Zack is a cynical bastard.
Q: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, AND DO YOU KNOW HOW CYNICAL AND DEPRESSING YOU ARE IN THIS Q&A? I LIKE IT WHEN YOU TELL OTHERS NOT TO DO CERTAIN TYPES OF PHOTOS. IT’S FUN WHEN YOU SAY FOLKS WILL PROBABLY FAIL WHEN THEY TRY SOMETHING. CAN’T WAIT ’TIL YOU JUST SAY THAT PHOTOGRAPHY IS DEAD!
A: Look. This Q&A project is me kicking and screaming against the flood of bad advice, stupid Top 10 lists, and the overall bastardization and corruption of the industry and the craft that we all love so dearly.
In an age where we are told we need to be nice and helpful and not say mean things, we have weakened the respect for the craft. Too many young photographers completely dismiss those who have gone before them. Too many people are picking up the camera and falling into the same traps over and over and over again.
Not enough people are speaking up. Not enough people are pointing out the traps. Not enough people will be honest about how hard this can be. I’ve sat in keynote speeches where the world was promised to the emerging photographer. With the right branding, an 85mm 1.2 lens, and a smile, the world of photography is at your fingertips.
No it isn’t.
Photography isn’t going to die because I’m pissed off. It’s not going to die because I tell people how to shoot or what to shoot. It’s going to die because far too many leaders are leading far too many people down the wrong path. People are lowering the bar of expectations in this industry. Even manufacturers are on this bandwagon. I swear—the smarter our cameras get, the dumber the photographers become.
I’m going to tell you that if you try something like launching a portrait business and gallery fine art business, at the same time, you will most likely fail. Or I could pat you on the back, tell you to believe in yourself, follow your dreams, and wish you the very best of luck with it!
Big smiles! Positive thoughts!!!
And then watch you walk into proverbial traffic and die when I knew, all along, yeah, you’re probably gonna die if you do that. If I were cynical, I’d be sitting on the side of the road laughing at your ass when you fail.
Or. How about I point out the difficulties you are about to face? I might bring a few things to the table you haven’t thought about yet. Maybe what I’m doing is trying to save you several years and several thousands of dollars of frustration.
Keep it simple. Keep it focused. Work on this, this, and that. Don’t get too carried away or it will be too soon and too fast and you’ll fail. Honestly look at your situation. Are you prepared for this, this, and this? That lens isn’t going to help you right now because you can have this other lens over here for $1,700 less and still get the job done. Spending your money in this direction will hurt you. Instead, spend less here and do this or that to grow as a photographer. You’re putting too much time into photographs that aren’t going to further your career for the region of the world you live in. Take a look at this kind of thing over here; translate what you like about what you are already doing over there and make it work over here instead.
If you are just getting started in photography, you’re most likely, by the numbers, going to have a lot of failure to contend with. You can be 20 years into this and still have failures to contend with. So I’m the cynical son of a bitch who will make you honestly face it and, quite possibly, maybe...help you avoid breaking your leg in a few of the traps along the way.
Want to keep shooting mediocre photos that won’t further a lifelong career? Go for it! Have at it! Yay! This industry is not short of folks ready to cheer you on in that endeavor. Suhhhweeeeet!
My goal with this is to kick you in your teeth. Knock the wind out of you, and take your legs out from under you. My promise is to then give you my hand, help you back up, dust you off, and show you my broken bones and bruises. I’m also going to make sure that if you think I have a strong left hook you should look up the food chain and see the great fighters. They’d kick both of our asses in a hot second.
The next time I come along to punch your lights out I’m hoping you can block it and kick my ass to the ground.
“Zack, you’re so violent. I don’t like that.”*
Fine. My goal is to give you more padding for your saddle so you can enjoy your unicorn ride across the Gum Drop Mountains.
Photography is alive and well. It’s an awesome time to be alive in photography. There’s so much to do and the technology is effing amazing. However, we can get lost in all of the excitement and tech, and forget the simplicity of the craft. I want people to learn their craft, and I want the bar of expectations on us as photographers to be so high that we can’t even see it. Yes, photography is fun. Yes, it’s exciting. Damn it, though, it deserves to be respected, and learned, and cared for. All the bright-eyed personality-driven leaders who couldn’t shoot their way out of a wet paper bag have infuriated me to the point that I’m pushing against it.
I might not be able to knock this wall down but maybe I’ll be able to put a hole in it. Others are trying, as well. Many of us are finding ways to get the fast-lens-and-big-smile personality-driven photography pushed over the cliff so we can get back to knowing what the hell we are doing with a camera and our business.
Photography is all I have to do with my life outside of loving and taking care of my family. I do that with a camera. It’s all a big weird mix. It’s my profession but I take it very personally. I can’t separate my professional life and my personal life. I care about this. I care about you. I don’t want you stuck in Aperture Priority for the rest of your life. I don’t want you to be afraid of life. I want you to think about the business you are running and the photographs you are making. I hope you run a great business! I do! I wish you great success! Most importantly, though, I hope you’re an amazing photographer first.
Maybe you’re not going to do this as a business. Awesome! That’s almost better. Now you just get to concentrate on being an amazing photographer!
*Jim Gaffigan, anyone?