To give you an idea of where I’m coming from… I despise photography news websites. Half of their articles are complaints about other photographers, 25% is a constant rehash of do’s and don’t do’s, and the last 25% is just product announcements followed by “reviews”.
Then to top it off, the comments on virtually every article become hateful almost instantly. I think photography websites could be a lot more than what they are right now… which is disappointing.
So that’s me. You probably feel different.
I’m a photographer that lives off photography shooting a campaign every few months and I just wanted to share some advice that I wish someone had told me years back. I’ve met a lot of photographers in my time and they always break down into two categories: the ones that are artists, and the ones that obsess over camera gear.
I find that the people who are obsessed with camera gear tend to be relatively bad photographers.
I’m not saying they can’t take a nice photo, I mean generally these photographers are so tied up in trying to get the best camera setup they can, that they don’t focus on the art of photography. There’s nothing wrong with loving cameras, but realize that practicing photography everyday for a week is going to improve your photos immensely, as opposed to buying that new Sigma ART lens.
Source: https://petapixel.com/2017/02/24/rant-two-kinds-photographers/
Comments like this tickle my brain. While this person was being more specific and aiming their comments towards people they feel are focusing too much on tech in an art application… people constantly make grand generalizations like this.
The problem is that people forget that other people do not think like you, act like you, talk like you. So while their commentary makes sense from that person’s perspective… it does not make sense when we “zoom out” and become cognizant of the wider world.
The reality is that not everybody picks up some photography gear with the purpose of taking pictures of people in varying bits of cloth. We’re not all fashion photographers.
And not everybody picks up a camera to tell somebody else’s story. We’re not all product photographers or portrait photographers either.
And not everybody picks up a camera with the goal of being famous or making a pot full of cash. We’re not all in the business of photography.
Everybody has their reasons for picking up a camera… and they vary to a massive degree… and that’s because photographic equipment is a tool.
And people do love tools you know… People love engineering.
I mean look at that. That’s frickin neat.
So the thought that people should not enjoy their tools is frankly stupid. If I want a fancy new cordless drill, if I want an impact hammer, well that’s my business isn’t it. And if I want to go talk with others who also appreciate these tools and find them neat well that’s my business too.
Do you really want to be a better photographer? Then mind your own business. Focus on your work instead of judging the work of others.