Is photography art?

Pixabay
(Image credit: Pixabay)

Is photography art? That’s a good question and if you were hoping for a definitive answer here I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. That’s partly because there is no definitive answer to the question and also because any suggestion one way or another is likely to spark a chain reaction of opinion too large for our comments section to handle. 

And it’s true - art is totally subjective. What one person considers a masterpiece, another scoffs at with that kind of chin-flicking disdain one usually associates with a critic, who wears tartan trousers and a top-knot. But the truth of the matter is that there is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding the function of an image - it’s this which I believe ultimately defines the divide between a creative work and mere light map of tones in a scene.

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Peter Fenech

As the Editor for  Digital Photographer magazine, Peter is a specialist in camera tutorials and creative projects to help you get the most out of your camera, lens, tripod, filters, gimbal, lighting and other imaging equipment.

After cutting his teeth working in retail for camera specialists like Jessops, he has spent 11 years as a photography journalist and freelance writer – and he is a Getty Images-registered photographer, to boot.

No matter what you want to shoot, Peter can help you sharpen your skills and elevate your ability, whether it’s taking portraits, capturing landscapes, shooting architecture, creating macro and still life, photographing action… he can help you learn and improve.