What is photography?

As for knowing what photography is, let me talk about my opinion. More content, slowly watch. Divided into origin, essence, thought, light and shadow, these several parts. The following contents are my personal understanding of photography. Welcome friendly communication. First of all, a brief introduction to the origin of photography. Photography was invented in the 19th century. At the beginning, due to the difficulty of technical operation, it cost a lot and was an advanced enjoyment for the upper class. Photography can be accepted by people probably because it "draws" the same as oneself. I guess this may be the same meaning as when we draw pictures when we are young and our family praises our paintings. It took about the same amount of time to take a photograph as it did to paint a portrait, so my guess was that it was just a way for the well-to-do to assert their status. The invention of photography also indirectly promoted the development of painting. The invention of photography had a direct impact on the lives of portrait painters, for there was nothing more "painted" than a photograph. So it forced the painters to find another way to explore the possibility of art. With the development of science and technology, photography is becoming more and more popular, and ordinary people can learn photography and master photography. Here's the essence of photography. Literally speaking, the word "take" means "take", and the word "shadow" means "shadow" or "impression". Put the two meanings together to take a shadow, to leave an impression. This echoes one of the essence of photography -- recording. After all, photography is ultimately presented through photographs, and the final effect is achieved through physical means, which determines that everything in photography is real. When we were young, we all had a thick photo album or two at home, which was a record of our lives. It's a record of what happened in the photos, and it's a record of time. Nowadays, although almost no one needs to develop photos, there are still many photos stored on their phones. What I want to say is that the development of technology has only changed the medium of photographic recording, but it has not changed the nature of photographic recording. Documentary photography is a rigorous record of what happens. Having said one essence of recording, another essence is expression. The expression of photography is expressed through photos. Whether it is commercial photography, art photography, landscape photography and other photography categories, there is a certain expression in them, which contains information. Although commercial photography takes commercial interests as the starting point, the presentation of the final product is also subject to many factors, such as the requirements of Party A, aesthetic appreciation of Party B's photographer, and shooting technology. This may not show up much in the photo, but it shows up in the process of taking the photo. Of course, the final commercial film or to serve Party A, that is to say, what Party A wants will be presented in the film. Similarly, art photography expresses the artistic expression and artistic pursuit of photographers, and landscape photography expresses the scenery and ideal scenery in the eyes of landscape photographers. In conclusion, the essence of photography is said. It answers the question of what photography is. Now to the question of what photography is. There are a lot of things about what photography is. It can be a way of recording your life, a means of making money, a medium of artistic expression, a hobby, whatever. Depends on what you want to do with photography. The first paragraph said that thought and light and shadow is to say all the photography in my heart. First, ideas. You can read the works of some masters to learn their thoughts on life, ideal, time and so on. Watching the works of the masters can learn their thoughts, deepen their own thinking, when shooting is not just a common door machine. Can also be shot to express their own ideas, the elaboration of their own ideas. Thought is not overnight, to continue to learn, thinking. Eventually form their own thoughts. Finally, the relationship between light and shadow in photography. In the process of learning photography, we often hear that "photography is the art of light and shadow". This sentence describes the influence of the relationship between light and shadow on photography. Combined with the above, photography literally means to take the shadow and leave an impression. But to make a shadow, you need light. As the saying goes, only when there is light, there is shadow. The relationship between light and shadow in photography almost determines the quality of a photo to a large extent. So light is a very important thing. Documentary excepting, it pays more attention to the expression of the content, but without the correct exposure can not do. Therefore, in the process of learning photography, both professional and amateur people need the effect of light and shadow to make their photos reach the ideal state.