Can someone master photography?

OK, I got an email from someone just getting into photography. She asked how long it takes for someone to master photography. I had to give that some thought and the conclusion I reached is that few people ever “master” photography. The reason being that it is a dynamic medium and is ever changing. Technology is transforming photography at a greater rate of change than ever before.

Some people lament the days of film and the perception of stability in the medium. However, there’s alway been change. There were better and better quality films and processing. Camera bodies got better. Lenses got faster and zoom’s image quality improved. New darkroom techniques were invented and creative processing methods were developed. So change has always been there. It just moves faster now.

Part of the reason for it’s speed of change is the speed of communications and the Internet. It used to be that a photographer saw another photographer’s work only when he looked at a magazine, went to an art gallery, or saw it in a book. Now you can view millions of photos online. This leads to imitation and the creation of new techniques, both in camera and in post processing.

It’s an exciting time to be a photographer. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the technology and how it impacts your ability to create, but it guaranties that there will always be something new to learn.

Back to the question: Can someone master photography? My short answer is no. If someone works hard they can become very good at it, but if someone thinks they have mastered the medium, I believe that they have hit a plateau on their learning curve and just don’t know it or their ego is getting in the way. There’s always going to be more to learn and that’s the way I like it. 🙂

Anyway, that’s my $.02’s worth.

Also, be sure to check out my gallery pages:

Commercial Work
Personal Projects
Music Photography (live and studio)
Portraits

Thanks for reading.

-Ken