Training the eye of the photographer: the education of the amateur

Abstract

This article reflects on research undertaken on beginners photography courses aimed at the aspiring amateur photographer. Within this particular educational context, a distinct technical-aesthetic approach to photography emerges, which is distinguished from the indiscriminate pointing-and-shooting associated with snapshot and family photography. The how-to manual provides an important framing device here, and through the particular techniques it promotes, domestic space is transformed, decluttered and aestheticised. But while students are keen to adopt such techniques, they continue to retain a familial attachment to photography, which is demonstrated in the way they relate to the images they produce. My argument is that rather than viewing such responses as mundane reflexes, to be ignored or eradicated, that photograph educationalists might understand them as a point from which the amateur might, once again be engaged with ‘a politics of focus’ in photography.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Karen Cross

Karen Cross is a Senior lecturer in Cultural Studies at Roehampton University. In 2010 she co-edited the special issue of Photographies on the topic of ‘Photography, Archive and Memory’. She has published articles on the topic of amateur photography and memory and is currently preparing a monograph for Intellect Books.