Why do we shoot images?

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Emmet Brickowski
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Why do we shoot images?

Some people I know say they are going to take a few clicks of something, but most use, I'm going shooting today.

Did you get a good shot? Not did you get a good photo/image.

Where did they saying shooting, shot come from?
 
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…and sometimes I just go and grab a few takes!

Whatever. I can do it with peace of mind as I know
that when I shoot, I don't kill, I immortalize! :cool:
 
People also say 'snapshots' so I'm guessing the link is not coincidental.

At a guess it could be back to the earliest days of pictures with exploding flashes - sounded like somebody had been shot?

It's also used in the film world, probably more in fact, obviously the two are connected, just not sure where it started. I wonder if it has something to do with the look of the camera with the long lens at the front?

I did wonder if shoot was connected to capture but that sounds silly out loud...
 
Back in the old days though with the exploding flashes. Surely that would have said, I'm off to flash someone later :D
 
The sound of the shutter.
 
Ah, the old Canon AK 47D
 
kendo1 said:
The sound of the shutter.
Click to expand...


Back in the earliest days of photography when it was a plate exposed to light through a lens I don't believe there was any noise other than the flash and the swearing of the photographer when it went wrong!
 
Twice now when I've been out I've had someone say 'I thought from a distance that was a gun you were carrying'. And then they realised it was a tripod. So they think I'm going shooting but I take my camera for a walk, and come home with images..............
 
NDevon said:
Back in the earliest days of photography when it was a plate exposed to light through a lens I don't believe there was any noise other than the flash and the swearing of the photographer when it went wrong!
Click to expand...

I suspect the term 'shoot' was later than that, though the sound of the flash powder going off must have been noticeable.
 
kendo1 said:
I suspect the term 'shoot' was later than that, though the sound of the flash powder going off must have been noticeable.
Click to expand...

Many photographers died just grinding the powder let alone setting light to it. Dangerous job photography it seems.
 
Apparently:

The term "shot" derives from the early days of film production when cameras were hand-cranked, and operated similarly to the hand-cranked machine guns of the time. That is, a cameraman would "shoot" film the way someone would "shoot" bullets from a machine gun.

In film production, a shot is the moment that the camera starts rolling until the moment it stops.
 
So it's very much derived from the movie industry, I wonder where it crept across to photography?
 
NDevon said:
So it's very much derived from the movie industry, I wonder where it crept across to photography?
Click to expand...

35mm ....
A cheap way of getting film stock.
 
The word 'shoot' is much older than guns and is etymologically related to 'sh it'. Basic root means 'to send forth'. A carpenter will shoot a door to make it fit the frame as well.
 
john.margetts said:
The word 'shoot' is much older than guns and is etymologically related to 'sh it'. Basic root means 'to send forth'. A carpenter will shoot a door to make it fit the frame as well.
Click to expand...
That doesn't stop its later usage though.
 
Shoot is a very busy word, doing lots of jobs.

Film shoot or photo shoot.

Shoot for the moon.

Shoot, as opposed to s***.

Shoot a gun, obviously.

Overshoot, undershoot.

Shoot pool.

Shoot, as in tell me.

Shoot the breeze.

Shoot heroin.

And more, I'm sure.

Interesting word.
 
My theory is that this may have something to do with Edward VIII and Denys Finch-Hatton. Between 1928-1930, Finch-Hatton played host to Edward's safari adventures in Africa. It began in the traditional way of hunting and killing big game animals with rifles but because both men became concerned about the large numbers of animals being killed, the focus [pun intended] shifted to Edward taking up photography and 'shooting' the animals with his camera instead rather than with a rifle. This also instigated the cause of wildlife conservation and the founding of the Serengeti National Park.

There was a programme about it on Channel 4 back in May of this year. called 'Edward VIII: The Lion King'.
 
It's from the term snapshot, which itself is derived from a hunting term. A snapshot is when you quickly raise the gun to take an opportunist shot.
 
"Snapshot" was first recorded in 1808, pre-dating photography. All perceived wisdom on this is that it was appropriated for photographic use, and the term "shoot" clearly derived from that. "Snapshot" being used photographically was first recorded in 1890, which coincides with emulsions actually fast enough to take a snapshot.

Snapshot...... shoot.
 
I think it's very apt, I shoot weddings all the time....

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