Drawing from a photo is art or not?

I'm confused... Should i use my imagination or draw from live objects? People say that drawing from a photo is not art, but only a technique study, They say art should not be perfect... And now i feel like cheating, all that greyscaled photos, grids, zoomed in details, but evrybody does the same thing... And some people cant draw... I do this as an hobby, but still, i spend hours on it so, I really want to know what you guys think...

When I'm satisfied with my technique, should i draw from imagination to be called doing art? Or what?! What's art?

Haha,We've had these discussions on here before caneker,causes big divides in the ART world,some call it cheating and others call it ok,I will add,because of arguments on here i have slightly changed my attitude towards drawings,my problem was about photoshopping or equivalent systems.
My philosophy is,Be honest whatever you do...or Erik will come calling

Don't listen to anyone who tells you that realism or using a grid or whatever it is that you're doing isn't art.

art is just expressing your emotions so no if you are drawin whether it be abstract or reallistic its all an art. if you enjoy drawing with a grid or by tracing by all means grid or trace. who is to tell someone what is what isnt art. if nobody ever did grid or trace we would not have the priceless works of art our society has loved forever. another point the art is not in the outline but in the shading and outcome produced from the gridding. if you think about it takes alot of skill, proficiency, and knowledge of both shading and anatomy. bottom line is nobody can say what is art and what is not art. enjoy what you do and continue drawing

Simply put...EVERYTHING is art!
The way people put words together and create poetry is art.
Maples avatar stickman is art.
My Tattoo is art.
The fashion you wear is art.

Anything that is done or created by someone, to invoke a response is art.
The responses can be varied..."WoW!"..."OMG"..."Love it"..."Hate it"..."Thats not art"..."Thats the best art I have ever seen"
What ever the response, your job is done.

Gridding is just one method used for creating realism, it takes skill and dedication, and is not cheating.
Some people use other methods for creating the art they do, but because it lacks realism, do you say that it is not art?...No, its just different and is appreciated in a different way.

So don't blame the haters, ingnorance is a disease of the untrained eye, some people have it so bad, that they are blind.

You tell 'em Carl

Understand what you mean. But i guess evryone needs to find a style of his own, for example when i see some artist's work, i understand that they made it. Apart from being realistic, their work is like a sign.
But that comes later, i better learn the technique first.

my view of it is art comes from the h'art so using a photo for ref, grids, or even someone who has the mind to trace, is not art, however looking at a photo to roughly practice your skills or apply it to some part of your drawing isnt cheating i dont think

Well said Carl,enjoy the exhibition

Nicely said