"I'm not a technical photographer.."

Huss said:
"I'm not a technical photographer, if that's what you're thinking about, you're not taking pictures"
Annie Liebovitz, www.masterclass.com
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She doesn't think about technical stuff because she pays others to do it for her. The notion that 'truly creative' photographers don't need technical knowledge is horse****, but its one of those idiotic zombie ideas that just won't die.
 
Huss said:
"I'm not a technical photographer, if that's what you're thinking about, you're not taking pictures"
Annie Liebovitz, www.masterclass.com
Click to expand...

It has been on my youtube ads for two weeks. I don't use ads block because I want to support the video uploaders I like.

I did not skip the ads the first time because i was curious about what's going on. After talking not being technical, it flashes a moment of she taking photo with a big camera with a couple of assistants staging the subject under a tree or something. I thought what they were doing was pretty technical and did not go on with the ads.
 
nukecoke said:
It has been on my youtube ads for two weeks. I don't use ads block because I want to support the video uploaders I like.

I did not skip the ads the first time because i was curious about what's going on. After talking not being technical, it flashes a moment of she taking photo with a big camera with a couple of assistants staging the subject under a tree or something. I thought what they were doing was pretty technical and did not go on with the ads.
Click to expand...


A lot of AL's work is studio work, which requires a lot more technical knowledge than outdoor photography. So, yeah her claim to not be a 'technical photographer' rings hollow. Like I said in my first post in this thread, she doesn't do the technical parts of photography herself; she has an army of assistants who do it for her. I doubt she is dumb about it, though. I'm sure she has the technical know-how but because she can afford to pawn it off on her assistants, she does.
 
I learned a long time ago not to pay any attention to what people say, and strictly pay attention to what they do (including myself). If someone gets good results, they're a photographer, no matter how they got those results. Besides, common sense tells me that what she means is to pay lots of attention to the image, and less to the technical details. In this, I agree w/ her. You want to avoid being someone that has nothing to say but says it beautifully.
 
I agree with the spirit of what she's saying. HCB said the same thing. Expressiveness almost always trumps the technical and is often sufficient unto itself.

John
 
Some technical aspects have to match for every machine to work.
I think it´s a truism to mention in the regard to her statement.

The proof of concept is easy here I mean - all best / highest technical
skills won´t produce any significant picture 😉
 
Steve M. said:
Besides, common sense tells me that what she means is to pay lots of attention to the image, and less to the technical details. In this, I agree w/ her.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is the point... not that it doesn't matter, but at a particular time in your development, you just learn to do the technical and can forget about it... and focus on more important elements in a photo such as composition / framing and content.
 
Vince Lupo said:
Anytime I need an inspirational ‘pick me up’, I refer back to this short video of Jay Maisel.
https://vimeo.com/116692462
Click to expand...

Thanks, Vince, that was enjoyable and worthwhile. In my case, however, I've known and followed all of that for over forty years, and I am still no good, so it's wisdom which is necessary but not sufficient. No matter how open you are, you still need to "be there" when it happens in order to record it. Which means spending vast amounts of time with a camera in your hand to get the kinds of photos that Maisel gets, and being able to accept the fact that you're in it for the long haul because, most of the time the things worth a photograph are going to be happening over "here" when you're being in the moment over "there." 99% of the time every photographer is going to be in the right place at the wrong time, which accords with the fact that, as Edison noted, genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
 
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Technology and creativity are not mutually exclusive.

As Chriscrawfordphoto pointed out, AL's interns/employees provide the technological means to realize AL's vision.

I give AL credit for being able to afford the elaborate staging used in some of her work.
 
In the early 90's I worked for a model shop in Brooklyn. We did lots of the product models for the different photo studios in Manhattan at the time. I remember "babysitting" models in different studios, and the "artist" would come in from time to time, look at the ground glass of the 8x10 cameras, tell the assistants what he didn't like, and then leave. The assistants were responsible for lighting, framing, exposure, etc. etc. and the "artist" would just pop in from time to time, and when it was close to what he wanted, he'd call for a Polaroid back, make an image, and have the assistants bring it to him when it was ready. So yeah, I guess he wasn't much of a "technical photographer".

Best,
-Tim
 
Liebovitz is not technical at all and strong enough to admit it. I remember Rolling Stone time episode then someone told her something like "you don't have to push it at 1200 all the time". Basically, she was clueless what she was doing technically. And on DVD I watched seven or so years ago she still was.

If you are giftless, master class on-line is useless. If you are gifted on relations and sales real master class might help to get connections.

If you have something creative in you, literature, poetry and learning of art will do more for you. And search, listening inside of yourself. People like John Free are helping to hear your inner side. He has on-line videos.

I'm giftless for portraits, watched lessons and read many books. Nothing changed after it. Giftless is giftless.
 
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