Reply To: Fauxs don't like amateurs!??

[cameraclicker]

I grew up looking at Time, Life, and National Geographic magazines.  So that’s what my idea of good photography is.  Most of the photographers that claimed to be professional have never measured up.

This site has definitely been an education for me, as have some other places on the Internet.  I have been amazed at what people are willing to pay for, and that people seem willing to pay $50 or $100 for many bad photos but are seemingly unwilling to pay two or three times that for much better photos.  I have been surprised by customers defending low quality photography.  They didn’t care about the quality of the photos, just that they were in them, and that they liked the photographer because they were neighbours.

Even in engineering and medicine where the science is fairly solid and there are a lot of tests and exams, you will meet good practitioners and bad ones.  Photography is part science and part art, so the differences are amplified, and the tests are not as formalized.  Fauxtography is part photography and part business.  Differences are amplified even more!

Business is an interesting environment.  Some businesses have fairly major barriers to entry, taking engineering and medicine as examples — you need quite a bit of education, and there are exams and tests.  Law is a similar environment, you go to school, then article, and you have to pass the exams and be called to the bar before you are allowed to practice on your own.  Some businesses like photography have a lower barrier to entry — you need a camera.  Those who perceive someone else is eating their lunch will tend to complain.  If someone is offering a less expensive product or more palatable solution those who are affected will object, it’s human nature.  In the news there is an app called Uber that is affecting the taxi industry.  http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/16/an-uber-valuation-comes-with-uber-problems/   Cities are complaining as are taxi companies because the app is changing the landscape and affecting revenue while highlighting the fact that many cities are under served by taxi companies.

Our niece had a child last summer.  Every time they come to town, or we visit them, I take lots of photos.  So, I suppose I am one of those the fauxtographers are complaining about since I’m taking pictures instead of hiring someone else to take them.  But I have the view that I should not pay someone else to do something I have time and knowledge and tools to do, more so since I enjoy it.  Besides, it’s a nice change from landscapes, water drops and light bulbs!

Caveat emptor.