A photographer is a person who takes photographs with a camera.
The work of a photographer in the narrow sense is directly photographing. In a broad sense, a photographer is a person whose tasks include preparing for filming (choosing a topic, negotiating, obtaining permits and approvals, selecting models, props, equipment, choosing a location, etc.), taking pictures and subsequent work on processing and photo printing, sale of material. In some cases, the photographer transfers some of these works to his assistants, assistants, make-up artists, costume designers, agents, lighting, make-up artists and other people.
The history of the profession of a photographer begins in 1839, when Jacques-Louis Daguerre at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Arts in Paris presented an original way of capturing an image.
For a long time, the right to aesthetic creativity was not recognized for photography. Many photographers have spent a lot of energy and imagination, creating a picture inadequate to the fixed nature. They made extensive use of editing and printing from several negatives.
At the end of the 19th century, with the advent of relatively light cameras and simpler ways to reproduce images on the pages of print, photographic journalism became widespread. From this moment, the concept of the profession of a photographer appears. Two trends in the history of photography: realistic and formative, were determined during this period with maximum clarity.
The first professional organization appeared – the Danish Union of Press Photographers (Pressefotografforbundet) in 1912 in Denmark, organized by six photojournalists in Copenhagen. Working most often for periodicals, photographers in their pictures often touched on current problems of society, showing social inequality, poverty, exploitation of child labor, etc. At first, the name of the photographer was not indicated under the photographs in newspapers.
The famous Russian photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky made a breakthrough in the profession and created one of the largest collections of color photographs that still retain their value.
Modern photojournalism was made possible with the invention of the small camera. The introduction of the 35mm watering can, created in 1914 and commercialized in Germany in 1925, brought many significant changes to every area of photography. The new camera allowed photographers to see ordinary and familiar objects in new, bolder perspectives and expanded their ability to better see the outlines of form in space.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the method of “instant photography” appeared, which did not require any image processing. At the same time, there was talk that the profession of a photographer was becoming primitive. Therefore, the profession of a photographer turns into a detachment of art.
News organizations and schools of journalism have established a variety of awards for photojournalists. Since 1968, the Pulitzer Prize has been awarded in the following categories of photojournalism: Feature Photography, Spot News Photography, and Capture the Moment. Other awards: World Press Photo.
Photographers are divided by field of activity and genres of photography. Among them are:
Photojournalist (photojournalist) – engaged in photojournalism.
The paparazzi is a photojournalist who takes pictures of the personal lives of celebrities without their consent.
A photographer is a photographer who takes art photography.
A documentary photographer is a photographer who specializes in documentary photography.
An advertising photographer is a photographer who specializes in advertising photography.
A wedding photographer is a photographer who specializes in photographing weddings.
A political photographer is a photographer who photographs the first persons of states, political events, an employee of the press service of a government organization.
Forensic photographer – a photographer who shoots scenes of incidents, corpses and material evidence for the needs of forensic medicine, bodies of inquiry, etc.
Laboratory photographer – a researcher who provides photographic support for laboratory research.
Family photographer – a photographer who makes family portraits in the interior, making a family album.
A fashion photographer is a photographer who specializes in fashion photography. Makes photography of collections of clothes and accessories, defiles and fashion shows in order to highlight and show items of clothing, shoes, accessories and other objects related to fashion in photographs. He also prepares for the shooting, provides the required lighting, participates in organizing the space for photography, selects the necessary compositional and lighting solutions. After photography, he carries out work on processing and printing photos, preparing them for various media.
A product photographer is a photographer who specializes in subject photography (perfume, food, and other small objects). Product photography usually takes place on a special table for product photography.
An industrial photographer is a photographer who specializes in photographing industrial objects of enterprises, equipment, workers, shooting both architecture and interiors, as well as reporting.
A street photographer is a photographer who takes pictures of strangers and other genre scenes on the streets for art projects.
A macro photographer is a photographer who specializes in shooting ultra-small objects of the macrocosm: insects, spiders, individual living and inanimate objects of nature, almost imperceptible to the human eye.