Short Creations

Last Exit Live 5-25-2013, a set on Flickr.

Shortcreations on Flickr.

Rule number one on being a good photographer, don't be a douche to other photographers - loosely quoted from Jared Polin -

The thing is we don't have to be rude or snobbish to each other. Now granted that photography is a tough market anyways and is very competitive in the professional side. I hang around a lot of musicians in the Phoenix area and one thing that I can say here is we have a community. The bands help promote each other, they hang out with each other a lot and that helps the overall community. 

Photographers are/"can be" different. Yes it is a different story because several bands can play a show at the same time and split the door earnings. Photographers generally will be hired from one client to shoot a subject. It's more of a cut thought business. 

I have several friends that are photographers, and I have several acquaintance I know that are photographers and most of them have a cover your back mentality. Play nice in front of other photographers but bad mouth them when you have a moment with a potential client. 

A bit of advice to other photographers wanting to make it in a pro or semi pro market. Talking bad about other photographers just makes you look bad. 

I know a photographer in town that I see his work and it's exceptional. Not my style or area of photography I really go for but he is good at what he does. We were at a photo shoot last year and soon as another photographer that does the same style of photography walked away the trash talk started right up saying he is a jerk and bad photographer. It wasn't so much of a warning about the person but all I got from it was his insecurity with other photographers. Made me think "what does he say about me behind my back".

Talk to a potential client about someone like that and what will happen? Your plan to keep them away from them by bad mouthing them will back fire. You just end up looking like a douche bag. 

In town here there are several photographers that I bump elbows with. I see them doing work that I would love to be doing and sure in a way I could feel jealous or whatever. That might be a natural feeling or maybe it's not and I'm stuck in 6th grade like it's some sort of a Ground Hog Day with Bill Murray. 

ANYWAYS, but for reals I see them not as a threat but as a very good reason to keep going out and working. Do things to make myself better and improve my skills. It keeps me fresh. If I were to just sit around and mope because other people are doing awesome things then I might as well just sell the equipment and veg on the couch for the rest of my life. 

Any time you feel that feeling like don’t do it because other people do it better don’t give up. That’s bull crap. That’s when you should say. Why are they better? What do they do that’s better? How did they get there? THEN one at a time grab your camera and start learning things. Anything you want to learn about with photography is on the interwebs. Google and youtube are your friends. Seriously?

Long story short (thanks now I get to the point)

Don’t quit, do, ask questions, ask other photographers. If they don’t give you feed back and give you an attitude then screw them. Move on. Good thing is, I know several photographers here in the valley that are rock star in their own right.