What is Photography?

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Well, photography is the art of taking photographs! Ha!

So what exactly is a photograph? Is it just a picture of a scene?

Hmm... to many of us, a photograph is something more than just a visual depiction of a scene. Photography, in its most true form captures life- emotions. The photograph should be able to evoke some feeling from its viewer-like joy, sorry, loneliness, hope, etc. An image which cannot do this is merely a snapshot.

Every photograph tells a story and whatever is included in the frame is part of that story.

You, as the photographer, have complete control over these elements(by changing your position, focal length, DoF, etc). Hence, as a photographer, its your job to make sure everything in the frame contributes to the story. If an element doesn't contribute to your story, it surely takes something away from it, therefore such elements should be removed.

Its not wrong to say then, that photography is as much an art of exclusion as it is of inclusion.

It is an art of creating order from chaos!

Photography is also a science. Not knowing how light behaves, can destroy your photograph.

A photographer must know the effects of changing the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal lenght, position in space, etc to make the most of a photograph.

A blown out sky can ruin an awesome composition. Every setting you change WILL have some effect on the photograph, so choose wisely.

Digitalization of photography allows you to experiment without spending money when u screw up! Use this to your advantage! Experiment and learn...

All in all, great photography occurs when science and art blend together; the co-ordination of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, if you may ;)

Alll this may make photography sound complicated, but don't let that scare you. For what is life without a challenge, eh?

For those who just want the picture(that says, "I was here"), by all means, change your camera to its 'Auto' setting, point at your subject and snap away. 'Spray and Pray' as they call it.

But for those that want their photographs to say something more, something like "I was here, saw this and felt like this... do you FEEL it?", then change your camera to Av/Tv/M and start learning. Over time, your photographs will improve.

P.S. I'm no pro. I'm just an amateur, learning about photography just as you probably are. Am just trying to share what I know.