Photographers Not Being Photographers

[somedevilguy]

I posted this on my blog today, thought it might be an interesting read here too! marc blackwell's blogspot: Photographers Not Being Photographers

Photographers Not Being Photographers

I'm going to rant a little bit. I'm not as fired up as I could be, nor as I have been about this subject, but I just read yet ANOTHER blog post from yet ANOTHER photographer to, yet again, OTHER photographers on HOW TO BE a "professional" photographer.

I'm sick and tired of "photographers" trying to teach the rest of the world how to be photographers. Every other photographer you find on the net these days has a blog, or a podcast, or a book on how to be a photographer. "Here's how I do it - follow these easy steps and you will be a successful professional like myself!" It's all a facade! If you were or are a successful photographer you don't have time to write seminars, create online classes, and write photos for dummies books!

I'm all about helpin' out the next guy. An amateur comes to me with questions about getting into the business, I'm more than happy to share with him what I've learned in my experience. I understand it's important to influence new photographers correctly so the market doesn't suffer, but this is getting ridiculous. I mean, it's like being a professional race car driver, and telling your competition what you've done to your car to make it faster. "Here, take my clients! And my income, and all my ideas! For free!" Essentially what's happening, right? I've fallen trap to a few of these photographer's gimicks. I understand, drive more traffic to your website and you might get a few more gigs a month. But at what cost are you willing to get those extra couple gigs. The cost of creating a bigger cesspool of guys with cameras? At giving false hope that anyone and everyone can be a photographer? At driving the market down as more and more amateurs pretend to be professionals? You're hurting yourself as a photographer and photographers in general.

If you're working enough so that you think you can give others advice on how to works just as much, you don't have time to write a blog every day. You just don't! If you're on Twitter more than you're behind your camera, some thing(s) are NOT right. If you think Facebook is the only way to market your photography, you gotta pull your head outta the south end of a north bound horse. Photographers have an unhealthy obsession with social media and they're exploiting the beautiful world and business behind photography with it.

Wanna be a professional photographer? Good for you. First, don't steal my customers. Second - work really hard! Really dive into the art and techinique of photography. Learn that first. You won't succeed if your photos suck. Then learn some business, because what everyone will tell you, some more often than others, is that you hafta run a business to be a professional photographer. Now...before I start being hypocritical, I'm gonna end by saying this;

You're a photographer? Great! Now show me photos you've taken. Write me a news-letter once a month showing me everything you're working on, take videos of your photoshoots, create photo books, post iPhone pics on Twitpic, I don't care, just be photographical!!

 

[Neil S.]

LOL

"rant a little bit"?

There is nothing little about this. :thumbdown:

 

[Idahophoto]

Dude, Chill out! Blogs is among the best ways of getting your work noticed which is even done by the top photographers in the field. Millissa Rodwell, Art Wolf, Jim Zuckerman, Tony Sweet the list goes on and on. You on the other hand I have never even heard of before so yeah I for one will go with them. I am no pro, but I am trying very hard on becoming one and if I can get some helpful advise from someone who might know what there talking about, I would be a fool to turn it down. Sure there may be other ways of doing things other than what this person or that person says and you have to decide how it relates to your situation but I have no problem with it. Hell, I was paying out thousands of dollars for it in Photography school lol. I think your making a bigger issue out of this than it is. In some areas you might have a point but overall unless it's unwanted I'm willing to listen especially if it's free.

 

[Scatterbrained]

That's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black don't you think.

 

[somedevilguy]

@scatterbrained - how so?

@idahophoto - I checked out some of the photogs you mentioned, and found it ironic that Melissa Rodwell said this just a few blog posts in: "Word on the Tweet is that I don’t blog often enough. So I have a question: Would you rather read a blog by a photographer who doesn’t work but who blogs all the time or would you rather read a blog from a working fashion photographer who’s too busy to write that often, but at least when you read the blog posts, you know that the person writing them is actually working in the industry?"

Perhaps my point needs to be reiterated a little ... if you teach how to be a photographer more than being a photographer itself, something's not right.

 

[Neil S.]

@scatterbrained - how so?

@idahophoto - I checked out some of the photogs you mentioned, and found it ironic that Melissa Rodwell said this just a few blog posts in: "Word on the Tweet is that I don’t blog often enough. So I have a question: Would you rather read a blog by a photographer who doesn’t work but who blogs all the time or would you rather read a blog from a working fashion photographer who’s too busy to write that often, but at least when you read the blog posts, you know that the person writing them is actually working in the industry?"

Perhaps my point needs to be reiterated a little ... if you teach how to be a photographer more than being a photographer itself, something's not right.

OK at 1st I thought you were just trying to stir the pot for a laugh or something.

Its clear now that you really believe what you are saying here.

You are making the mistake of thinking that photographic knowledge is only validated by success or something.

What makes you think that you need to even be a professional to be a good photographer?

There are people here that are not professionals, but are still outstanding photographers.

If I spent a lifetime taking pictures for a hobby, don't you think just maybe I might have some knowledge and skills to show for it?

As for the business end of it, its just business.

What makes you think that its so much different from other types of business?

As if (sucessful) professional photographers are the only people in the world that understand business.

 

[Petraio Prime]

I posted this on my blog today, thought it might be an interesting read here too! marc blackwell's blogspot: Photographers Not Being Photographers

Photographers Not Being Photographers

I'm going to rant a little bit. I'm not as fired up as I could be, nor as I have been about this subject, but I just read yet ANOTHER blog post from yet ANOTHER photographer to, yet again, OTHER photographers on HOW TO BE a "professional" photographer.

