What is artistic photography and what is technical photography?

3 Comments

1. Steve P says:

   May 30, 2010 at 7:45 pm

   You could probably get as many different answers as people who answer. To *me* artistic photography is working to create a vision in the mind. In other words, you are MAKING a photo, not just TAKING a photo. Your intention is to create a mood or depiction of a scene that goes beyond the "normal" view. Your goal is to physically create with the photo the idea, mood, or image you have in your mind.

   I think of technical photography as product shots in which you are capturing the pure physical aspects of something with no vision in mind. Even documentary photography could be called technical photography as it is the capturing of moments or events without necessarily any previous thought or plan. Of course there are many very powerful, artistic documentary photos, but again, the photograher did not usually go out with some vision in mind… the circumstances of the event and his skill with the camera created the art of the photo.

   Again… just my take on things. Here is my website if you want to browse. There are photos there that I would say could fall into either catagory. Some of them were ideas in my head that I worked to create with the camera, others were more or less simply putting on film what was before my eyes at the time, though I try to see some art in anything I shoot.

   http://www.LightAnon.com

   steve
2. Lawn Gnome says:

   May 30, 2010 at 7:45 pm

   Artistic is like what that man did that took photos of the West.
   Tech is like X-Ray or This building will fall because this photo shows the stress cracks.
   http://www.photographytips.com/
3. screwdriver says:

   May 30, 2010 at 7:45 pm

   I don’t see the distinction, a good ‘Art’ picture should be perfect technically too. Shoddy technique and converting to B&W does not make it art.

   Chris