 Laljit S. Sidhu |
Defining Skill and Talent How does one assess skill and talent as a photographer? On one extreme, you don't want to be arrogant enough to presume that your work is brilliant just because your friends say so. At the same time, believing your photography sucks because its not on par with the likes of Jim Zuckerman or John Shaw seems equally foolhardy when you've only been photographing for a couple of years. So, how do you assess your work? And, perhaps more importantly, how do you recognize whether you are making sufficient progress?
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John A. Lind |
Every photograph conveys something from the photographer to the photograph's viewer(s). This can be simple or it can be complex. Creating a photograph involves three fundamental tasks: message, visualization and execution. The first decisions in creating a photograph are about who the photograph is intended for (its viewers) and what the image will convey to them. This can be simple or it can be complex. Visualization of the photograph to be created occurs in the photographer's mind. This can be a mental image or a concept, or both (usually both). Its success is in how well the visualization conveys the intended message to its viewer(s). Photographs do not have the same impact or convey the same meaning to everyone. Viewers' use their own life experiences to interpret the meaning of a photograph. Deciding what to convey to others and visualizing an image that will accomplish this are the creative, artistic parts. Executing the visualization is the technical craft. It requires knowledge about photographic tools and how they can be used to transform the mental visualization into a photograph for others to view. In evaluating your own skills, I recommend doing it in two parts that relate to the visualization and the execution:
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Carol Brill |
Laljit, thank you for asking this question as I have often wondered about this myself. And John, I appreciate your succinct response as well, especially your final advice (a) and (b). I have found this site to be excellent especially in relation to (b); the feedback from experienced photographers viewing photos I have posted here has been very helpful.
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- Shirley D. Cross-Taylor Contact Shirley D. Cross-Taylor Shirley D. Cross-Taylor's Gallery |
Laljit, sharing on sites such as this and other sites where experienced photographers can critique your photos is extremely helpful. A couple of such sites are www.webphotoforum.com and www.photoblink.com. Also, reading good teaching photo magazines such as Petersen's Photographic and Popular Photography & Imaging and Outdoor Photographer is a wonderful way to learn and compare how your own photos are standing up to what you see. There are also significant differences between 'arty' photos and those that are meant to capture stark reality. A lot depends on what you personally are interested in. Some magazines, such as Photographers Forum, go for really unusual subjects and styles. But whatever you wish your personal style to be, reading and practice will help you perfect what is right for you.
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John A. Lind |
Shirley hints at a very important concept in her last line . . . which I will emphasize . . . "personal style." I've seen a number of photographs entered into shows that are essentially clones of John Shaw's or some other well-published photographer's style. Those few familiar with a range of other popular photographers' works and styles can recognize them. Technically excellent and superbly executed, but it's not all that *original* artistically if it essentially does something with a similar subject in a manner someone else already has. It is important for a photographer to develop their own style. Don't expect this to emerge at the beginning. It takes time, experience, and consciously working and experimenting to create photographs with a unique style to them. A photographer's style is also defined by a large number of photographs. They may span a very wide range of subject material, but there will be something about them that makes it evident they were all made by the same photographer. Studying others works to understand the techniques they used to achieve the effects that show in their photographs is quite useful for learning the technical aspects. However, I also set aside their artistic style and think about the statement I want to make about a subject, not how someone else would portray it. -- John
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