jsanz11 wrote in post #5503156
One of the problems I see is that a a lot of people think they are photographers now just because they own a rebel or any other expensive program. With this digital age everyone thinks they are a photographer. Even on this forum you can see a lot of images that are just terrible and a big % of them are people who just happened to buy a camera and want to be photogs. I see parents at my events with rebels, 20d's, 30d's, all cameras you can find at local best buys or circuit city's.
The important thing to me personally in my town is training the public what a quailty photo is. I've gotten lots of commens like "wow, i've never seen such a clear photo". I have setup at events and you see almost every family coming in with their own cameras and yet once they see our work being displayed on monitors they still buy.
I say sit down relax and enjoy the show and let someone else do all the work for you for of taking photos.
Just my 2 cents...
-Joey
Joey, I can relate to the feelings you've expressed here. My wife is a former teacher and assistance principal. Now she works for a state education agency as a curriculum and school improvement consultant. Every parent that walks through the school doors seems to want to tell them how to do their job and many think they can do it better than the people who have been trained to teach. However, your comments illustrate to me that I have not communicated part of my perspective very well.
As I said in my first post, I find these events to be far too "Little Miss Sunshine" for my taste. I grew up in a family of 4 boys, 14 of my 18 first cousins are boys, and I have played sports my whole life. My wife often teases me that my having a daughter (who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world) is God's way of bringing me up to speed with regard to the female gender. And dance competitions are apparently part of my continuing education. Other than the 3 to 5 minute spans once every couple of hours or so that my daughter is actually on stage, I find these competitions to be incredibly tedious. In many ways they are an exercise in endurance.
This is where photography enters the picture for me. I enjoy taking pictures. And, I enjoy it much more than just sitting on a hard seat in the stands all day long (often for a couple of days in a row). It is as simple as that. Also, due to the relatively poor lighting, the seemingly universal ban on flash photography, and the fast movement of the subjects, I find dance photography to be very challenging. And, since I don't have a stage and stage lighting at home, it is pretty hard to simulate these conditions elsewhere. Before my daughter joined this studio and started competing, my chances to practice this type of photography were limited to one recital per year. More than anything, I was just disappointed to have lost an opportunity on that weekend.
I have never viewed this as a me against the pro situation. And although it may true in broad general terms, surely everyone understands that whether or not one gets paid for an activity (including photography) is not necessarily representative of how accomplished that person is at that activity. I for one have seen stunning photos taken by true amateurs and photos not worth the paper they were printed on taken by paid professionals. I am not putting myself or anyone else in this thread in either of those categories. But there are a wide range of skills in both categories and I just think it is ill-advised to assume that a "pro's" photos are automatically better than those of an experienced amateur. I actually have no idea how good this pro's pictures are and whether or not they even had any that featured my daughter. I've tried their website several times and made requests but to no avail.
Bottom line, this whole exercise is more about the journey than the final destination to me. I think of it kind of like fishing. Sure, you could just go down the local market and buy a couple of nice fish fillets and relax on your couch. Or, you could spend a fun day on the lake with family & friends and, if things go well, end up with the satisfaction that you landed a trophy or at least provided an evening feast of fresh fish. In other words, for me, it isn't about just getting a good picture of my daughter that I may (or may not) be able to buy from a professional event photographer. It is more about seeing improvement in my abilities (a me against me situation) and occasionally taking a trophy I can call my very own. That is a feeling that I can't buy at any price.
