Let’s not forget, photography is hard

There’s a difference between taking a picture and making one.

Hopefully you’ve experienced that magical moment as a photographer, where a scene emerges in front of your eyes, and all you have to do is hold the camera up to your eye and press the shutter button.

It’s a great, great feeling, isn’t it?

I enjoy these moments when they roll around, because they sure as hell don’t happen every day.

But you’d be forgiven for thinking that they do. The world at large is becoming a place where people think taking a picture is easy. And I guess it is; you reach into your pocket, swipe the camera icon and snap away until your heart’s content.

Except I’m not talking about taking a picture.

I’m talking about creating one.

You know, one that that’s been crafted, with thought and care, and attention to detail. One that actually makes people feel something.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that creating these images is hard work. It takes skill, dedication and patience, not to mention a healthy dose of luck as well. Having a camera attached to your phone doesn’t automatically make you a photographer. A great camera doesn’t automatically make a good picture. All those old pearls of wisdom still ring true. Photography isn’t a commodity and it shouldn’t be sold as one.

That isn’t to say that photography is some elite, unreachable profession that only certain people should be allowed to partake in. Far from it. The accessibility and availability of technologically groundbreaking cameras and equipment means that anyone can be a photographer; even me.

It’s just a shame to see so many people dismiss the profession as something that can be replaced by an intern with his iPhone. As Louis CK so hilariously points out, we’re the generation of spoiled idiots. We cast our eyes over the most advanced technology known to mankind and turn our noses up if it takes more than three seconds to load.

We shouldn’t forget that capturing a moment in time is a magical thing. Photographs can still elicit powerful emotions and tell meaningful stories. They can record the beauty and the horror of everyday life, or capture the essence of a place within a single frame. Technologically speaking, taking a picture may be easier than it’s ever been, but making a picture requires a little bit of something extra.