Photographs versus snapshots

The professor in my Photography class asked us all to think about what the difference is between a snapshot and a photograph. What sets the photographer and his work apart from the average citizen with a camera. He asked us to think about this and write a few short paragraphs about the difference between the two. This was my response. 

In this day where everyone has access to a camera on their cell phones and programs such as instagram available to them to "edit" their pictures, many people consider themselves to be photographers. What many people don't realize is that having a camera does not automatically make someone a photographer. What most people tend to capture is just a simple snapshot, not a photograph. 

The real question we must decide is this: What decides the difference from a photograph and a snapshot?

A snapshot is the picture that quickly captures a moment in time. The shooter does not contemplate the lighting, the angles, the settings on a camera. The only concern is capturing a moment in time quickly. A snapshot does not focus on the artistic side of the photograph, only on the sentimental value that will be held from this picture. The person taking a snapshot does not concern themselves with the aspects that are left out of the shot, they only want to capture a moment for their personal enjoyment. The only concerns about lighting are whether or not there is enough light in the shot to make the image visible. The only concerns about composition are whether one (possibly two) aspects are included in the shot. 

Photographs are not captured every day. A photograph is a work of art that is thought about. The shooter must take into account all of the small aspects that will affect the picture. What is in the background? What is in the foreground? What angles do you get from the light? What makes this picture different from every other one out there of the same subject material? The shooter not only has to think about what they are shooting, but why they are shooting it as well. Can this picture tell a story? Does this picture stand alone on its own? Will the image have meaning and value to others that were not at the scene of this shot? Why did the shooter want to capture what they did? What mood is evoked from the picture? Does the viewer have to think about other things that were intentionally left out of the shot? Is there a message to the picture?

All in all, the biggest difference between a photograph and a snapshot is the thought put behind the image. A photographer thinks about what they are leaving in (and out) of the shot whereas the person taking a snapshot only wants to capture a moment that has meaning to them. A photographer must see the world in a different way from the average person with a camera; they must look for beauty and art where others may only see chaos.