"Taking" vs "Making" Photos

Everyone that asks a question about any photo will always say something like "where did you take that?" Or if talking to me might ask "how long have you been taking photos?" If they are looking for advice it might be "how can I take better photos?" When I say everyone I include myself in that group.

The person that 'takes' photos usually has a 'point and shoot' (nothing wrong with that) camera that is set to full auto mode (if they even know that it has other settings), goes wherever they are going and snaps a few images as an afterthought to whatever other activity they are actually there to do. When they are done they will go home and let the camera sit for weeks before ever getting around to loading the images into the computer and then will email a couple of them to grandma or post a few images on Facebook.

However the difference between a photographer and people that 'take' photos is the photographer does much more than 'take' a shot. The process started long before the photographer walked out the door camera in hand with intention of shooting something. He or she probably did some or maybe even a lot of preparation before walking out the door. This may or may not include, depending on the situation, checking the equipment, cleaning the equipment, deciding what equipment will be needed, researching the area or the subject of the intended shoot, not to mention the years of experience needed to do these things as well as the experience and life lived that make photography an art and not a science project.

When the photographer actually arrives at the shoot, more preparation will be considered. Scoping the area, looking at the direction of the sun or considering what lighting will or will not be available. Examining the subject from different angles or perspectives etc. All this and more will be taken into consideration before one frame is exposed. When the shooting starts, he/she will then look at the exposures and make adjustments in the camera, move around and make physical adjustments, looking through the lens to make adjustments in the composition etc.

After the day is done, the photographer will take those images home and load them into the computer. They will be poured over deciding which ones are the best and separate the winners from the losers and begin to process the winners using some kind of photo processing software. Processing can be anything from simple adjustments in the levels and color saturation to more involved things like separating parts of the image into layers and processing the layers separately to create a superior image.

There are things that casual person can do to 'take' better photos, but if they want 'make' better images there is much, much more that needs to be considered.