Photo artist

"Afghanistan, 2008", exhibition author.
Crimean Ethnographic Museum (February 6, 2023)

Photo artist is a term used in relation to a creative person who has the ability to aesthetically display the world around him with the help of a special optical instrument and graphic editors.
Figuratively speaking, "the poet of photography. Official sources sometimes use the synonym "master of artistic photography".

General information

Perhaps, in some countries of the world, this concept can serve as an official career, but in Russia (where the author of textbook comes from), such a profession is not documented.
From which it follows: photo artist is a hobby, or an additional quality of a photographer.

A bit of reasoning

Of course, a wedding photographer (the optimal application of the specialty, if the goal is to generate income), will become more popular, putting in their work a grain of creativity, but can you qualify the results of his labors, as a kind of art? In order to answer this question, we will resort to allegory, considering two options.

1. Boil the chicken and eat it.
2. Before the meal, place the bird on a dish, decorating with herbs, vegetables, etc.

Point 2 differs from point 1 in that it has a creative component; perhaps some eaters would describe the work of a cook using the epithet "art" or "chef's art", but inherent in real art, a figurative understanding of reality is not even implied here, therefore the two concepts should be distinguished, both in this case and in the above example of the wedding photographer. These professions are merely adjusting to the demand of the population, whereas true art should exist only for the sake of art (and not for the satisfaction of the masses or individuals).

Think for yourself, decide for yourself...

What is the purpose of the above information? If the author, choosing the commercial path, shooting anniversaries, holidays and children's parties, will add a grain of artistry to his work, customers will appreciate it, which will be reflected in additional orders and, consequently, increase his (her) popularity and income. But one who gives preference to creative goals, for example engaging in experimental photography, will receive (at best) only positive feedback, which is unlikely to be accompanied by a material component; devoting himself to abstract photography, perhaps, he (she) will not be understood by society. In other words, creative research is at one's own expense.

Photographer / photo artist, similarities and differences

The photographer, usual, passively performs the tasks set by the client or the management; the photo artist can improvise, both with the post-processing of the resulting image and with the actions that precede the shooting. For the first, it is enough that the customer is satisfied with the result, the second can (and should) be in constant search.

How to become a photo artist?

1. The first and necessary condition is the presence of artistic taste (or aesthetic consciousness).
2. To begin with, it is enough to have the simplest camera: expensive models will distract from the goal.
3. Choose one (or two) genres that appeal to you by carefully studying the textbook materials, in particular, all the enclosed photo examples.
4. Determine for yourself the scope of work according to the chosen genre, having developed a concept.

But first of all you should decide whether you need it...

***
Below are examples: the first gallery contains works created by a photographer, the second — a photo artist. But everything presented to your attention is done ... by one author.

Gallery I

• 
  At the end of the road
  (Realism)
• 
  In the Chinese subway
  (Pictures of homeless people)
• 
  Indians
  (Reportage photography)
• 
  Teacher and his blind motherь
  (Straight/pure photography)
• 
  Remains of the apartments
  (Ruins photographs)

Gallery II

• 
  Lunar landscape
  (Experimental photography)
• 
  Mirage?
  (Conceptual photography)
• 
  In the emerald darknes
  (Photoart)
• 
  Family
  (Pictorialism)
• 
  Etude, from album «NUances of fantasy»
  (Nude photography, art)

References

• This article is a translation adapted to the realities of the English-speaking world. Perhaps some of the theses correspond only to Russian reality.