Amazed at the Egos

Ive been lurking here for a few years, been dabbling with photography for about the same. I have learned TONS from this site but the more time i spend here, the more I realized that I am still very green and have lots more to learn. So kudos to you POTN'ers for guiding me along the way.


my thread though is just about my general observations of a small sampling of the forum...


it really amazes me that sooooo many people would try to hop in and shoot weddings etc without being ready... Dunno if anybody is ever truly ready for some of this stuff and trial by fire can be a good start to things, certain things... My personal feelings after a few years of doing the amateur hobbyist thing and spending hours lurking this and other forums is that im nowhere close to being ready to shoot the biggest day of someones life, shots that you only get one chance to take. Maybe I could pull it off, but I am not comfortable enough with my abilities yet to put myself into that position. As soon as i feel that ive "got a handle" on the photography thing i'll start reading and discover something that I was totally unaware of, or dont truly understand.

these same folks usually ask for advice and then get defensive and arent willing to listen when it is given. im very active on a motorcycle forum and see the same thing there all the time, guess its a common theme...

ive been to a few local weddings with these types, the same weddings/receptions that i usually dont even pull my gear out because i dont want to embarrass the photographer, and my gear list was pretty much non-existent at the time. One local wedding the photographer was shooting with an XT, kit lens, pop up flash and judging by his actions was shooting in auto...

just not sure how people fall into the mindset of "i have DSLR, i am photographer".

I am not leaning towards turning this hobby into anything more than what it is, at least not anytime soon, just seemed to be a reoccurring theme that really surprises me and thought it may make for a good thread...





ps, mods, not sure if this belonged in "business" or not

I suspect this thread is going to turn into a 10 page flame war. I'm going to get some hogdogs and NoDoze just in case!

SnapLocally.com wrote in post #9666986
I suspect this thread is going to turn into a 10 page flame war. I'm going to get some hogdogs and NoDoze just in case!

like i said, thought it'd be good for conversation...lol

Not that I disagree with you entirely, but here are a few thoughts.
1) you gotta start somewhere. Not everyone gets the chance to work as second shooter or have a mentor to train them so they gotta jump in.

2) Not all weddings are created equal. As long as the beginner marketing themselves as such, charging accordingly, and providing the value they promise then so be it. I attended a wedding this weekend that was held in a billiards hall and while it was important to the couple, it was also a relaxed event to a degree. The couple hired an inexperienced wedding photographer, but they will still get some keepers and will be happy with that.

I agree with you if the person hasn't mastered their camera, or the misrepresent themselves that there is potential for a disaster, but maybe that fear is overstated.

hoser wrote in post #9666947
ive been to a few local weddings with these types, the same weddings/receptions that i usually dont even pull my gear out because i dont want to embarrass the photographer, and my gear list was pretty much non-existent at the time. One local wedding the photographer was shooting with an XT, kit lens, pop up flash and judging by his actions was shooting in auto...

oooh, can't wait until the "paid pros" get in on this one...

LOL...

I think what you describe is common in any business. I'm in Aviation Technology (in Real Life) and in that field too there are many people out there with ready answers for everything. I've been in the business 20 years and the biggest thing I've learned is you can never stop learning.

I think the answer is that if your hiring someone (photographer or IT solutions) the tools he/she uses is only a small part of the picture - along with education. Past performance, work samples and previous customer satisfaction should be a big part of how you choose someone.

So if the photographer with the XT taking green box pictures has a happy customer with those photos - I guess they'll be successful. As they should be.

The ones that get me going are the "I just bought a 1Dxxx and have been hired for a wedding. what settings do I use" posts.

Here, let me fan the flames!

http://www.telegraph.c​o.uk …wedding-photographer.html

WaltA wrote in post #9667045
I think what you describe is common in any business. I'm in Aviation Technology (in Real Life) and in that field too there are many people out there with ready answers for everything. I've been in the business 20 years and the biggest thing I've learned is you can never stop learning.

im an estimator in commercial construction, always see new guys popping up lowballing bids. usually they come n go fairly quick...

I think the answer is that if your hiring someone (photographer or IT solutions) the tools he/she uses is only a small part of the picture - along with education. Past performance, work samples and previous customer satisfaction should be a big part of how you choose someone.

So if the photographer with the XT taking green box pictures has a happy customer with those photos - I guess they'll be successful. As they should be.

The ones that get me going are the "I just bought a 1Dxxx and have been hired for a wedding. what settings do I use" posts.


my first post was a generalization of these ^ types of threads. what this, what that, how do I types of threads...

maybe i should grab some popcorn?

There are also members here whose egos are such that anyone showing an interest in getting into wedding photography offer up no advice other than "No. Don't do it."

I agree, we all have to start somewhere, but if someone isn't willing to listen to advice given, so what? If a client takes a chance on someone unproven with no real portfolio or references, it is ultimately their problem. As always caveat emptor.

It goes both ways.

I know this is only semi-related, but my favorite is when I hear "I've been a photographer for 25 years" and then I see some really mediocre images, because they've been repeating year one for the past 24 years.

Continue!

This only demonstrate that wedding photographer business is EASY to get into. Anyone with a decent camera can claim they can shoot wedding as a job, but it doens't mean they are good wedding photog.

eelnoraa wrote in post #9667109
This only demonstrate that wedding photographer business is EASY to get into. Anyone with a decent camera can claim they can shoot wedding as a job, but it doens't mean they are good wedding photog.

Wow, you'll the wedding people going with that one.

I guess how I would interpret it is to say thats its easy to get the 1st wedding job.

Oh, it is! Just jump onto CraigsList and offer your services for $75 and promise to give them the entire package on DVD!

So my question is - if you are a less-than-talented photographer, how long can you do that kind of "fly-by-night operations" before you run out of customers?

WaltA wrote in post #9667197
So my question is - if you are a less-than-talented photographer, how long can you do that kind of "fly-by-night operations" before you run out of customers?

As soon as they start claiming experience and showing poor work then it will be a problem. But once again, there is probably a photographer for every price point.