The Uncomfortable Truth
“Can I be successful as a photographer?” This question is usually asked of me as an unpublished shooter hands me their portfolio. I usually give them my honest personal assessment of their book, but there is a truth that always seems to go unspoken. Your photographs are a very small part of whether or not you will be successful.
Professional photographers like to think (or at least act like) their work is better than others and that is why they succeed. Most know that there is one key element that is actually far more important than the quality of their images- social skills.
Yes, I said far more important than the quality of their work.
You have to have “game”. Just like courting a potential mate you must also be attractive to a potential client. “Game” can’t really be taught. You either get it or you don’t.
Fellow professionals, especially workshop organizers don’t like to admit this. The truth is that there are many photographers more skilled than them that will never find success at their level. They don’t know how to do business. They may know how to crunch numbers. They may know how to plan and organize. They may be amazing with a camera. They will fail miserably as a photographer because they don’t look right, dress right, speak right, smell right or just plain have people skills.
Your photographic skills are important, but whether they are as important as your people skills can easily be debated. You definitely must be “good enough” to succeed consistently, but we have all seen bad photographs published, and sometimes even lauded.
It’s the same thing as when you were in high school. The cool guys got all the girls. Adults just know how to dress the same game up a little better. A photographer with phenomenal photographic ability that smells bad or looks “uncool” or has a big “creep factor” is going to have a more difficult time getting the jobs. We like to think that it’s all the bottom line when we do business, but the bottom line is not the only factor in who gets a job.
My advice is that as you develop your photographic skills you need to be developing your social skills. You need to learn to little things that seem like they shouldn’t matter, but the truth is that they do.
Wear the uniform. As I teach workshops I amazed at the absolute slobs that show up. They dress in their cheapest logo screaming shirt that they probably won at a local wet t-shirt contest. The “Follow Me to Hooters” t-shirt is accompanied by loose legged short pants that bring attention to what they are exposing with their shorts and not their camera. Why do they dress this way? “It’s hot and this is comfortable.” This very clearly shows that the photographer is more interested in immediate comfort rather than networking and approaching things professionally. “But it’s hot.” Yes, and you are lazy and don’t REALLY care about how you come across to others. “But it’s just a workshop!” Yes, it is. You have just guaranteed that you are just another attendee. This is a reflection of a mindset. It’s a parade of “reasons” why you aren’t standing out on top.
Companies like to hire people that project their image. Models like to work with people that care how they look. Successful photographers are always projecting a hirable image. It isn’t just how you dress though. The most uncomfortable part of all of this is that sometimes the problem isn’t your clothes. Sometimes it is the photographer themselves. Some photographers are just creepy not matter what they do. They shower, shave, say nothing inappropriate and yet that feeling is still there.
“Can I be a successful photographer?” Sometimes it is easy to answer that without ever even looking at that portfolio. That is the uncomfortable truth.
Equipment Envy
What weapons do you carry in your arsenal? What equipment is in your bag of tricks? How new is your camera? Your lenses? What lenses do you have?
I have had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing equipment. Whether a lighting company allowed me to use their gear for free or a different company put a fantastic medium format digital camera in my hand, there is one thing that I have come to realize: The equipment will not make you a better photographer.
Save yourself a little money and understand that the latest and greatest camera to come out is probably not going to make or break you as a shooter. It is your talent that makes a huge difference. Place more emphasis on fine-tuning your talent and less time updating your equipment.
I am not saying that your gear is completely irrelevant. You do need good equipment, but price is not always the benchmark for quality.
When I first started to shoot models 20 years ago, I had a very inexpensive Nikon 35mm film camera. I constantly lived in a state of camera envy as I looked at the equipment other photographers around me were using. Slowly but surely I upgraded. A little here. A little there. Then came the day. A photographer brought in his camera bag and opened it in front of me. Sitting inside the bag was not one but TWO brand new, shiny Nikon F4 camera bodies. I swear when he opened his camera bag, light shot out of it and angels sang! I remember the day so clearly. I knew I would NEVER get equipment like that. I would never be THAT good.
