Some thoughts on Photography in Practice by MJ Langford, author, teacher and Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society In many situations photography is primarily discussed simply on the basis of understanding the principles of optics, the mechanics of the camera and the simple chemistry of processing. But is that all that goes to make up photography? It is very easy to allow the photographic _process_ to become exaggerated out of all proportion to its true contribution to the final result. The photographic process is only a step - a link between what the photographer originally saw and selected, and a permanent, graphic record. Because photography is a means to a visual end the purposes to which it can be put vary enormously. If document copying is placed at one end of a "spectrum" of uses, and decorative non-representational photographs at the other, we see that many applications bear no relationship to one another other than some shared use of the photographic process. For convenience we can say that each type of photography requires differing proportions of: (a) objectivity based on scientific disciplines and technology, and (b) subjective interpretation, born through the photographer's personal knowledge and outlook of life, as well as their visual maturity and experience of communicating. There is a vast spectrum of reasons for making photographs. All demand varying proportions of technical expertise and imaginative thinking. Through them the photographer serves society. No application of photography is "better" than another; they are merely different. It would be as foolish to approach report illustration in an advertising manner as to handle photojournalism with formal scientific procedure. (Andy's comment: photography is unique in the blending of the creative arts, the technologies and the sciences to achieve its purposes.) As photographers we owe it to ourselves and the client to first discover the intended application of our work. We can then turn to assessing the subject in the light of this final use of our photographs. excerpted from: Basic Photography, a primer for professionals, MJ Langford and published by The Focal Press. Langford is a prolific writer and has published textbooks that are used by many educational institutions throughout Great Britain and the rest of the world.
