you're willing to do a hell of a lot of learning. It's not like playing the violin where you develop special neural pathways, so you can take it up at any age, but you still have to learn and cultivate special skills and abilities.

Answer 7

Ready for the PollyAnna response?



Anybody with work and a desire to learn can become a photographer.



Maybe not Ansel Adams, but we have already had an Adams. There is a special gift that was given to Ansel, but there many others out there who take wonderful photos without being an award winner.



Edit: I must agree with Edwin and take a strong position against Rach. Photography is an art. A beautiful, intelligent art form. Ansel was an artist who captured nature in a way no other artist has. YES! No other artist! I have a Steve McCurry photo looking at me right now, and she is art.

Answer 8

Anyone can be a photographer. Some might really suck at it and some might be good, but anyone can try.



Many people can LEARN to be a good photographer, but some can't. They are simply not very visually oriented.



Some people are so full of themselves that that probably will not become very good artists either, so they trash other media to give themselves the false illusion that they are better than those who work in those media.

Answer 9

Umm yea sure but first u got to b really passionate about this kinda art u can't b lik o i own a camera and took a pic of some person ima photographer but then again a photographer is a person who takes pics so thats what every one is if they hav eva taken a pic with a camera



~~Amber~~

Answer 10

I agree with you.

No, not everyone can become a photographer.

There is more to the profession than just snapping a shutter.

I think with practice anyone can take good pictures, however, to become a photographer, one must be able to keep the job, be able to accept criticism, and grow in their craft.



To become a professional photographer, well, that's something entirely different.

Answer 11

almost anyone can take a picture. however to be a photographer you have to find the right angles, lighting and consider many other factors.

Answer 12

anyone can take a snapshot of something,

not just anyone can compose and produce a true and right image with a camera. ansel adams was a rare talent

photography takes patience, practice, study, and some training... and alot of tenacity. working with an experienced photographer and learning from him/her is a priceless experience if one can be teachable.

Answer 13

Anyone can take pictures, not everyone can be a photographer

Answer 14

i think anyone can be a photographer. However, no anyone can be a good or successful one. When you think about it.. anyone can be anything but not anyone can have the talent. Hope this helps

Answer 15

Sure. Just like anyone can grab a paint brush and be an "artist". But it takes real WORK to be good at it. I put a lot WORK into some of my prints. Not only does it take WORK to be good at any art form, it takes dedication and an OPEN MIND.



Art, after all, is subjective.

Answer 16

just because everyone can snap a picture doesnt make everyone a photographer. its an art. its a skill.

Answer 17

It is tough to be a photographer.



It is already a crowed field.



First you have to master the technique of photography, light, flash, ...



Second, a serious photographer takes interesting pictures:

nature, sports, people, landscape, ...

Answer 18

False.

And, Rach. You don't know what real artist think you're just an art major. If you were an artist you would be able to think outside of the "box".

Answer 19

Nope. Photography is an art. Just like other art forms some people have an eye for it while others don't.

Answer 20

Anyone can be one, just that people makes comments and dislike there pictures. There's no perfect or right way to take a picture.

Answer 21

i dont think anyone can be a photographer..i think it takes special talent.

Answer 22

i think any one can but some need years more practise compered to somone who just needs a day

Answer 23

no because you should learn alot of photo tricks to hide peoples flaws and other tricks

Answer 24

true any 1 can be a photographer!!!!!!!

Answer 25

everyone can take pictures but i dont think that everyone can be a photografer... not everyone has the gift for photografing!

Answer 26

I say, absolutely. I do not consider photography an art form. As an art major and someone who actually WORKS to make art, which takes skill, talent, and lots of time and work, it's almost insulting that photography is ever considered art.



It's a nice hobby for some people, but it is not art.



Edit: Wow. Thanks everyone so much for the thumbs down. I don't really care if you are strongly against my opinion, which there seems to be an abundance of, since I'm allowed to have an opinion on the matter just as much as anyone else.



Imagine having a talent in a over-generalized subject like art. One person can spend hours upon hours working on a masterpiece. Then some other person with an image-capturing box just stands in a position, okay they toggled with the lightening a bit maybe...click! and boom. There's the image that gets as much recognition as REAL art. I could stand in that same spot, do the same exact thing, and make the same exact picture. But I choose to use my mind, imagination, and creativity to create with my hands, my mind; art. Not a box that captures a pre-existing image.



Real artists hate photography as an art form. It's as simple as that.