Photographers’ resources
I share with you here an interesting moment from the entry exam at the Faculty of Applied Arts. My then future professor (head of the Photography Department) asked me, “Do you know that photography is an expensive craft?”
What makes photography an “expensive” craft?
In 2010, when I enrolled at FAA, my answer was: “Yes, I know that photography is an expensive craft.” However, then, as now, I thought that the tools used by a photographer can be diverse. Some are expensive (technical equipment, software…) and some are priceless – ideas and creativity. At the time, I naively thought that these invaluable resources were free (?!). Now I know that they are acquired through hard work, thinking, and practice.
I often find myself judging other people’s work and finding flaws and mistakes in color choices and concept. Nevertheless, I must admit, I am merciless towards myself. In fact, it seems that I rarely see, but I rarely take a photo that delights me. Why should we even judge a photograph?
Many art theorists research and discuss what gives a composition artistic value. Much depends on aesthetics and poetics. I will post about that on another page, hopefully soon. One should not bypass the tools that the artist uses to express their idea.
Photographers’ resources are intertwined with other arts
In the following lines, I write about the tools used by an artistic photographer to express an idea, emotion, or message through photography. They intertwine with the tolls of other artists.
Unlike a painter who uses a brush, a photographer uses a camera. But just as a musician uses rhythm in composing, so a photographer uses rhythm in framing. Just as a writer uses metaphor in writing, oh, how beautifully and meaningfully a photographer can use metaphor!
A photographer’s resources can be technical (equipment), expressive (visual), creative (I call them conscious), and artistic (subconscious, personal). I have not listed all the means here, so as not to have a boring enumeration, but I have listed everything that I think should not be bypassed. This division arose out of the need to structure my experience and to understand how artistic photography is created.
Technical Resources (Equipment)
These are the tools and equipment that a photographer uses. Not all photographers use the same equipment. A fashion photographer uses different equipment than a news photographer, while on the other hand, a landscape photographer uses different equipment than the other two. I list the general equipment used in photography.
Camera
Basic image capture tool. They can be analog and digital devices that are further divided into their subgroups, of which there are many – from daguerreotypes to mirrorless devices and iPhones.
Lens
Determine the angle, depth of field, and image appearance – they are irreplaceable on amateur cameras, fixed to the camera, and replaceable on professional cameras. Mostly.
Lighting
Natural light, flash, spotlights, reflectors, or reflective surfaces, and any form of natural or artificial lighting create atmosphere, negative space, or shape volume or emphasize the third dimension.
Additional technical equipment
Numerous equipment – tripods, diffusers, computers, software, self-timers, applications, everything material that we use to create a photo.
Post-production
Perhaps the biggest job of modern photographers lies in post-production. Processing delivers almost, well, limitless possibilities. It is even a special artistic discipline, because the workplace “photo editor” is an example of something completely new and different from “negatives” being created in post-production. Often, something that does not necessarily have much to do with the photographer’s intention happens.
Creative Resources (conscious)
These are the conceptual tools that are often the core of artistic photography. They refer to the intentions, ideas, and meanings behind the image. These intentions are deliberate, conscious, and planned. Photographers use them to express ideas, emotions, and style. It is not important what is photographed, but why it is photographed and what thought or emotion it evokes.
Clarification on this example is a painting: banalizing a simple spot on a white canvas in a painting is devaluing the concept that the artist presents to the judgment of the recipient, i.e. the viewer of the picture. It should be remembered: nothing in an artistic image is accidental.
Theme and motif
Every photographer has a subject in focus, an instinct that draws him to explore that particular area. The subject can be material – a street, a portrait; or intangible – love, aging…
Framing and choosing the moment
This Bresson photograph is a perfect example of moment tension. In a fraction of a second, we see that the entire photograph will vibrate from the disturbed balance caused by falling into the water. He captured this “pre-moment” perfectly.
Symbolism and metaphor
A photograph can have a figurative meaning rather than a mere transmission of information. I like to give the example of photographer Roger Ballen, whose works build a psychological, disturbing atmosphere in which he explores the human psyche, madness, and dreams. As with all other examples here, I would leave a link to his works, but I believe that one click can lead to misinterpretation. His photographs are full of symbolism and metaphor, and one needs to take time to grasp the concept.
Aesthetics
In short, visual beauty. Read more about this in my pages about the principles and elements of composition if you are interested.
