Moms With A Camera, or MWAC

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I think I "fall" into this category as well. No matter what, people don't take me as serious, once they find out I'm a mom. Like mom is some sort of bad stigma? I just don't get it. It's not people, as much as it is men and "professional" photographers. My great grandmother whom I was close to was dying before our eyes. She kept "photobooks" what we now call scrapbooks. She had Alzheimer's very bad. However, you bring out one of her "photobooks" and she could tell you details no one could ever remember; but she couldn't remember what she just ate five mins before. I was 9 when she passed away, on her death bed she gave me all of her history, her photobooks, told me to protect them, cherish them, and use them for inspiration. Years before this date, she had started scrapbooking with me, letting me help her, from taking the photos, to pasting them in the decorative page we made together. At 9, I took my grandmother's creative crown and started blossoming on my own after she had passed away. I got into Photography because of her, (She was a professional photographer, after her children had grown up.) I inherited all of her cameras, which I still have today, along with my own collection. I have been in love with photography, and art since as far back as I can remember. Any art really, front performing art, to photography. (I'm a terrible drawer, as long as I'm not asked to draw, I am okay. I do own and play man instruments as well, and have dabbled a great deal in Theater.) I'm an artist, down to my bone.

I started my photography career, on the side, because I could never get the recognition to make a career out of it early on; before my two adorable mop heads came along. I have been in the photography, mostly freelance, and recreational, business for a long long time now. I decided to expand on it, and go to school, this of course after my first son was born. It astonishes me how many people don't view me as a true "artist" and or "photographer" because I am a women, but mostly because I am a mom. I have a substantive client base now. More than most of my professors at school do. I work a few days out of the week and make more than my husband does. Yet my income is our extra, "play" money. I don't do it for the money, I do it for the passion, the drive, the love and the art side. I took the practical route my first go around in college. I have an AAS and BAS in Criminalistics, which is practically useless to me at this point. I graduated top of my class from a very well established State University with honors. This was in 2008, as the economic stability in American plummeted. Prospect employer one after another, turned me down for employment because I did not have a doctorate and or 5 years field relative experience. Luckily my husband has had his very good and stable job since graduating high school. So I took "bank" jobs, and made our way through life, my photography, always on the side. The birth of our first son in 2010, really lit a fire under me to go back to school and dive more into the business aspect and marketing aspect of my creative side, as well as to learn more than I already knew about photography and art. However, one by one, most of the professors that were men and considered "professional" photographers, started giving me the same sad song and dance, how I'm contributing to the problem today, with moms thinking they could just buy their own cameras, and become photographers. None of them knew my background.

I have one of those professors this semester. He thinks he can "break me", and is especially hard on me during critique. (I know so, because I over heard him chuckling with another student, male, single, childless, about how he intends on getting the 'momographers' to give up, because the field is too competitive and saturated for the likes of us". This professor has gotten lucky on a few name large business. His income is not consistent. Hints why he is teaching at the college, and not out making, "the big bucks". Sad really. That I'm viewed as a women who only got into photography to make a few extra bucks? When that's completely and utterly not true. He's a little older than me. He didn't get into the photography business until early 2000, which by then, I had been doing photography for almost a decade.

I say all of that, to say this, no matter why as person chooses to pick up a camera and shoot, where they are at skill level wise, or who and what they chose to shot, it shouldn't matter. You should get your jobs based on your merit, and not your "better than thou attitude." So in my snarkiness and sly uppercut, I chose to rebrand my image and business name as Momographer to show the world, that, hey, moms, are just as good at photography as the "professionals", that some of us have been photographers long before our babies came along; our babies just give us inspiration, and a drive to keep going; even when we get knocked down.

I am a successful, and wildly fabulous photographer, just ask any of my clients. I OWN all of my wet and digital photography studio equipment, both production and post production. I grow every day, and experiment every day with my photography. I learn every day about new things, concepts, and practices. Most careers require continuing education, why is photography any different? Why does being a mom and or women have anything to do with my skills or my business savvy side? Nothing. I didn't just buy a dslr camera one day and decided I was a photographer. This came through years of cultivation, love, dedication, and a desire to better myself. I started in film and worked into digital. I started with bottom of the line p&s and slowly worked into more advanced p&s's as well as slr's.

I do sometimes think that a person should seek out a low end camera and practice, practice, practice and learn the basics of photography such as lighting, composition, etc prior to buying a high end, high powered camera, but hey, it's their money, not mine.

