PHOTOGRAPHY...an ART or NOT?

For me, photography is an art. i collected a lot of pictures. And looking at it, I realized it captures most of the memorable, beautiful, and magical moments we have that can not be seen right away as we take pictures. It is an art because as we look at the out come, it is then that we realize how beautiful what we taken shot at.

I think it is both an art that requires skill. Look at the works of art by famous artists like Picasso and Van Gogh. These artists were able to come up with beautiful masterpieces. They were extremely skilled artists but they weren't good from the beginning. They honed their skills and eventually became so good that they could produce beautiful works. Like photographers, we need to first hone our skills before we could really create masterpieces. Back then, they didn't have cameras to capture scenes, they had paintbrushes. They used their imaginations back then to come up with beautiful work just like how we use our imaginations now to come up with great angles and great shots. When you edit a picture on the PC, that's when it becomes a bit debatable if it is truly an art or a skill. I think editing pictures is a completely different art and skill altogether.

as they say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" as well as art. and not all are given the "eye" in art but you can practice it.its just a matter of finding a nice subject, giving it a nice composition and the right angle to portray what you want to express and how you will wnat it to come out. just keep in touch with your feelings to have an "artsy" picture. and yes photgraphy is an art just depends how you take it and how the result to come out. check out some of my works: http://moonstomperph.multiply.com

For me it is definitely an art itself. For me personally art is something that makes someone's thoughts or ideas stay in someone's memory. Just like photography, the moment you took the shot you are actually trying to preserve it in your memory at the same time sharing it with other people as well. Since it has to stay in one's memory of course you need the skill to do such things right? Just like in magic you need a lot of skill before others would call it an art.

A good interesting,skillful hobby,one that takes patience time and money too.Digital cameras are more popular than ever now,quality of pictures are high,an art form definately .

An old, old argument, well summed up by trickiwoo. There is a confusion between the end product of photography and the process by which it is made. Painting, carving, etching, print-making are all quite technical processes; they all all require training, practice and skill to achieve anything of lasting value. Most artists today buy there tools, paints etc. Classical artists had to make their paints from scratch, and their brushes, canvasses etc. I bet the first people to use commercial paints in tubes were accused of being less than artists because of it! Remember, too, that the great artists often directed the work of apprentices who did much of the actual painting or carving, especially on large works; yet we still see the master as the artist and their work as Art. Most photos are snapshots, but in the hands of an artist, the camera becomes an tool to produce true Art.

I think you can look at it either way. I believe Photography can be called an Art but doing really well at it takes some skill.

You certainly need a solid technical understanding to be an accomplished photographer but I definitely see photography as an art. Art takes on many forms these days from sculpture and painting to carvings and digital graphics so photography is no different! It still involves great skill and creativity to capture interesting shots and manipulate them into something enjoyable to see. ANYONE can take a picture but very few people can be truly artistic with the shots they capture and display!

I think it is most definitely an art. It is very difficult to get just the right picture at just the right angle to optimize the vision. I admire several photographers. They are like a painter; except their medium is the photograph.

I think that photography is an art. I love taking photos, just of everything. I take pictures of my daughter, our dogs, landscapes, just everything. I think photography is about emotion, and feeling the scenery it takes skill, and a good eye.

It's difficult to define something as subjective as art. This debate has been going on since the camera was invented! As soon as these artistic photographers started emerging onto the art scene, all the painters were like, "What?? All they do is push a button! That takes no skill at all!" I think photography can be art if it is done the right way. If you compose a photo with artistic intent, paying attention to lighting, detail, color composition, contrast, ect. then it can be a work of art. Photography can serve a lot of functions besides art. The DMV uses photography to take identification photos of people for driver's licenses. Police use photography to collect evidence at a crime scene. Newspapers use photography to tell a story. So why can't artists use photography as an art form? Drawings can be used in other ways besides art as well. In ancient times, people used drawings as a form of communication. Police use composite drawings to identify suspects. People draw maps to give directions. As for editing your photos on the PC. You're not changing your photo. You're still continuing to creatively form the final art product by means of editing your photos. It's all part of the photographic process- whether you're editing your photos in a darkroom or on a computer. It's like an artist who draws an image in black and white, and then adds the color later. That's part of their process. Editing photos isn't changing art, it's just another step of the artistic process.

photography is an art because now a days everybody has a camera but photography id more than that hat you thing. in photography you have to take different phoyos on different theme like nature human happy etc also photography is now a proffetion and the people in this feild are inproving this art.

Photography is a big art for me and it will always be

I think of it as an art. Yes you need to acquire some skills that anyone could acquire but one must still have an eye for interesting subject matter. The various ways that subject matter is expressed makes it an art form.

In my opinion some photographry is an art, well at least a type of art. Some of the pictues are absolutely amazing, and very eye catching, however some of it is very tacky and not worth the time. However you can tell the difference from personal opinion, that's all that art is basically, a reflection of what is occuring at that time. The culture, the environment, the population, and the dreams all of that consist to make art. Everyone has their own view as to what art is, basically people will find appealing what is occurant in their lives at the time of the artwork. It's a very rough thing to understand and sometimes very hard to make it in the art world because what one person is going through is not going to be what the other is and so on. Great discussion.

Photography is definately art. By one definition Art is the product of human creativity. What is the first place that comes to mind when you think of art? A museum? A Gallery? there are tons of photos in each.