A rant

I might be slightly biased, but I think Chris does great work.  He's come a long way at pursuing his passion for photography, and I think his work speaks for itself.  The profession itself is a tough market.  A very tough market.  In an age where technology has made a small pocket-sized digital camera inexpensive, and capable, taking decent pictures can be a fairly easy task once you get a quick tutorial on how all the buttons and settings work (especially if you leave it on "auto" and let the camera 'do it for you', right? ;)).  Everywhere you look there are ads, or facebook groups for new "photography" sites, and new "professional photographers".  What? So you bought yourself a new DSLR camera?  And you just took it out of the plastic?  Well, of course that now makes you a professional!  Go on out there and register yourself a domain and then, *poof*, you now can offer professional services for your 'craft'!  After all, for every good camera, a good picture makes, right? {insert eye roll here}

I do not claim to know the ins and outs of proper methods of exposure, or ISO settings, or white balance, or aperture.  I can, after a few helpful hints from Chris over the years, view a photo with a bit more critical eye.  I can appreciate the rule of thirds.  I know it's important to make your subject stand out in the photo and to ensure that you don't have your subject stand in front of distracting objects (ie, don't stand right in front of a tree...otherwise, you look like you have branches growing out of your noggin).  I also know that if I was to inherit a hand-me-down DSLR camera from Chris one day, that I would in no way shape or form be willing to market myself as a pro.  I'd love to study more, and maybe someday assist Chris - who knows, maybe someday a family business, perhaps?  But I digress...

Without calling out any names, because I don't feel that's professional (pardon the pun), after all, this is a very public forum. However, I do have a story (and I apologize in advance for the lengthy, wordy post).  An acquaintance of an acquaintance bought him/herself a decent camera.  He/she took photos as a hobby, and over time learned a little bit about photography.  Truth be told, this person learned a lot from a photography forum...the evidence of which apparent in the photos that would later be posted after specific 'how do you...' questions that he'd/she'd pose on the forum. It was a forum that Chris belonged to, and he replied to these 'how do you...' questions.  Chris is very encouraging when it comes to people curious about photography, and loves nothing more than lending out a helping hand (making him the perfect candidate to teach some photography basics at the Photo Bootcamps he puts on).

Anyway, so this 'acquaintance' then decided he/she wanted to try his/her hand at 'profesional' photography...Lo and behold, behind Chris' back, this individual ended up stealing a work contract that Chris had worked himself the past 5-6 years.  The sad part? This 'acquaintance' considers him/herself a "friend" of Chris'.  To add insult to injury?  This 'acquaintance' landed a spot in one of his photography bootcamps, even!  Why would a "professional" photographer need a photography bootcamp - geared toward the amateur who wants to learn more about his/her camera?  Shouldn't this person already know the basics?  I mean, he or she has already labelled him/herself AS a photographer...even going so far as to say he/she'd been at the craft for a NUMBER OF YEARS on his/her professional photography website!  It just makes me crazy. 

This person gets on the defensive when offered constructive criticism by knowledgeable professionals and continues to spew out crap pictures that he/she's attempting to place out into the marketplace as "art".  He/she undercuts the other professionals out there...making it even harder for the real professionals to maintain the niche market that they may be used to.  The frustrating part?  Even those paying for the services don't realize the difference, it seems, between a good photo, and a mediocre or crap photo.  They see the price.  They go for what's cheaper...or, they think that quantity is better than quality.  Oh, so you give me 500 crap photos, with maybe 5 okay shots and this other gentleman over here offers me 30-40? (even though his all look really good)?  Well, dang, of course I'll go with the one that gives me the most for my money.  {Insert HUGE eye roll here}.

(*sigh*  Obviously I have a bit of passion for this topic...and perhaps I'm too close to the immediate subject to be even professing to have a valid opinion for it...but...I HAD to express myself before I literally imploded).

Need a good photographer that offers decent, competitive, wages and high quality product?  Please, send me a message.  I can recommend someone.