Sorry for the lengthy rant. This is just my experience.




Hi all-

I stumbled across this acronym today in a New York Times article. The article was about the new surge in mommies who are taking their cameras and launching photography businesses with them. I was wondering if anyone else saw the article and what their thoughts are. Have you guys come across MWAC, and are they taken seriously in the photographic world? Looking forward to your responses. Thanks! ;)

Pics or it didnt happen, lol
 
I think I "fall" into this category as well. No matter what, people don't take me as serious, once they find out I'm a mom. Like mom is some sort of bad stigma? I just don't get it. It's not people, as much as it is men and "professional" photographers. My great grandmother whom I was close to was dying before our eyes. She kept "photobooks" what we now call scrapbooks. She had Alzheimer's very bad. However, you bring out one of her "photobooks" and she could tell you details no one could ever remember; but she couldn't remember what she just ate five mins before. I was 9 when she passed away, on her death bed she gave me all of her history, her photobooks, told me to protect them, cherish them, and use them for inspiration. Years before this date, she had started scrapbooking with me, letting me help her, from taking the photos, to pasting them in the decorative page we made together. At 9, I took my grandmother's creative crown and started blossoming on my own after she had passed away. I got into Photography because of her, (She was a professional photographer, after her children had grown up.) I inherited all of her cameras, which I still have today, along with my own collection. I have been in love with photography, and art since as far back as I can remember. Any art really, front performing art, to photography. (I'm a terrible drawer, as long as I'm not asked to draw, I am okay. I do own and play man instruments as well, and have dabbled a great deal in Theater.) I'm an artist, down to my bone.

I started my photography career, on the side, because I could never get the recognition to make a career out of it early on; before my two adorable mop heads came along. I have been in the photography, mostly freelance, and recreational, business for a long long time now. I decided to expand on it, and go to school, this of course after my first son was born. It astonishes me how many people don't view me as a true "artist" and or "photographer" because I am a women, but mostly because I am a mom. I have a substantive client base now. More than most of my professors at school do. I work a few days out of the week and make more than my husband does. Yet my income is our extra, "play" money. I don't do it for the money, I do it for the passion, the drive, the love and the art side. I took the practical route my first go around in college. I have an AAS and BAS in Criminalistics, which is practically useless to me at this point. I graduated top of my class from a very well established State University with honors. This was in 2008, as the economic stability in American plummeted. Prospect employer one after another, turned me down for employment because I did not have a doctorate and or 5 years field relative experience. Luckily my husband has had his very good and stable job since graduating high school. So I took "bank" jobs, and made our way through life, my photography, always on the side. The birth of our first son in 2010, really lit a fire under me to go back to school and dive more into the business aspect and marketing aspect of my creative side, as well as to learn more than I already knew about photography and art. However, one by one, most of the professors that were men and considered "professional" photographers, started giving me the same sad song and dance, how I'm contributing to the problem today, with moms thinking they could just buy their own cameras, and become photographers. None of them knew my background.

I have one of those professors this semester. He thinks he can "break me", and is especially hard on me during critique. (I know so, because I over heard him chuckling with another student, male, single, childless, about how he intends on getting the 'momographers' to give up, because the field is too competitive and saturated for the likes of us". This professor has gotten lucky on a few name large business. His income is not consistent. Hints why he is teaching at the college, and not out making, "the big bucks". Sad really. That I'm viewed as a women who only got into photography to make a few extra bucks? When that's completely and utterly not true. He's a little older than me. He didn't get into the photography business until early 2000, which by then, I had been doing photography for almost a decade.

I say all of that, to say this, no matter why as person chooses to pick up a camera and shoot, where they are at skill level wise, or who and what they chose to shot, it shouldn't matter. You should get your jobs based on your merit, and not your "better than thou attitude." So in my snarkiness and sly uppercut, I chose to rebrand my image and business name as Momographer to show the world, that, hey, moms, are just as good at photography as the "professionals", that some of us have been photographers long before our babies came along; our babies just give us inspiration, and a drive to keep going; even when we get knocked down.

