Posts Tagged ‘art’

A snapshot is is often used to describe a photograph in a somewhat derogatory sense. A photo that was taken quickly, with little regard to the composition, framing, and camera settings. A photo that was taken without much thought.

However, when a photo is described as a snapshot, that does not necessarily mean it is a bad photo. There have been (and still are) many popular and award-winning photographers who make use of the snapshot style, such as Gary Winogrand, William Klein, Nan Goldin, and William Eggleston, to give a few examples.

In this article we'll look at the snapshot in more detail, covering a brief history, and exploring how technical imperfections can add to rather than detract from the photograph's aesthetic.

It's easy to dismiss our iPhone (or mobile phone) cameras, after all they are hidden in plain sight and right there every time we "slide to unlock" our phones. So you can't take any "real" pictures with them, right? Perhaps you're one of the many photographers who thinks that it's not a "real" camera and that, to get the best images photographically you really need to lug around a giant DSLR complete with all of the lenses you can fit into your pack. Even Ansel Adams had to use a mule to carry his camera gear at one point, right? So how could something some small and easy to use actually take acceptable images?

Well, iPhone cameras, photography, and optics in general, have changed over the years. Gone are the days of needing large camera equipment – camera manufacturers and modern optics have dictated that we are now doing more with less. Combine that with the notion that a seasoned photographer will know how to make best use of equipment, whatever equipment he or she has available, and you have a recipe for some great images.

Aonach Meadhoin, Glen Shiel by flatworldsedge on flickr (licensed CC-BY-SA)

Sure, it's great to have a DSLR available, and most iPhone photographers will still have one at their disposal, but that doesn't mean you can't also take some great images and make some lasting artwork with your new little buddy, the iPhone camera.

In Oct. 1978, the cover of National Geographic showed a self portrait of a gorilla using a camera. I’m serious, you can look it up if you would like. The cover shot was a self portrait, taken by a gorilla, and by the standards of the day it was actually pretty good!

Each year 100 million Americans also take some pretty good photos. OK, admittedly not all of them are that good . . . but with auto focus and extremely high mega pixels it is fairly safe to say that more people are taking better pictures than ever before. So the obvious question is where does that leave us “serious” photographers?