Technical over Art? :: Discuss

PhotoWrangler · Mar 20, 2011

I was photographing a wedding this weekend, and had an assistant with me. While the guests were eating at the reception, we reviewed a few things we had shot and started discussing 'technical vs art' so to speak.

While I was running around with my 24-70, and my 80-200, and all my SB800's, and Radio Poppers.... and moving light stands, and changing lenses, and replacing batteries, and moving the light stands again.... there she was with her single SB600, and her 50mm, and shooting INCREDIBLE stuff. Sure I could look at her photos and say that a particular angle distorted the brides dress a bit, or that she cut off a limb, or that this shadow or that shadow was a little harsh - but while I was worried about all that stuff in my pictures, she was capturing incredible moments and photos that showed emotion, and mood, and style.

And it got me to wondering - perhaps I am to concerned with the technical stuff, and how much that has possibly hurt my creative drive.

So what say you? Do you think that too much technical concern can put a damper on your creativity?

raphaelaaron · Mar 20, 2011

yes, it can hinder it a little. but its a great talent to merge the two. but that entails you eat, sleep, think photography all the time. it helps when you train yourself to figure out the correct exposure without using a meter, things like that. basically making your camera an extension of yourself.

you don't need a lot of gear to take some great shots. it's about that sixth sense of knowing the environment you'll be shooting in, and already thinking about what you can do before even taking out your camera.

i would have also picked a 50mm prime for that type of event. her deep focal length, combined with higher aperture give her a greater advantage to your 24-70, because images on that lens tend to be more intimate, for a surrounding such as a reception, like the viewer is actually mingling with the people in the picture.

my advice is to be very keen on how people are acting. be fast with the shutter, shoot at a high aperture if you can, on a prime lens preferably. go on instinct, and be pointing ready for a good shot. you'll be surprised at the images you get.

PASM · Mar 20, 2011

ChristopherCoy said:
Do you think that too much technical concern can put a damper on your creativity?

I think the effective thing is to keep options open. Be prepared and able to respond to both the planned and also the opportune aspects of the shoot.

PhotoWrangler · Mar 20, 2011

raphaelaaron said:
i would have also picked a 50mm prime for that type of event. her deep focal length, combined with higher aperture give her a greater advantage to your 24-70, because images on that lens tend to be more intimate, for a surrounding such as a reception, like the viewer is actually mingling with the people in the picture.

Thats a great way of putting it. I like to be invisible, because you hear so many horror stories of photographers using the sanctuary as a basketball court, so I end up using long lenses and shooting from the back and sides. She was a little more noticeable, but not intrusive. But her images were just more 'intimate' feeling.

molested_cow · Mar 20, 2011

You are there to capture the EVENT, not just to take properly exposed photographs. Anything short of that will be meaningless.

One thing I notice when I go out with a bunch of photographers to events is that they are soooooooooo focused on taking photos that they missed the reason why we are there. And then they stare at their LCD screens right after each shot, missing everything else that is happening. Don't spend all of your time thinking about the photos. Absorb the atmosphere and get immersed. Take your eyes off the view finder more often and look around. What takes people's breath away isn't how well the photo is executed, but the memories that the photos reminded them of the event.

Trever1t · Mar 20, 2011

ART>everything else.

A great technical shooter is like a chemist trying to cook a meal based on it's ingredients.

skieur · Mar 20, 2011

Wedding photography can be very journalistic in style and approach...as in the emphasis is on being in the right place at the right time to get the best shot. That cannot always be done, if you are tied to a lot of auxiliary flash and other equipment which prevents you from moving quickly from one location to another.

skieur

PASM · Mar 20, 2011

So Christopher, in future, will you be incorporating your assistant's talent with the nifty-fifty into your product, on these jobs?

usayit · Mar 20, 2011

ChristopherCoy said:
there she was with her single SB600, and her 50mm, and shooting INCREDIBLE stuff. Sure I could look at her photos and say that a particular angle distorted the brides dress a bit, or that she cut off a limb, or that this shadow or that shadow was a little harsh - but while I was worried about all that stuff in my pictures, she was capturing incredible moments and photos that showed emotion, and mood, and style.

Ooooooooooooooo... How interesting...

What you described to me is the act of snapshooting.... a term so many here hate but I am still a firm believer that at the heart, it is all still photography (good or bad, still... )

Have you studied or examined some street or journalistic photog's work? Its a differemt mindset that focuses on telling a story rather than obtaining the technical perfection to the nth degree many obsesses over.

The question you should be asking yourself as business professional is whether or not all that focus on equipment brings a return on investment. Certainly a war photographer dodging bullets loaded down withtons of equipment would see a very bad return in their investment. Some of the most powerful examples many herewould scoff at because if the photo's technical weakness.

My opinion, a wedding set isnt complete with a little of both.... technically strong photos coupled with those that focus on capturing the moment and story.

PASM · Mar 20, 2011

Trever1t said:
A great technical shooter is like a chemist trying to cook a meal

..or like a chef trying to formulate a new shampoo..

pgriz · Mar 20, 2011

Isn't the idea to get good enough at the technical stuff so that it recedes into the background and lets the artist work unencumbered? I take my cue from some of the pros that I know and they don't even think speed and aperture and focal length, they just do what needs to be done in order for the picture to work. A guy I know as a photojournalist moves a round a scene, looking at the light, the angle, the story, and bang, he whips out his gear, and he's taken an off-camera flash with a reflector, with a prime lens and just the right amount of flash and ambient... He's told me more than once - if you have to think, you don't know it.

Derrel · Mar 20, 2011

If a second shooter or other "somebody" with JUST a 50mm prime and a shoe-mounted SB 600 is out-shooting you with a 24-70 and better lighting, then you need to ask yourself "why?" I agree with the comment that pgriz closed with in his post above: "If you have to think, you don't know it." Also, what is this about photos with cut-off limbs being rated as "INCREDIBLE" [sic]? Are such pics really "INCREDIBLE"???

I'm not quite sure what the woman's photos actually look like,and why you'd describe them as being so incredible. Is it that hers are candid and un-posed, and yours by nature of the equipment being used are staged and lighted??? Is it a matter of her shooting action as it happens and you stopping, interjecting yourself, posing people, lighting them, and only then making your pictures?

Josh66 · Mar 20, 2011

I think you need both - technical and art.

You need some 'vision' - that's the art part. But you also need the technical know-how to make that vision come to life.

My personal opinion is that one can be learned, the other can't. Some say that 'creativity' can be learned, but I tend to believe that you either have it or you don't.
With enough time, anybody can learn everything about composition, lighting, camera settings, etc... You can have technically perfect photos that are still boring as hell though.

pgriz · Mar 20, 2011

In my family, I'm the tech guy. I've got a daughter who is pretty creative (takes after her mom). I've given her a P&S camera since she's always doodling, or writing, or painting, and she has produced some amazing photos. Most will say that they are snapshots, as she just sees and shoots. But what I find refreshing and inspiring is that her chosen vantage points are often so interesting, and her framing is unconventional - but there is such an energy and vibrancy about her shots! She doesn't care about f/stops and shutter speed and keylight and fill. She observes, moves around, and more often than not, grabs a really neat image. I've been with her and we've shot the same objects/scenes, and often it looks like we were on different planets when you look at the resulting shots. She's moved away a year ago to pursue her graduate studies, and I really miss seeing the results of her journeys of exploration.