There are many myths and general perception on Photography. Some of these myths even generated from practitioners and artists of the medium – others from observers, admirers or critics. The biggest problem with Photography is everyone has an opinion about it – because it’s such a “public” art. This vast amount of opinions has created a lot of confusion and misunderstandings about the medium. It’s one of the most talked about and at the same time least understood medium of arts you will ever find out there.
One such a big myth is “Photography is painting with light”. Now, the word “Photography” literally means that – painting with light. So no argument there. But whatever was the reason for the origin, photography is as far from “painting” as it can be. Lets explore it in a little more details.
A painter starts with an empty canvas or paper – and then adds her elements (color, brushstrokes, etc.) to create objects or abstractions to form an image. Photography is completely opposite – the photographer starts with a scene full of existing objects – she selects which one to show in her rectangular frame and she selects the viewpoint and light for appropriate messaging. Painting is additive, photography is subtractive.
Painting is also about imagination. A lot of painters do not even follow a scene – they draw from their memories, blending various impressions and ideas together. A photographer has less room for such imagination. She has to work with whatever given to her. She uses her skills in a completely different way – by analyzing the scene or object, by understanding what she wants to show about it and by understanding her options to do so. Painting is imaginative, photography is analytical.
Painting is also less about the equipments. A simple canvas, some pigments, a brush or pencil – is all that a painter really needs to create a masterpiece. A photographer needs serious equipments – even a simple camera on the market represents and embodies hundreds of years of scientific and technological progress that mankind has made. A good photographer often has a very scientific mind – if not, at least a learning and intuitive mind to understand how the complex thing in her hand works. The technology is becoming easy to use – but still more you know about it, the easier it gets. Painters do not have to worry about this too much.
Only true similarity between painting and photography is the output – both results in a 2-D piece of art –on paper or canvas or similar media – representing a personal portrait, or a natural scene or a an abstract or whatever. Sometimes photography can be very painterly – depending on the subject and light. Sometimes painting can be very photographic – if the painter’s intention was to produce something very real. The comparison ends there in appearance.
Now, about the “light” in the “painting with light”. Unless you are a studio photographer using strobes and flashes or you are light painter (a type of photography where one captures a scene in the dark and uses some kind of light sources to “paint” a subject), photographers have very little control over light. They are a patient bunch – they wait for their turn. They wait for the light to work in their favor – they can wait for hours, days, years – for that fraction of seconds when they press the shutter to get the light they want. A painter paints her own light – no need to go out there in wee hours and waiting for the best light – though they have learned how to do create the light using their tools and that may take years. Because a painting is created from nothing, a painter has more flexibility in creation. A photographer is always given something and trying to overcome the restrictions or making a sense of it.
So, Photography has little to do with “painting” or “painting with light”. In fact, I think that one medium that you can compare photography with is sculptures. It sounds not too intuitive – right? But a sculptor starts with a piece of rock or other materials – and then gets rid of the parts that she does not need and ends up with a work of art (I make it sound very simple – oversimplification is my passion!). Photography works the same way – start with a scene you like and subtract the elements that does not fit your message (lighting is also a part of the scene…if you don’t have the ideal light, either create it or wait for it to happen).
Photography is NOT painting with light. But is it all about light? The next myth that’s out there “Photography is all about capturing the light”. I will tackle that next…stay tuned.
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