I'm sick and tired of "photographers" trying to teach the rest of the world how to be photographers. Every other photographer you find on the net these days has a blog, or a podcast, or a book on how to be a photographer. "Here's how I do it - follow these easy steps and you will be a successful professional like myself!" It's all a facade! If you were or are a successful photographer you don't have time to write seminars, create online classes, and write photos for dummies books!

I'm all about helpin' out the next guy. An amateur comes to me with questions about getting into the business, I'm more than happy to share with him what I've learned in my experience. I understand it's important to influence new photographers correctly so the market doesn't suffer, but this is getting ridiculous. I mean, it's like being a professional race car driver, and telling your competition what you've done to your car to make it faster. "Here, take my clients! And my income, and all my ideas! For free!" Essentially what's happening, right? I've fallen trap to a few of these photographer's gimicks. I understand, drive more traffic to your website and you might get a few more gigs a month. But at what cost are you willing to get those extra couple gigs. The cost of creating a bigger cesspool of guys with cameras? At giving false hope that anyone and everyone can be a photographer? At driving the market down as more and more amateurs pretend to be professionals? You're hurting yourself as a photographer and photographers in general.

If you're working enough so that you think you can give others advice on how to works just as much, you don't have time to write a blog every day. You just don't! If you're on Twitter more than you're behind your camera, some thing(s) are NOT right. If you think Facebook is the only way to market your photography, you gotta pull your head outta the south end of a north bound horse. Photographers have an unhealthy obsession with social media and they're exploiting the beautiful world and business behind photography with it.

Wanna be a professional photographer? Good for you. First, don't steal my customers. Second - work really hard! Really dive into the art and techinique of photography. Learn that first. You won't succeed if your photos suck. Then learn some business, because what everyone will tell you, some more often than others, is that you hafta run a business to be a professional photographer. Now...before I start being hypocritical, I'm gonna end by saying this;

You're a photographer? Great! Now show me photos you've taken. Write me a news-letter once a month showing me everything you're working on, take videos of your photoshoots, create photo books, post iPhone pics on Twitpic, I don't care, just be photographical!!

I agree it's a bit much, but on the other hand there is a lot to learn in each specialty, and not everyone has to know all that a major in a school such as RIT offers. If you are a wedding guy, you don't need to learn product photography or other stuff. Why waste time and money on something you'll never use? Also, Kodak and other companies used to offer inexpensive books on technique and materials. They no longer do.

I think a lot of seminaring is ego stroking, and it tends to promote a certain sameness in approach.

The days of learning anything on your own seem past. Everybody takes classes for everything. This is a pop cultural phenomenon. I taught myself several things, but it seems everyone wants to take a class nowadays.

 

[Idahophoto]

I agree with you Neil 100% which is why I started coming to this site. There are some awesome photographers here who probably are not pro's and if I can learn from them great. I was just trying to say that blogs are used by lots of people of different skill levels I was even thinking of starting one. It's not a pro amateur thing. I found it funny the other day I was looking at reviews for a Jim Zuckerman book on Amazon.com where I found a review by Art Wolf who mentioned working with Jim on something and Jim asking him questions about his exposures. I mean these two are really highly respected in the field Why would Jim need to ask questions? Then it dawned on me you never stop learning even top pros. Yeah I'm sure Jim could of hit the exposure dead on but might of done it different. I have gone to Workshops and photo classes where there is like 12 of us shooting a model under the exact same light same pose but each of us had gone with a slightly different exposure or chose a different focal length lens or what have you. Who is right and who is wrong in the group is up to each person who looks at the final result. So I guess everyone of us can be both.

If I misinterpreted your post Somedevilguy I apologize. Only had a couple hours of sleep, but did not mean for it to sound like a attack on you, only that even I often get asked about what gear I use and why I did something this way or that way so I'm sure Pro do even far more and that I think it's very nice of them when they take the time to tell us about it.

 

[table1349]

 

[DennyCrane]

I can only presume the Original Poster is not a photographer, since he's a "blogger" AND posts these long rants on forums.

 

[Josh66]

I mean, it's like being a professional race car driver, and telling your competition what you've done to your car to make it faster. "Here, take my clients! And my income, and all my ideas! For free!" Essentially what's happening, right?

:lmao:

I would think it would be more like being a professional race car driver and telling the guy you know that races go-karts on the weekends how to tune up his kart.


What you said above is basically exactly the same as saying that the camera (the car, the engine) is the only thing that matters. Take a pro NASCAR driver, and ... well, me for example. Give us both the same car and I guarantee you that I would get my ass handed to me.

Wanna be a professional photographer? Good for you. First, don't steal my customers.

Why are you worried about noobs stealing your customers?
Are you delivering noob quality work, or charging noob prices?

Why would you even want customers that only care about the cheapest possible price?

 

[Hooligan Dan]

...If you were or are a successful photographer you don't have time to write seminars, create online classes, and write photos for dummies books!

Joe McNally.

/thread

 

[DennyCrane]

 

[Browncoat]

Now...before I start being hypocritical, I'm gonna end by saying this;

Too late. :er:

Let me get this straight...you're a photographer blogging about how you don't like photographers blogging? That they shouldn't be hung up on social media when you have prominent links to your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts on your aforementioned blog? That you have over 1700 tweets yourself?

Newb.

 

[Neil S.]

Now...before I start being hypocritical, I'm gonna end by saying this;

Too late. :er:

Let me get this straight...you're a photographer blogging about how you don't like photographers blogging? That they shouldn't be hung up on social media when you have prominent links to your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts on your aforementioned blog? That you have over 1700 tweets yourself?

Newb.

LOL no. Hes "a professional" so its OK.