So, I wasn’t quite sure about it after I published the last Kill List. But I figured it was up, so I should leave it up. Alp replied to me last night, and I think he had some valid points. What do you think. Did I go too far? If so, I apologize for that, sincerely. Here’s what Alp wrote. My (extremely long) reply follows. Thanks again to Alp for raising the issues. Also, I made a few minor updates from the post earlier this morning, now that I’m more awake.
From Alp:
Thanks spencer, but your article is conceited. You know that, though, right?
You know that your clients actually want the cliche. That they might often want to look like somebody else, or at least a more fantastical version of themselves for the day. Sometimes you might hear something like “my friend had this photographer who shot …..” or, “we’re having a vintage themed wedding and we love the work of Jose villa” or, “Alexander Leaman can’t shoot our wedding, can you shoot in that style?!” etc etc….
Sometimes your clients want the flare and the theatre, and the shoes, and the kissing. And the makeup. Sometimes the client doesn’t want to be educated by their uber ‘better than the cliche’ photographer.
Sure, photographers can and do rely on certain devices to ensure a professional end result and meet expectations, and this is especially true of wedding photography, but what specialism is any different? You can’t absolve yourself by simply saying “I too use these cliches (because I need to get the job), but know that I am better than other photographers because I have seen this truth”. It’s easy to point the finger even if you are hiding behind a humble tongue in cheek end of year style observation.
This kind of elite ‘in the club’ blog post does little to further the (slowly) evolving world of wedding Photography, especially as nothing truly alternative is offered.
If you’re upset by cliches give up on listening to music, stop reading the news, and put your camera down. And stop moaning about the way other photographers shoot the same way that you like shooting – its the biggest cliche of them all.
Alp – thank you for replying and giving an honest assessment. I genuinely appreciate your doing so. If it comes off as conceited, then that was my fault. It was only after I posted it, it occurred to me that the tone was too harsh. However, though some of it was written tongue-in-cheek, none of the points were made without consideration, and I’d be happy to clarify and explain what I mean for every one of them. In fact, I encourage it. Make me defend the points. Go at it, slam them. Challenge the ones that you disagree with most strongly and tell me why you think the shots are worthwhile. I’d love to have that discussion and hear what you have to say. Stick it on the Facebook wall or tweet it. As for defending myself and my character? Well, that isn’t as much fun or purposeful, but I understand what you’re saying, and I know it goes with the territory. I get that. My actions are in the public domain.
Most significantly, I’m not trying to absolve myself of committing these things when I say that I’ve done them myself. I say it, because I think it’s perfectly understandable that others do so. Why would I criticize others if I’m aware I’ve done so myself? It’s not my awareness that frees me of responsibility. It’s the other way around. My awareness makes me responsible. I can’t snicker. I owe it to everyone to raise these concerns.
The fact is I’ve never regarded myself as an exceptionally talented photographer, and to learn to shoot and get where I am (and I still learn new things every day), I’ve had to do it the hard way. It’s been endless self-doubt, criticism, studying, reading, talking, learning, failing, and doing it all over again. I’ve committed a hell of a lot of time to it, because I love it deeply, but it’s a process of stumbling then getting up. It’s made me very conscious of how I approach it all, and that’s exactly why I write what I write. If I can learn and improve, I am certain others can.
When I write the Kill Lists and most other articles, rants, inspirations, or otherwise, it’s not just others I’m referring to. I am largely my own case study. For ideas, I only need look at habits I’ve fallen into or shots I’ve gotten so comfortable with, I forget to push myself. That’s how I come up with these things. I spent years chasing portraits of kisses, stares, and frolicking. But when I see the best images, they convey love either without these devices or they use them in a way so fresh and novel, it’s not about the kiss, the stare, or the frolicking. They are about the connection.
The question isn’t whether you use flare, capture make-up shots, or do any specific thing. It’s how you use them. It’s when you make it a reflexive action to shoot the flare, or the back lighting, or whatever else. It’s when it’s so ingrained, you forget to to consider that it might be worth taking the shot from the other side and getting the soft light frontally instead. That happened to me two years ago. I was so used to looking for the flare, I literally forgot to walk around around to the other side that day. At the last minute, I thought of it, and those shots were way better. But how did I not even consider it in the first place? In some situations, flare is great. In others, not so much. That’s not the question. The question is why you’re doing it. How are you using it. In my mind, it’s always good to stop and look at what you’re doing.
You’re not getting the right message if you think I said make-up or anything else isn’t worth shooting. And that might be my fault for the way I wrote it. But just because you take a shot while make-up is being put on doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good one. You lose something if you don’t watch for the details of the emotion or the body language associated with the make-up, and I’ve seen it happen a lot. Jose Villa does anything but ignore body language and emotion. It’s what makes his images work. They flow and they’re delicate. He sees the little things. Our job is to know and learn how to make the image the best one we can. Our job is to make great make-up shots, not just to take a shot while make-up is applied. Get the expression to pop. Look for unusual light. Composition. Movement. Add something more. Some people get stuck on shooting things a certain way and they don’t know it’s not registering with photographers or clients. Everyone has things like that. I don’t exempt myself. I think it’s often by habit, and I don’t think most want that result. If they do, then, that’s good for them. No need to change. But no one is bothering to even tell people that this could be better or that could be done differently. Instead, they just let it be, and wait for the photographer to figure it out on their own or drown. We must retire shots as we evolve to make room for new things. That’s what growth is.
