Basically, photography is made up of two elements, art and science. Most dictionaries define science with words such as: study, intellectual, system, laws, facts, truths, and none of these can really be associated with art. Art and science differ greatly in what they hope to achieve and in their practice. In fact, they could not be further away from each other in terms of terminology and meaning that it is hard to associate them together. So perhaps we have to accept the premise that photography is an oddity, it refuses to be cornered and classed as one thing or another.
The Science of Photography
The science part of photography includes all the technical equipment and the techniques required to produce an image. Unlike painting a landscape in oil, taking an image can be highly technical and there is one huge interference, and that is that the camera is between the subject matter and the photographer. An artist does not have this alien device separating the two elements, all he has is the canvas, his subject and a brush.
The Art of Photography
The artistic side of photography includes the photographer’s feelings, his vision, goals, inspirations and concepts. Also, the use of colors, lines, textures, light and composition are all part of a photographer’s palette. Knowing the technical side of taking an image without the human element is pretty useless, the final product will be lackluster and poor.