#Pictorial photography professional

The call for photography to be viewed as art came early in the mediumвЂ™s history. Figure 1: вЂњRicking the ReedвЂќ, Peter Henry Emerson, 1886

As the field of photography grew and matured, a growing faction came to think otherwise, seeing photography as a new means of artistic expression. With the advent of photography, many saw it as a superior recording medium, but without artistic value. Whereas paintings had previously served this function, they had also been conduits for artistic expression. To a great extent, photographyвЂ™s early adherents supported this view, by photographing landscapes, architecture, personalities, and events with the intent to factually inform the viewing public. They viewed its output as a scientific, or clinical record of the physical world. In the earliest days of photography, many saw the discipline as a technical one requiring expertise in chemistry and optics, and the mastery of an arcane workflow. The debate over these two approaches, to either document a technically accurate record of the subject, or to exercise aesthetic interpretation, has fueled contentious photographic art movements from the 1880вЂ™s to the modern day.

In contrast, the calotype presented a softer, grainier, more ethereal image quality, perhaps encouraging a more artistically interpretive approach to the subject. The daguerreotype exhibited exquisitely high image sharpness, resolution, and detail, arguably capturing a more accurate rendering of the subject. Ironically, this divided answer to photographic distinction paralleled the differences between the two most popular processes in early photography. It seemed the solution could be found in two parts: through either technical excellence, or through artistic merit.

#Pictorial photography professional

While the huge вЂњsnapshotвЂќ market provided the financial strength to sustain the growing photography industry, it challenged serious amateur and professional photographers to differentiate their work from that of casual shooters. This led to the creation of millions of photographs, characterized by a small number of strong images obscured in a sea of mediocrity. The widespread availability and relatively low cost of the Kodak camera and its ease of use resulted in an explosive surge in the number of new photographers. When George EastmanвЂ™s Kodak box camera was introduced in 1888, its popularity spawned an identity crisis of sorts within the photographic community.