Home › Forums › Am I a Fauxtog? › Needing reassurance! › Reply To: Needing reassurance!
I applaud your understanding of the exposure triangle… you now have the exact same mastery of photography as the senior citizens who have taken my afternoon long course on taking better snapshots down at the senior center. Heck, you have the same basic understanding of photography as my 8 year old nephew, who has been able to manipulate the exposure triangle since first grade.
You garner so much confidence from all the things you think you know.You’re a second grader who looks down on the kindergartners because you’re smarter than they are. Unfortunately being a pro photographer takes a college degree (in this metaphor).
You advertise yourself as a natural light photographer, but I’d be willing to bet quid to quai that you couldn’t name the 7 basic single source lighting patterns off the top of your head. And if you can, that’s even worse, because you know them but haven’t got a clue how to make them work. I can even use your own examples. It’s been less than two weeks since you’ve posted an image with harsh shadows, and you posted over edited images TODAY. I can’t believe I even have to mention that sometimes harsh shadows are a good thing (not in those photos though).
But what really bothers me is that you came here because you wanted to be sure you weren’t a fauxtog, but now you’ve talked yourself into believing your own hype. You asked for the truth, and I gave it to you.
I know this for certain. When I look at your work from 9 months ago and your work from today, I see at most minimal improvement.
Oh, and I can’t believe I have to write this AGAIN, but:
No, it doesn’t matter what you’re missing, that does not make your time valuable. When it comes to providing a service, you cannot judge your worth by what you’d rather be doing. You can only judge the value of your time in whether or not you are giving your clients good value for their money. I don’t know what you charge, but whatever it is, it is too much. Your photography is no better exposed than a photographer who shoots on auto. Your lighting is abysmal, your composition is weak, your color is dull, your framing is poor, your direction is absent, your consistency is non-existent, and to top all of that off, you think you’re more important than your clients. I know you don’t think you do, but you see fit to charge them money, lie to them about how good their pictures look, and waste their time all at once. Your time doesn’t become valuable until you have invested in it. It takes roughly 7 years or 10,000 hours to master any skill. Photography even more, because it is a set of skills.
Are you better than the work featured on YANAP? Most of the time, yes, although you have some really really weak stuff in your portfolio. But it isn’t the 9 month thing that makes you a fauxtog in my eyes. What makes you a fauxtog is that you admit that you are not a professional, and yet you still see fit to charge people for your unprofessional, technically weak, artistically uninspired “work.”
Now, I understand that this is harsh, but I truly hope that you will take this to heart. I hate to see as much potential as you have go to waste because you can’t fathom the possibility that you’re not as good as you think you are. I assure you, you ARE a fauxtog, but you don’t have to keep being one. It’s up to you. If you decide to accept it and seek improvement, my offer to evaluate your three best photos stands.