We’ve been writing on this site for nearly 3 years now. As I looked back over all the advice we’ve given, I asked myself an important question: “Why should anyone pay attention to anything we have to say?”
The more I pondered this, the more worried I became. You see, it turns out there are a lot of reasons why you should NOT listen to us. So I figured we should come clean and tell you guys the truth…
1. We Are Biased
Yep, I’ll admit it. We come complete with a set of biases. We have leanings, opinions, and deep-seated beliefs that colour how we look at things. They even influence what types of articles we write here. As much as we can attempt to look at issues from different perspectives, we will always have some bias.
2. We Are Newbies
We’ve been photographers since 2005, started shooting “jobs” in 2006, and went full time in 2007. Long story short, we could easily be considered newbies, especially given that we look at photography as a life-long pursuit.
3. We Have No Formal Education
It’s true — we never went to school for photography. Or even took a night class. We could have learned everything backwards and upside-down for all we know.
4. Our Experience Is Very Limited
We started off shooting weddings, and then migrated to portrait photography. And that’s all that we’ve done on a serious professional level. There are many, many areas of photography that we have very little to no experience in.
5. We’ve Only Worked In One City
Along that point, we’ve only worked in one city. We don’t know what it’s like to pick up everything and start over again where you don’t know a single person. We don’t know how different things are in a small town, or a massive city. We only know our medium-sized Canadian hometown.
6. We Don’t Keep Up With The Photography World Very Much
Compared to many photographers we are practically hermits. We hear little tidbits of photography industry news every now and then, but in general we’re not very up on the latest hot products or the biggest celebrity photographers du jour. (Note: this also applies to pop music, which we seem to be a couple years behind on.)
7. The Industry Is Changing Rapidly
It seems like things are completely different than when we started our careers. And in a few years, they will be even more different. This industry is changing crazy fast, and what we experienced back at our beginning is not the same as what a new photographer will experience now.
So, Is There Any Reason To Listen To Us?
Well, maybe. Let’s give it a shot…
1. We Love Photography
We think about this crazy art form all day, every day. There is practically nothing we do that we don’t ponder how it might relate to photography. Obsessive.
2. We Love Teaching
From the very beginning of our careers we’ve had a strong desire to share what we’ve learned with others. It’s just our way. Every time we come across a new insight, we try to figure out the best way to explain it so someone else can benefit. Teaching is as important to us as photography itself.
3. We Love Photographers
And we mean photographers in the way we like to define it — anyone who loves photography, regardless of how long they’ve been doing it. Whether they are full-time pros, or never make a cent, it doesn’t matter. Heck, even if you’ve never picked up a camera in your life, but are thinking about it, we love you, because you want to capture something that you find interesting. It’s pure creation, and that’s awesome.
4. There Is No Truth
Forgive me for getting a bit philosophical here, but this is the big idea of all this rambling (finally, right?).
There is no single “truth”.
In the end, nothing anyone says is right or wrong. What matters is how you feel about an idea, and whether it rings true in your heart, for your work, and your business. That’s the bottom line.
So for everything you hear us—or anyone—say, do just one simple thing: take a second to think about it. If you like it, great. Keep it. If it doesn’t feel right, leave it, and keep on looking.
Being true to yourself is far more important than listening to what two silly ninja-obsessed photographers say anyway…