Poetics
This tool emphasizes emotional depth, narrative, and symbolic meaning over simple description. It draws parallels with poetry through techniques such as storytelling, perspective, and simplicity. I give an example of a haiku:
In the middle of the plain
There is a stone by the road –
Waiting for passengers.
Now imagine a photograph. Or better yet – email it to me. It will make me happy to know that someone is actually reading these lines.
Message
A means by which the photographer wants to say more than what is shown in the picture. One war photographer declared, “I thought I was going to save the world with my photographs.”
Manipulation
Although often not appreciated by critics, a good dose and a good reason for manipulation give a special aesthetic. David Hockney is my example of good artistic photo collages. Manipulation does not have to be software; it can also be contextual.
Expressive Resources (Visual)
These are the elements and principles of composition with which the photographer creates a visual experience. He expresses his aesthetic criteria through composition. Here, I would like to show the example of the director Wes Anderson, who plans the elements in the frame of his films with extreme precision and is an undisputed master at this. Personally, I don’t believe that anything can happen accidentally and recklessly in his photos/frames/movies.
Composition
The arrangement of elements in the frame, the rule of thirds, the golden section, symmetry, and various rules of composition are also used by classical painters in creating a scene.
Lighting and shadows
They emphasize form and emotion, complete or break up the subject, for example, contrasting light on the face in a portrait, and the like.
Color and tone
They convey mood, e.g. warm colors (filters) for nostalgia, cold for distance. A harmonious choice of colors strongly affects the mood of the picture.
Perspective and shooting angle
The angle from which the motive is observed makes the narration different. Photographing from below is an example of emphasizing power, while photographing from above gives submissive energy. Parallel lines create a sense of calmness, while converging lines create anxiety.
Depth of field
Choice of relationship between subject and background, i.e. focus and blur. There are two basic choices, and neither should be random.
- the distance of the camera from the subject and the background
- aperture selection
Artistic Resources (subconscious)
This is a tool that gives an identity, a recognizable style of the creator. It’s the photographer’s signature – what makes two people portray the same scene completely differently. I would say that maybe this part is spontaneous. It is an expression that comes from the unconscious, the psyche, the emotional state. That is why it is unique and invaluable in creating an artistic identity, if, of course, it does not conform to the expectations of the audience.
For clarification purposes, I give here the example of music: a composer has the same tone or hidden rhythm in all his works that unifies the atmosphere of a series of works, say an album. I give the example of the album “Push the Sky Away” by Nick Cave, which permeates a specific tone in each song. We are not aware of the tone until we have finished listening to a series of songs. That tone unites various experiences into a whole, meaningful one. The “convulsion” that causes the tone, which is felt in every song, and which unites the different rhythms and narrative, makes this album, in my opinion, a musical masterpiece.
Sensitivity
Refers to artistic taste, emotional intelligence, and the ability to see and interpret the world in our own unique way, not as a mere document.
One artistic photographer will show the theme of the Luna Park cheerfully, with contrasting colors, another will focus on portraits and the excitement of the visitors, and the third will record the scenes in a melancholic way. If you are familiar with the work of these photographers, you will accurately recognize the “handwriting” of each of them in a series of photographs, without knowing in advance whose series it is.
Emotion
Here, we are not talking about the emotion of the photographed subject, but about the emotion of the photographer himself.
One photographer may portray melancholy with a subject’s tears and another with a smile. In contrast, the subject’s emotion can be shown directly – by facial expression. It can also be shown indirectly – through negative space, choice of colors, frame, even extrasensory perception – experiencing the image with other senses.
Often, an artist, no matter how many different topics he covers, weaves the same emotion through all his works in the same creative phase.
Context
A powerful and manipulative artistic tool. Imagine a smiling little girl in her bed with a toy. Then, imagine that same little girl alone on the street. Now contemplate similar analogies.
Note :
The text was written and published on October 23, 2025, and not generated by artificial intelligence or ChatGPT. It was not read from any text; that’s why I didn’t provide references, but it is the sum of my artistic experience, opinions, and random ideas that can help someone for educational and informative purposes. The point is to inspire the reader, intrigue, and make him think about the process of creating a real artistic photograph.
Maybe in a few years, I won’t agree with everything I wrote. These sentences are a reflection of current thoughts and conclusions. I believe that in some time I will restructure this division of photographic “resources”, as I question again and again other things in life. For now, I publish this text in this form and allow my further growth to develop and transform current thoughts. I also allow you to send comments and suggestions.
