What the blog is going on here?

I’ve had several people ask what inspired me to start this blog. Why now? What took you so long? In short, it’s not really one event that put me here. I just felt like there was a need to nurture one another in this sometimes cut-throat industry we enjoy so much. I am not an expert. I am not the best photographer out there. I am not eager to give criticism or receive it. For those reasons, I am relying on our experiences as amateurs to help one another. Of course I will write from my own experiences, but I intend on inviting guests and members of TOTL to contribute as well. With that being said, I would like to start this blog with my thoughts on some of the discouragement we all face.

There are a number of websites or blogs out there that are centered on the tearing down and mockery of new and inexperienced photographers. I’m not going to give specific names, but I’m sure a few of you have laid eyes on those very sites. While looking them over, I noticed that they all seem to have a number of things in common.

1. “So you bought a fancy camera, and now you’re a professional?”

How many individuals set out knowing exactly what they wanted to do in life? Better yet, how many are actually doing what it was they set out to do? Very few, that is certain. So what if you don’t have a fancy degree?! Some of the most prestigious photographers will tell you that while classes as a college or institution are helpful, they are not what makes a good photographer great. Great photographers are born of getting out there and doing it. They come from taking a million horrible photographs, getting kicked in the gut with constructive criticism, and failure. Lots and lots of failure. This is true of any profession. This is how the pendulum of successful business goes; the further toward the side of success you WANT to go, the further toward the side of failure you HAVE to go.

I don’t care if you went to Best Buy for a point and shoot and came home with a professional DSLR. I don’t care that you bought a portable studio on Ebay for $100.00. And I don’t care that you started taking pictures of your kids and neighbors kids for practice. We all have to start somewhere. And how much sweeter will your success be when you come from such humble beginnings?

2. “Your crappy pictures and discount rates are lowering the standards for us professional photographers.”

A rule of thumb in any purchase is that you get what you pay for. I really can’t see what the “professionals” are so worried about. People may be tempted by a cheaper session fee and the ability to print at Walgreens, but they will be let down in quality. And if they don’t know that they are getting poor quality, someone else will. A business won’t grow if it isn’t providing a quality product. Let’s say that a potential client goes online and compares three photographers. Photog A offers all of your images on a disc for $10.00. Wow, what a steal right? Photog B offers all of your images on a disc for $250.00. Um, excuse me? Photog C doesn’t even offer your images on disc, you have to order by print only. Immediately, the client is drawn to Photog A, right? Wrong. While that $10.00 price tag may be enticing, it is also suspicious. Why would Photog B charge so much more? Why doesn’t Photog C even offer a disc? We as businesses have to have more faith in our customers. Not every person who comes along is after the cheaper deal. A smart customer is after the best investment of their money. What will determine their final decision is who offers the product at the quality they want, with a price tag that makes sense. If that client chooses Photog A because of the bargain they think they are getting, do you really want that person as a client anyway?

3. “I can’t believe you edit your pictures with actions and filters. The BEST photographers get the image they want SOOC (straight out of camera) with no cut and copied style to it. Be original for crying out loud.”

I highly doubt that those professionals have gotten the ideal image out of their camera on every single shot they have ever taken. We’ve all had to edit, either digitally or in the darkroom. And sometimes exploring someone else’s style, via action, filter, set up, pose, and/or prop, is the best way to arrive at your own style. I’m not saying that this is always the case. There are those photogs out there who steal creative ideas from others, but they aren’t necessarily amateurs. Even the technically best photographers are the least creative. Stealing an idea happens in every business. We unfortunately cannot copyright every single good idea we have. Yes, we will see a million newborns in a basket. We will find almost every baby in a knit hat. We will see lots of toddlers in tutus. Get over it. It’s not like every shot we have executed was our original idea. In terms of If stylized images, if they aren’t your thing, then move on and DO your thing instead of viciously criticizing someone else’s. Okay, I get it. I know that images with selective coloring are twenty minutes ago or whatever, but maybe that’s what a client wanted. And if it isn’t, then how is that photog supposed to know that? Someone needs to tell them, TACTFULLY. Don’t hack their photo from their site, lazily blur out their business name and proceed to tear them apart. If that photographer were to come across that site and that image, they would be crushed. It’s not a matter of taking constructive criticism. It’s being virtually bullied into doubting your potential to become a great photographer. It could make or break a person’s drive to succeed. And bottom line, it’s immature. I realize that we all need to have the ability to laugh at ourselves, but not giving a person a chance to grow, that’s the biggest insult of all.

For those of us who constantly encounter this kind of criticism, keep your head up. Ask advice and listen. Watch and forever be willing to learn something new. Be confident but stay grounded. And remember where you came from. Because somewhere, someone is where you have been at some point in your career and they need your guidance and encouragement.

The above is my stand on the issues presented. If I’m not seeing something from another perspective, please share with me. You have the right to disagree, so long as you can disagree tastefully.

I can’t wait to hear from you! And thank you so much for supporting Thinking Outside the Lens.

Somer