When do you have a transition from producing snaps to photographs

[jamesev]

following on from When do you become a photographer? at what point do you make the transition from producing "snaps" to producing what can be called photographs?

[NicoleScraps]

Just my humble opinion, but I believe that you make that transition when everything in the photo was well thought out and controlled, ie; background, lighting, composition, etc. Of course, I am speaking of portraits, not street photography, photojounalism, sports and things like that where it is not as easy to control every aspect.

[MrJones]

the problem is that you think of it as transition, I think it mostly depend on the shooting you're doing at the moment.
I can go with a client to a photo shoot and be a photographer and I can take snaps of my cousins at a birthday party or just playing at the yard.
I think Nicole got the difference right on, a photo is a well thought and planed photograph, and a snap is a candid moment that you snapped just before it went away.

[jamesev]

Originally Posted by MrJones

the problem is that you think of it as transition, I think it mostly depend on the shooting you're doing at the moment.
I can go with a client to a photo shoot and be a photographer and I can take snaps of my cousins at a birthday party or just playing at the yard.
I think Nicole got the difference right on, a photo is a well thought and planed photograph, and a snap is a candid moment that you snapped just before it went away.

fair point would it be fair to say that it needs to be well thought out planned and executed. I suppose knowing the theory is one thing, being able to apply it to get results is another.

as for going between photographer and snaps, is part of being a photographer and a snapper, applying these things as second nature, I guess what I am saying is that once it becomes second nature do you then ever regress back to snaps?

Can a candid be captured as a snap or as a photograph?

[gturner]

yep, when you start planning your images long before the camera gets to you eye.

[Indigo November]

I don't think that it's an either/or thing. I think that different situations require different approaches to photography.

If you are photographing a building fire for a newspaper, chances are, you're taking "snaps".
If you are doing a portrait shoot using studio lighting I would hope that they would be well thought out photographs.
Even a situation like a paid birthday shoot might require snaps, as children move so fast and special moments are quick to pass.


Technically, snaps are photographs, but I agree with Nicole on her definition of the word.

[candidrachel]

Even the professionals make "snaps". Yesterday I was watching the news highlighing the Royal Wedding and Hugo Burnand the renowned photographer took a candid shot of Catherine standing in a passageway and it was awful with someone's hand right in the middle of the shot. I still don't know what possessed him to show THAT photo to the worlds media but it goes to show that we're all not infallible

[RichardTaylor]

I feel it's a transition thing and it doesn't matter what you are shooting.

It happens in at least 3 areas, there may be more as I am still learning.

(1) Using your camera gear becomes automatic. You don't really need to think a lot about setting it up for different subject & lighting conditions and for the results you want to achieve, you just do it.

(2) You understand light and how to use it.

(3) You develop an "eye" for what works and you you develop the skill for recognising the moment (and capturing it). That applies to photo journalism, Sport (see some of Jim Bryants work) and street photography

See this pic by Peter Phun for a prime example of capturing the moment.
Maybe we can all relate to this

Even if you do not have control of your subject, lighting or shooting position you still have control over how you take the photograph and when you take the photograph.

Some candid moments transcend snaps.

A good photographer will capture those special moments that can be so quick to pass.
"Photographers" that are not so good will not even recognise the moment let alone capture it.

We all make mistakes, however you do not publish them, unless it is to illustrate how not to do it.

[jamesev]

Originally Posted by candidrachel

Even the professionals make "snaps". Yesterday I was watching the news highlighing the Royal Wedding and Hugo Burnand the renowned photographer took a candid shot of Catherine standing in a passageway and it was awful with someone's hand right in the middle of the shot. I still don't know what possessed him to show THAT photo to the worlds media but it goes to show that we're all not infallible

When was this, was it on TV, I think I missed it?

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

Even if you do not have control of your subject, lighting or shooting position you still have control over how you take the photograph and when you take the photograph.

Some candid moments transcend snaps.

A good photographer will capture those special moments that can be so quick to pass.
"Photographers" that are not so good will not even recognise the moment let alone capture it.

We all make mistakes, however you do not publish them, unless it is to illustrate how not to do it.

So is it less about luck and more about judgement? In that to photograph (as opposed to snap) there needs to be ability to consistently produce and not just get that one lucky shot as may be captured by a snapper in the right place at the right time?

Originally Posted by Indigo November

I don't think that it's an either/or thing. I think that different situations require different approaches to photography.

If you are photographing a building fire for a newspaper, chances are, you're taking "snaps".
If you are doing a portrait shoot using studio lighting I would hope that they would be well thought out photographs.
Even a situation like a paid birthday shoot might require snaps, as children move so fast and special moments are quick to pass.


Technically, snaps are photographs, but I agree with Nicole on her definition of the word.

I suppose I didn't really differentiate snaps vs photographs. I suppose I mean, for example, snaps being the 195 shot streams that come up on Facebook each day where someone has been to the beach or historical location where the opportunity to come back with something that captures the essence of that location but it ends up being just scrolled through with monotony as opposed to shots that actually make you say ooooo nice!

[candidrachel]

Yes, on the news but now it's taken off but I'm not surprised. It was a terriblel snapshot! I've been searching and searching the internet but can't find it anywhere.