Several years later, after working day after day and fighting, biting and scratching to make a go at it, it happened. I picked up a phone, called B&H, and placed the order of a lifetime. I ordered an F4. My F4. I then waited forever for the delivery. Finally that magical day arrived, and I became the proud owner of an F4. Angels sang again.
You may think I am about to tell you I was disappointed by the camera. No, I wasn’t. I think it is still my favorite camera of all time, although the Canon 5D certainly competes. What I did realize is that my pictures did not get markedly better. The camera felt nicer in my hands than my old camera. I felt more important, but my pictures were not really affected. Just like before, I still had to know how to see light. Just like before, I still needed to use the shutter and aperture to capture a moment with impact.
Let’s be honest. Equipment is not entirely irrelevant. Your lenses are more important than your camera, but you do need a camera that can capture a good image. A good 24-70mm lens and a good 70-200mm lens will pretty much get you by. You don’t need lenses that talk, beep, vibrate, play mp3s, or have a GPS attached. You don’t need a camera that shoots images so big that your hard drive chokes at the input.
I no longer hear angels when I see the latest and greatest equipment. I hear cash registers screaming “cha-ching!” I DO get impressed when someone shows me a great image. If you feel the resolution of your images is good enough for the work that you do, then don’t be dazzled by the latest and greatest. You don’t have to have it. You simply WANT it.
When you are awed by images, and they are better than the ones you take, don’t think the equipment took the shot. Remember, the photographer did.
I am a PC
I’m a PC. Yeah, I am uncool like that. I have always been a PC. I tried to be a Mac, but here I sit. I must be geeky because I don’t look like those guys in the Apple Store. I don’t have the disheveled head of hair and the mustache like Grandma had. My computer isn’t as pretty as yours. It doesn’t cost as much, and the box it came in left me feeling more than a little inadequate compared to the Apple packaging. My laptop is grey, not titanium. I’m a PC.
When I first started shooting, every photographer I knew used a Mac. They used to tell me how much more their Macs could do. How much faster they were. Are you a PC? You may have heard the same thing. I am not going to sit here and tell you that PCs are better. I am also not going to say they are worse.
This is truly not a religion. You won’t go to hell for using a Mac or a PC. You won’t be eternally condemned for choosing a Nikon over a Canon or vice versa. You might even dabble with a Sony or Fuji. Not one of these is the black arts. They are all just tools. They are devices that create a means to an end. You may use a Nikon and a PC, or a Canon and a Mac. Do you get the job done right? Then, GREAT!
Here is the real truth about these debates: They are all irrelevant. Macs have some advantages. PCs have some advantages. Which one do you want to use? Then use it! Just use it well.
Some cameras offer more bells and whistles than others. Some days Nikon has more features. Not long after that, Canon has the latest and greatest. Then the cycle starts all over again. Notice I said that one or the other has MORE features. I didn’t say either is better. The talent behind the camera matters a lot more.
What do I shoot with? I fell in love with the Canon 5D. I want the 5D Mark II because it shoots video, and that feature would help me with web content for this site. I don’t think the new camera is magically going to make my images better. The Nikons I used were great. I just like Canon better right now. I also like the color red. It isn’t better than blue, though. I just like it more.
Next time a Nikon vs Canon or Mac vs PC debate gets started, screw with people and tell them you prefer Linux and Sony. Then just watch the look of disbelief on their faces. It’s that confused RCA-dog look: head tilted a little to the side, with a quizzical look and blank gaze.
Yes, it is true. The work I created with a Fuji appeared in the pages of some of the top magazines in the world. I am so uncool.
I admit it. Before God and all mankind. Hoping that confession is the first step to recovery, I will say it again loudly: I am a PC. I use the word “dude” only on rare occasion. I don’t wear clothes just to express my individuality, and–gasp!–I don’t have ANY tattoos (The Horror!).
I am a PC, and I am proud!
Oh. Did I mention that I LOVE my iPhone?