The Purpose of Photography/Photographers Job

[sushinam]

This may either be a very simple or a very difficult question to answer. (personally I find it tricky):

What purpose and function does photography fill in our world (and societies)? Should we class it as art or something else? Can photography be divided and classified (in the way art and news - if you get my drift).

And what about the photographer? What kind of moral or ethical obligations and responsibilities do/should we for-fill? Can photographers see themselves as renegades or individuals who want to objectively research and document the reality in which we exist? And how about manipulation and post-production?


All I want to know is how do you see yourself as a photographer and what do you see as your responsibilities, rights and obligations? What is your opinion? I would appreciate it if you took the time to think about this and answer personally and clearly.

If someone has posted a similar thread, kindly post a link so that I can browse it... Thank you!

[Raoul Isidro]

The essence of photography is to capture a moment in time and preserve it. A photographer can only take those images from places and events where he/she has been to. Photography is where you have been.

[Doug Pardee]

There is no answer. Photography is a set of technologies and techniques. It fills whatever purpose we find that it fills.

It's like asking about transportation, or the Internet, or even a hammer.

It is what it is, and it's used however people wish to use it.

[Sterling]

^^^ I agree. It's like asking what's the purpose of woodworking or welding in our society.

[Jim Bryant]

Each day as the earth revolves towards sunrise, members of a select human species awaken to observe the world with three eyes instead of two. They are the press photographers of the world, men and women who write the visual biography of man on earth.

[spencer28n]

It means different things to different people. It's a form of expression, it's a way to communicate, and it's a way to record moments that would otherwise forever be lost.

[LeeR]

What a great question! Photography, as some have already pointed out, plays many different roles. A newspaper photographer has to play by a certain set of rules, that is, they are required to photograph an accurate representation of what they have seen. An artist/photographer plays by a different set of rules. They are allowed to change reality in any way they choose in pursuit of making a statement. Portrait photographers are somewhere in between. They want to be accurate, though a bit of improvemnt on reality is commendable.
Lots of photographers call themselves "artists." Many of these people haven't got a clue but that's the nature of photography today; people can claim what they like, the rest of us will decide based on what they produce.
I have a set of standards I adhere to faithfully though I know that I would have to change those standards if I was going to be a forensic photographer. There are many roles for photographers, almost as many as there are photographers. Some come with strict ethical implications, but most do not.
There was a time when the church decided what could be painted. They said that you could only paint Jesus in seven different poses. We are light years from that now and hurtling ahead to who knows where.

[OsmosisStudios]

Depends greatly on who you talk to. Photography is a great medium, like writing in fact, that can be used to fulfill many uses. It can't be just one thing.

[Tammy Snyder]

"Photojournalism is an experience - it is innocence, breathlessness, weightlessness, beauty, essence, expression, taste, art, drive, hope, joy, heartache, pain, reality, a test, a dream, a dawning, a journey, a diary, a nod to God and a keepsake to the world. It is you. "
~T.S.

Tammy Snyder Photojournalism