Is Photography Art or Entertainment?

Man has always wanted to capture individual moments of life from what is going on around him. And not only with the help of words, but also with the use of images. In the beginning, primitive artists displayed their impressions on the walls of the cave. Then they made all sorts of crafts out of clay, stone and wood. Then came more advanced painting. And finally, technological progress evolved and the era of photography came. 

Throughout the history of mankind, people have used different means to capture moments and landscapes. But is photography art or entertainment? This question has been asked since the early days of photography. And it still does not have a single answer. Some people say that photography is not art because it only captures what is already there. It does not create anything new. But others believe that photography is a form of art because it allows us to see the world in a new way.

A little bit of history

On August 19, 1839, the French government acquired the right to use daguerreotype on a wide scale. In the same year, the English astronomer John Herschel coined the now-famous term “photography. Professional Australian photographer Korske Ara, based on this date, initiated the establishment of the World Photography Day in 2009. Attempts to create a prototype of photography were made a long time ago. In the early days of photography it was a simple camera obscura. Many famous scientists worked with it. But it took centuries for science fiction to become reality. 

The French artist Louis Daguerre succeeded in conquering the photographic Everest. He showed unprecedented stubbornness (he didn’t get out of the laboratory for 11 years) and a great vanity in achieving his goal. Daguerre portrait, 1844. Many people take part in any multilevel invention. But the laurels, so to speak, of the winner go to a few. 

Daguerre turned out to be quite a guy. He officially secured the right to be called the inventor of photography. And he got the French government to pay him a substantial reward for life. Boulevard du Templ in Paris. Louis Daguerre, 1838. Photo: ru.wikipedia.org The first decades of photography certainly can’t be called art. It was more of a boring, difficult physical and chemical process. Not everyone dared to take photos. 

The development of photographic art

American company Kodak, founded in 1880, decided to free people from the routine problems by throwing their shoulders purely technical matters. And let people take pleasure in the process of taking pictures. The company slogan was, “You press the button, we do the rest. With the elimination of such technical problems, with the qualitative improvement of produced cameras, with the reduction of their price, it really was an era of photographic art. 

But now scientific and technological progress has reached digital cameras and smartphones. The famous slogan of the Kodak company remained, but it was transformed into a different concept. Now it is not a team of people that does everything for a person, but high-precision technology. All the “art” became just a push of a button. 

However, to a certain extent, even now photography contains elements of art. To have unsharp eyes, to find the right angle, as photographers say, “to catch the shot,” to have a certain artistic taste – all these qualities claim, albeit with a small letter, but for art. The most important quality of a photographer is observation.

There are many different photographic competitions in the world. There is nothing supernatural in the winning photos. The most important thing is to press the button in time. That is the art of photography. 

By the way, there is also a Day of the Photographer. It is celebrated on July 12, the day of St. Veronica, the patroness of photographers. As the French film critic A. Bazin wittily noted: “Photography mummifies time. So if you want to leave your mark on history, take pictures of yourself and others.

Final Thoughts

So, is photography art or entertainment? It really depends on your own opinion. Many people believe that photography is both art and entertainment, while others may think it is mostly one or the other. Whatever you believe, there is no doubt that photography has played a major role in our lives and will continue to do so for many years to come.