Teaching photography as a Fine Art
It is popular in the art departments of some colleges and universities to focus teaching on creativity and originality of personal expression while technical skill is seen as merely a necessary evil. This results in the student getting a very cursory presentation of the process. There are teachers who believe that teaching which strongly emphasizes skill development limits the student's ability to use the medium expressively. The development of technical ability, according to this thinking, constrains the artist from trying new things which may be more expressive.
I know artists (photographers in particular) who get hung up in technique. I have also observed that there are many obsessive technicians who produce very expressive work and the technically inclined are often the first to experiment with new materials or techniques. I have come to believe that this is the product, not of training, but of personal inclination. Based on my own observations, I can see no causal relationship between skill based training (or lack thereof) and creativity. I do see a relationship between skill based training and excellence of execution.
Among those whose schooling did not emphasize technical skill (or pursue it on their own) I have often observed sloppy execution which, in my view, detracts from the statement the artist is attempting to make. Photographs are a form of communication and just as the listener or reader is put off by a poorly constructed sentence, a viewer can be distracted from the message when the image is poorly executed. Think about the last time you heard a musician struggle with a piece that was a bit beyond his or her skills. I'll bet your enjoyment of the music was overshadowed by your awareness of the musician's effort to perform it. Do you want your audience to see the image you meant to share with them or your effort to create it?
Photographic skills, both those dealing with the materials and aesthetic
skills such as composition, are the vocabulary of good photography. Good
skills, practiced until they are second nature, liberate the artist to
concentrate on the image. Expert skills are not evident in a well crafted
image. Like an Olympic athlete, the expert makes it look easy. The lessons
on this web site are mainly about technique because I believe it is the
foundation of excellent performance. If you are a creatively inclined person,
good technique will only enhance your creativity. A solid knowledge of
your equipment and materials will free you from the struggle of process
and with that freedom, you can reach the full potential of your creativity.
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"The rule that precedes all others is: Follow the rule before
breaking it" John M. Nevison