I'm Not Just A Snapshooter - Jason Richards

Rebecca Robertson (ARTnews, Oct 2012): "Pix Before Pixels"
Designers: Grete Stern

Grete Stern, 1948. Dream No. 1: Electrical Appliances for the Home [gelatin silver print]

Call me ignorant but it never occurred to me that pictures had been altered before Photoshop - since the birth of photography in fact! Often they were manipulated to achieve a perfect exposure but also popular were headless portraits in which the subject was photographed holding their decapitated head.

Untitled headless portrait #1

Untitled headless portrait #2

What was of most interest to me in the article was this comment made by Malcom Daniel, senior curator of the Met’s department of photography.

Although plenty of artists forego manipulation these days, for those who use it, “it’s a way of saying ‘I’ve made conscious decisions. I have a certain dexterity of technique that indicates that I’m not just a snapshooter.’"

It made me question my own design practice and whether I, although not a photographer, unknowingly partake in this reluctance to be a "snapshooter" as a graphic designer. Are we editing beyond the point of which is necessary? Do we believe everything can be made better through Photoshop?

I have come to learn that in design simple is good. But simple is not necessarily easy. And these are two things we often confuse in the critique of a work. I feel as though simple works, although effective and engaging, can be seen as too easily achieved, a fluke or just settling. What shouldn't be discounted are the hundreds of workings, concepts and trials that came before this. After all, a good design is never the first design.