Do you take a photo or make a photo? This one has had me puzzled for quite some time. I have always said that I take a photo. Since I have been more absorbed with all things photographic, I have heard people say they make photos. To make a photograph certainly has a more romantic notion, as opposed to taking it.

Obviously the most famous quote with regard to this dilemma of mine is from the old landscape master himself…

You don’t take a photograph, you make it. – Ansel Adams

Hmmm. Now, do we take it as gospel because a so called master of photography say it is so? Obviously not, after all, it is just his opinion. But there may be some truth in the matter if you look at it from an artistic point of view, which I am quite sure Mr Adams would have.

Made or Taken???

My understanding of the artistic side of photography is quite limited, as I am sure some of the readers know. But I do know that there is a lot more discussion about composition and lighting. Texture and form. Leading lines and the rule of thirds. So maybe to make a photo, you are making it conform to some rule or rules. To take a photo is just like it sounds. Like a thief in the night, you are grabbing an image, quickly, with out thought or preparation. An imprint of light on sensor or film with out calculation or premeditation. Most people don’t sit around snap shots pontificating (word of the week it seems) its meaning or form.

Do the artistic people make photographs and people like me take photographs? I look forward to your thoughts as usual.