Everyone should try to get the most out of everything and not simply boil it down to whether the images conform to recognized trends. And, yes, I think our clients are paying for that, too. They’re paying for us. Or they should be. Otherwise, what’s the fun in it? Giving the best we can do means giving the best of us, as we are, as we see it. I don’t think it’s fair to make assumptions about what they can appreciate. They’re more perceptive than we know, and it’s judgmental and easy to say they simply want the cliche. It’s our job to do it better than they can imagine or know how to ask for. That’s what it is to be a professional. And I say this not just as a studio owner, but because I’ve seen better from incredible photographers of all stripes. I know better can be done. It’s not even a technique question. It’s whether you’re always trying. That’s what gets you there.
Now, I won’t say I never whine, complain, or get frustrated. I most surely do. But are you going to tell me that’s not permissible? I shouldn’t? Or that voicing it is plain wrong? How do you know? Everyone out there is an independent thinker. They can keep what they find value in and toss the rest. Isn’t that how it works? Frustration has been the motivation for some of what I come up with, and, yeah, I have an ego like anyone else, but in general, I probably think the worse of myself and not the better. It’s not about the ego, and most of the writing isn’t about the frustration, either. I write, because I care about the industry and where it goes. After doing this for 9 years, I owe more to it than to sit by and watch. I think it’s important to offer a considered and detailed take on things. Whether anyone agrees or not isn’t what matters. It’s to get it out there and let people do as they see fit with it. To let discussions get started. I do the best I know how.
My belief about the wedding photography world is the exact opposite of what you suggest I think. I don’t believe in the elitism. Rather, I think that a lot of people enter the market with immense talent but never realize how remarkable they are. They get lost in it all. Sure, some come from art and journalistic backgrounds, and they know where they want to go, but many have picked up the camera relatively recently and learned on their own over a short period. So they copy, just like anyone does when they learn. But not always from great places. This is unquestionably an industry with lots of heart, but there’s also a whole lot of hyperbole, and it’s not always easy to separate the wheat from the chaff. Especially if you haven’t seen that much. And the body of photography work out there is vast, so seeing a lot is anything but easy. Do I blame people for copying? Of course not. It’s how we all start.
But what I share is what I’ve had to learn over a long period of time. That the things that are different about us are where our value lies. That it’s there we can find the best parts of ourselves. Maybe that’s a cliche, too. But it’s a cliche I believe in. And I do think at a certain point, you need to go beyond copying to get there. Only by trying something uniquely you and experiencing its success or failure do we get there. Maybe you feel otherwise. That too much experimentation is a poor strategy, or that meeting the perceived demands from your clients is the best way to go. That’s fine. Different people have different solutions.
I don’t see it that way. Overall, I’ve found the more I’ve differentiated, the better it’s worked for me. More times than not, when I focused on capturing things I wanted, even when I was skeptical about how they’d be received, I learned the my clients appreciated it. It also brought in new people. Did I lose some potential clients that way? I suspect so. But I believe I’ve gained more than I lost. My connections are stronger, because my clients liked what was personal and important to me. I didn’t have to second guess as much. I didn’t have to try to shoot like someone I’m not. I had more and more opportunity to shoot like me. And that is incredibly rewarding. Will rejecting formula and experimentation work for everyone? I can’t answer that. But at very least, I’m sure it can work for many, and even those for whom it won’t, I think it’s worth a try. How will you know, otherwise?
What I disagree with most strongly is what you said – that nothing alternative is being offered. I think many people are doing noteworthy things, and the industry is evolving remarkably fast. Have you seen how wedding photography looked 10 years ago? Maybe the world is just a set of endless permutations with nothing truly new, but I think the newness is in the attempt, the experience, and taking old formulas and reworking them to modern circumstance. And I most certainly see that going on.
But to me, this rapid rate of change makes it all the more pressing to write something and get it out there. Because as everything evolves faster, what I also see is the top stratifying further, while the middle gets squeezed and the bottom fills up. I might be wrong about that – it’s just a gut feeling. But the rate of entry into the field feels staggering, and for all that do succeed, I think there are even more people who are really fighting to cross the line from a struggling to an effective business or from a struggling to a confident artist or artisan. Whatever it is that they’re after. In my eyes differentiation is absolutely the key. As is awareness. I think you have to believe that it’s not just formula. You have to make it personal. You have to feel your own value not by repeating what’s been done, but showing that you have your own way of doing it. Finding a voice is everything. Honestly, I’d say that even if you can never make a dime with it. But that it can help your business grow is icing on the cake.
The reality is that the summary from a previous commenter – that I think all wedding photographers are insecure – is correct. In fact, I think most everyone is insecure, period, not just wedding photographers. I also feel there’s no reason to be. Most people are pretty fantastic as they are. I fully believe in Judy Garland’s quote:
“Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.”
I see a lot of people get that individualism beaten out of them. They are afraid to be different, because they think they won’t be accepted for it. They think if their images don’t conform to a certain standard that they’re garbage, when, in reality, they’re hiding their finest work. I see a lot of photographers who stop at some point – either they stop growing or they leave the business, when I’m absolutely certain they can really go somewhere.
It’s not my goal to stifle them. What I want more than anything is to see them get there. But they get stuck in a pattern of copying and replication. And I speak of this, because this is me. It is the story of my life, and it’s taken every fiber of willpower to try to break out of it. Some days, I break orbit. I can defy gravity. Others, I crash back down. But I always get up. I have to. And the more I go through it, the more I’m able to stand on my own. Everyone deserves that. If there is someone I hold responsible, it is not just the industry as it is. It’s myself as part of it. And that, too, is the point of this blog. We are all responsible. Maybe the tone, maybe my words are too strong in some cases. But take it for what it’s worth. It’s anything but easy to put it out there, commit the time, make yourself vulnerable, and look like an ass to some. But if it’s going to help some people out there go further than I’ve gone, I’ll take the lumps. And I’ll keep going at it.
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