I am a successful, and wildly fabulous photographer, just ask any of my clients. I OWN all of my wet and digital photography studio equipment, both production and post production. I grow every day, and experiment every day with my photography. I learn every day about new things, concepts, and practices. Most careers require continuing education, why is photography any different? Why does being a mom and or women have anything to do with my skills or my business savvy side? Nothing. I didn't just buy a dslr camera one day and decided I was a photographer. This came through years of cultivation, love, dedication, and a desire to better myself. I started in film and worked into digital. I started with bottom of the line p&s and slowly worked into more advanced p&s's as well as slr's.

I do sometimes think that a person should seek out a low end camera and practice, practice, practice and learn the basics of photography such as lighting, composition, etc prior to buying a high end, high powered camera, but hey, it's their money, not mine.

Sorry for the lengthy rant. This is just my experience.




Hi all-

I stumbled across this acronym today in a New York Times article. The article was about the new surge in mommies who are taking their cameras and launching photography businesses with them. I was wondering if anyone else saw the article and what their thoughts are. Have you guys come across MWAC, and are they taken seriously in the photographic world? Looking forward to your responses. Thanks! ;)


He might want to take a look at recent statistics on the industry. It's LARGELY dominated by us....
“The number of female photographers has grown,” he says. Now it’s a 2/3-to-1/3 split of males to females, a pickup from last year.” Forty percent of them are part time, while 28 percent, he says, are full time. “And it’s a younger female at that,” he says. “Age 45, and younger,” according to the 2011 & 2012 InfoTrends Professional Photographer Study.
Rangefinder - State of the Industry: Business Trends 2012

I say we band together and run HIM out of the business... Oh wait, he's pretty out of the business seeing how he's just teaching.
 
Moron with a a camera problem solved, gender neutral, simple and to the point.
 
I sometimes feel that not everyone understands that just because you are a mom it does not make you a MWAC. MLEEK is a mom but not a MWAC. She is a photographer. There are plenty of "Hi, I just bought a Rebel T2i and have a client shoot tomorrow. How much should I charge?" threads that are created weekly. Or the "natural light only" photographers. Are people really having that hard of a time distinguishing between a photographer who happens to be a female and a person who happens to be a mom who was told by her friends that she does the best selective coloring in Piknik and should start a business? Jake hit the nail on the head of what a MWAC is:

And no you don't fit into the category because you didn't just pick up a cheap kit from best buy and start charging the next day. Thats what MWAC or GWAC are! Buy today, selling by tomorrow!

I shoot a lot of models and in my circle we deal with the term GWC or Guy With a Camera which means a guy with a crap camera claiming to be a photographer for the sole intent of seeing girls in various states of undress. Having the term GWC attached to your name in the model circles will ruin you. It doesn't matter if you said something in earnest that was perceived differently by the model or maybe you just looked creepy (yes, how you look can get you the GWC badge in a heartbeat). Once you're labeled a GWC (and you're really not one) you're done. It's a backhanded compliment when a model says to me, "thank God you're not a GWC." It also means that I'm good to go with her model friends. So yeah, I'd say GWC trumps being called a MWAC any day of the week.
 
The problem lies with the M in MWAC. It's not just Mom... I've seen it used as Man With A Camera too.
Personally I prefer the AWAC. Amateur With A Camera. Although that will open a whole new debate. There are many here who consider them amateurs but have the skill to shoot professionally. Then there are those amateurs without the skill to turn the camera on...
Which has lead us to the "Best Buy Photographer."
Aaaand... I have bought a camera at Best Buy. Hey, it was a great deal and I wanted one my kids could use!
You see where I am headed here... this is a no win debate on the name. Although I REALLY like IByte's Moron With A Camera. That seems to work all of the way around... so far.
 
MLeeK said:
The problem lies with the M in MWAC. It's not just Mom... I've seen it used as Man With A Camera too.
Personally I prefer the AWAC. Amateur With A Camera. Although that will open a whole new debate. There are many here who consider them amateurs but have the skill to shoot professionally. Then there are those amateurs without the skill to turn the camera on...
Which has lead us to the "Best Buy Photographer."
Aaaand... I have bought a camera at Best Buy. Hey, it was a great deal and I wanted one my kids could use!
You see where I am headed here... this is a no win debate on the name. Although I REALLY like IByte's Moron With A Camera. That seems to work all of the way around... so far.

Thanks M, but I got to give the credit to Charlie for that one from a(same) previous argument, I used to say man-with-a-camera, but I'm a Jock-with-a-camera :) I have my own catagory ftw!! Lol
 
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