Perceivable Labor

Most people ignore the entire composition of an image in front of them, and photograph what they intuitively see. They like a photo, but they can’t necessarily explain why. To any artist, intuition can be a weakness when not backed by technical skill.

Nevertheless, with the development of digital photography, creating photographs becomes instantaneous. Despite all the thought a photographer places into a photographic concept, the image is created with the simple click of a button. What ultimately defines the value of work to many people is the amount of “perceivable labor” put into the work; thus photography becomes an under valued art form due to the lack of actual “perceivable labor.” As a result, it is implied that anyone can take a photo. To the everyday person, a photograph is the result of pressing a button because in the end, there is no concept, no real idea - just a picture. All the person really did was press a button.