In my latest post I finally finished the three-part series regarding “Fine Art and Black and White Photography” — you can click here if you missed it. So, I’d like to start a slightly different topic, this time I’d like to elaborate on why I’m a photographer.
Have you ever ask yourself the reasons why you dedicate such amount of time and effort to photography? If you’re like me and probably many other photographers, you might have a “day job” that basically pays for you bills, so photography is for you either a hobby or an activity you’re in the process of monetize, nevertheless you don’t scant any time or effort to dedicate to it, because you love it, because that’s what you like to do in life and probably — again if you’re like me — you have the hope that one day photography will pay for your bills, and you will finally be able to dedicate all of your time and effort to what you love the most: to produce your art.
In a previous post I talked about the need to have a vision for your work — especially if you’re a fine art photographer. But, perhaps having a vision for your work could be much simpler if you simply try to articulate why in the first place you’re a photographer.
In my case being a photographer is more than anything a necessity to express the internal world I live in. When I create images with my camera, I couldn’t care less about being an accurate reflection of “reality”, therefore I happily allow myself to manipulate images in a way that they help me to convey my feelings about a particular scene, subject, or topic. So, when I see the “final” result I feel psychologically relief.
As you can see, for me photography is a personal “therapy” that helps me transiting this road that life is, so from that perspective to me is clear that every image I create is a personal work, it’s a personal interpretation about something or somebody that I captured with my camera.
I firmly believe that the more honest an artist is about the intentions of his or her work, the more chances he has to connect with his audience. I believe that artists that transcend in time are those that never compromise their vision in order to make his or her work more likable to a particular audience. So, my advice to young fine art photographers is to never compromise their vision, ask yourself why in a first place you’re a photographer (i.e. an artist) and stick to your vision.
I hope I provided you with enough food for thought regarding this topic, think about it and let me know your thoughts in the comments sections, for now I just like to remind you that if you want to receive direct notifications when I publish new posts in my blog you can subscribe to my blog.
Have a fantastic day and thanks for reading my blog notes.
Website – http://www.enrique-pelaez.com/
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