Ten Types of Photographers Who Will Steal Your Joy If You Let Them
It is your passion that should drive you, not what Mr. Sourpuss has to say.
I mentor a group of professional-level photographers who are working hard to get into the business and make it a sustainable career choice.
This is hard to do on its face.
Pitfalls abound, and the ability to cross a certain threshold of income is always a concern.
Almost any photographer can break into the $30K range, but getting above $60K takes a lot of effort, planning, and a system that works.
Once you get to $60K, you can grow much easier because of the breathing room that gives you.
You’re still being frugal AF, but you aren’t living in your 2015 Elantra either.
But you still have to watch out for the worst pitfall of all: listening to photographers whine and working hard to make sure you never experience a moment of joy in your chosen profession.
And they are out there everywhere.
Some of them are top names in the online world of photography — one which occasionally has only a thread of relationship to the real world of photography.
They seem hell-bent on stealing any hope you have of making a decent photograph, and if they find out you want to go pro they will do everything they can to destroy that dream.
So here is a list of the many types of joy-stealing photographers out there. We will go from the subtle ones to the more blatant asshats that dot the landscape of online photography.
- The Arrogant “Piss off, I’m busy” Professional.
These guys and gals are real photographers, for sure. But they have a deep-seated need to let you know that without a couple of sets of Broncolors, a pair of Hasselblads, and a 2200 square foot studio, there is no reason for you to even continue thinking about photography.
It’s poppycock (10 points for using that word in a post), of course. You can be a highly-paid professional with two bodies, two lenses, a laptop, and a strong resolve to make killer shots for your clients. - The “It’s Way Too Hard for You, Mate” photographer.
The ones who make everything in photography sound like rocket surgery, or something involving a deep understanding of Calculus and Chaos theory when they explain how they made a photograph, they make it sound like only a genius with 36.57 years of experience could ever pull it off.
Yeah… no. Look, it isn’t that hard. You must indeed know what you must know, but it isn’t comparable to calculus, linear algebra, or hooking up your WiFi. You got this. What you need to do is practice more and listen to this drivel less. It is infinitely more fun. - The “Influencer” photographer.
They have millions of followers, go everywhere on earth, and delight in showing us how they make coffee. But what they don’t know, they make up on the spot. Or, umm… embellish, yeah, we’ll go with ‘embellish’ reality.
I once heard an online guru tell a group of students that he used Model Mayhem for shooting professional-level catalogs out of NYC. Yeah, I’m sure the client was happy to use some talent named “Miss Bootylicious” for their high-end fashion catalog. If there indeed ever was a high-end fashion catalog.
Influencer photographers can be great, but they can also be influencers first, and photographers third. Making coffee and videos is second. - The “You Can’t Make Good Photos With That” photographer.
Similar to number one, this is someone who is NOT a photographer at all. They are gear collectors trading this system for that, proclaiming the sensors on this camera are .00003 times sharper when shooting birds in the snow on Thursdays. Alternating Thursdays.
They are constantly on the hunt for something that will make ‘better’ photographs and are offended when they see someone with a 12MP Rebel make great photographs. Sure, they will say, it’s OK, but the shadow density is so high that I can see artifacts in this blade of grass at 900%.
Oh. Thanks. Nobody cares.
Make your photographs any way you want, or even any way you can. - The “I’m Glad I Never Went Pro” photographer.
They mean well. They may have tried it once, a few years or decades ago, and found it to be too stressful, too hard, or too much work. They may have had financial concerns that took their dream from them. And that happens, it really does.
But their choices are not your choices. Their failure to make it is not your failure to make it. Most mean well, but the goal is to wave you off from trying to make it because you may fail and they would feel bad for you. Or you could make it, and they will feel bad for them.
Ya know. - The “Everyone Else Sucks But Me” photographer.
OK. Got it. These folks usually hang around Facebook groups and have occasionally been spotted randomly seeking victims at photo gatherings and camera clubs. They had success once. They felt that incredible rush of adrenaline, and it stuck them in a death spiral of thinking that it would last — or that it even meant something.
These folks blatantly want to steal your photo joy. Perhaps you took a photo of your grandchild, and it won second place at the fair. They are the ones who will loudly proclaim, “Well, I guess they will let anyone into these yokel shows… not even a medium format camera.”
Well, I never!
They can also tell you everything wrong with your photo from a 1200-pixel wide, crushed image on Facebook without knowing anything about it.
Fugettaboutem. - The “You're Not Ready” photographer.
He or she is someone who has gotten a foothold in the business and is feeling threatened by someone else trying to do the same thing. I see it all the time.
And even if you aren’t ‘ready’, perhaps a bit of explanation as to why they think you aren’t would be nice.
If you meet this type of photographer, ask them what they mean. And I would bet they will lay out the problems they see for you, and they will be the same problems they are having. Guaranteed.
You may or may not be ‘ready’ but don’t worry about it. No one is ever ready, my friend. And if you think you are, you probably aren’t. - The “There’s No Work Out There Anymore” photographer.
They and their cousin “Moms with iPhones are ruining the industry” are simply too out of touch to worry about. I always notice that they are complaining about the business while simultaneously buying a new Fuji MF camera for it.
Let me just cut to the chase. There is work out there. A lot of it. You have to hustle, you have to have a good portfolio, and you have to know what the hell you are doing, but there is indeed work out there. I know a food photographer making well over a quarter million who has been in business for less than three years.
It's a good thing she didn’t listen to this bluster of silliness. - The “Photography is Gonna Be Killed by AI” photographer.
They are terrified of new things. Unfortunately, this is a huge number of photographers. They are always terrified of new stuff. I can remember mobs of photographers fighting meters in cameras, zoom lenses, autofocus, digital… sigh.
Look, AI is out there. Some of it stinks, and some of it is totally awesome. Do what you want with it, find a way to use it to your advantage, and offer to take those MF Fujis off their hands now that they are gonna be a grill cook at Burger King.
Just ignore this stuff and let them have it their way. - The “My brother-in-law’s second cousin on his mom’s side knew a guy who had a roommate whose sister wanted to be a photographer, and she ended up on the streets hooked on meth” photographer.
Yeah. That happens.
I guess.
But seriously, what does that have to do with you?
You will have trials and tribulations and occasionally have to pick dinner from the “macaroni and cheese or Ramen” category, but you ain’t gonna become a crackhead. Ya know!
Some folks who try to steal your joy actually do have your best interests at heart. They don’t want you to get hurt, or end up living on the streets, or worse, move back home.
And understanding that you can take measures to make them feel a lot better about your choices.
And they are your choices.
I love photography. It is my vocation and my avocation.
If you love it, never let anyone take that passion from you.
Hi, I’m Don Giannatti, a photographer and mentor for up-and-coming photographers. You can find me on my own site, Don Giannatti, and at my Substack site, where I also publish for creative people. All subscribers to my Substack have access to a free long-form workshop on the business of commercial and professional photography.
