RM Photography

I received this email from PPA today, and found it very interesting and enlightening. I think we, as a general rule, make conclusions about our stance on a subject based on others’ opinions that are most prevalently before us. While I still haven’t decided on my stance concerning SOPA and PIPA, I can say that my first impression of this legislation was tainted by the reaction of the likes of Google and those I follow on Twitter–and I haven’t even read them to know exactly what it even means. This is a good reminder that every opinion I have should be my own. There are always two sides to a story, and the best way to decide what is best for myself is to do the research. I bet a lot of people are exactly like me: leaning towards a stance without having enough details to make an informed decision.

Like I said, I’m still not certain on where I stand, but this is a great reminder for me to be sure to gather the information myself and listen to both sides before fulling forming an opinion. How often I jump to conclusions with so little facts, and only emotion telling me what to believe. Ah, human nature.

Dear Photographer,

We know that many of you have been following the developments with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). There has been some confusion over the proposed legislation, which frankly is the intent of the bills’ opponents. We wanted to take a moment to correct some of the bad information, and to let you know where we stand.

We were disappointed by some of the heavy-handed tactics used by opponents of the bills. The objective of those tactics was obviously to create fear and hysteria, while at the same time spreading false information about what the bills would actually accomplish. We want you to know the following:

• Both pieces of legislation (SOPA in the Senate and PIPA in the House) targeted off-shore pirating of works produced in the U.S.
  
• We do not feel that the measures were perfect—no legislation is. But the greater good demands that measures be taken to protect the rights of creators like you.
• It is true that those mega-corporations opposed to the bill could possibly have been inconvenienced by the legislation. It is their job to make money, and their actions merely represented those purposes.
  
• It is not true that the public would have been deprived of works to which it has rights, but rather, only those works that are copyrighted and being sold illegally by rogue off-shore websites.

Particularly disturbing to every photographer should be the attempts by Google, Wikipedia and others to define copyright as censorship. The tact is both offensive and intentionally false. Of course, the word “censorship” was chosen by opponents of the legislation for its obvious emotional value. Americans in particular are born with a deep-seated aversion to anything that loosely resembles censorship. Those feelings are amplified in photographers and other creators. After all, you earn a living by SHARING your work, not depriving people of it. So when a behemoth corporate money-maker like Google attempts to stand on the backs of photographers to increase its profits, we as your association take exception. (As a side note, we appreciate all of the words of support you regularly extend to us as we defend those rights.)

It is important to recognize that Google, while it claims to be a friend to copyright, is anything but. PPA is one of several associations joined together in a lawsuit against the search engine giant for illegally scanning and posting copyrighted photographs on the Internet. A similar lawsuit filed by publishers and authors is also underway. It is our opinion that following Google’s lead in defending intellectual property is something like depending on the fox to defend the hen house.

That Americans have bought into the false and misleading rhetoric issued over the past few weeks by opponents of the bills is unfortunate. We were surprised that a few creators were swayed by last week’s Internet blackout. And we were disappointed that some members of Congress, who are typically more reasoned in their consideration of copyright issues, crumbled in front of the scare tactics used by the bills’ opponents.

We will continue our Capitol Hill work on your behalf to educate members of Congress. Copyright is not a “Hollywood issue.” The vast majority of copyright holders in the U.S. are small businesses. While Hollywood makes an easy target, the tactic is little more than a smoke screen designed to draw attention away from the true issue—online companies wanting to increase profits at the expense of mom-and-pop creators.

Americans have always valued and defended small-business rights. Each of us must work to be more enlightened about the real issues, and encourage our friends and neighbors not to be led astray by the fear-mongering of Internet bullies. In the meantime, PPA will continue its efforts to defend the rights of photographers now and in the future.

Best wishes for a successful 2012,

David Trust,
Chief Executive Officer
Professional Photographers of America

…I’m warning you now, you may not want to read this. It’ll probably make some people unhappy. You may not like it. Consider yourself warned…

There’s a big problem in the photography world today–cattiness. You almost can’t go into a group of photographers without hearing someone complain about how “everyone buys a nice camera and thinks they are a professional photographer these days.” There is so much frustration behind those words when spoken by a fellow pro. I have a few points I’d like to make in hopes that someone, somewhere, will change their viewpoint and approach to the new photographers of the world.

1. MW defines a professional as: “A person engaged or qualified in a profession.” So basically, it’s a fancy word to say, “your job.” And unlike some professions, you are not required to have a degree, be certified, or complete a certain amount of training to be a professional photographer. So what qualifies a person as a professional photographer? Whether other pros like it or not, the only person who can decide whether they are a professional, is the individual. You don’t have to agree with their opinion of themselves, but it is what it is.

2. Why are pros so offended by “lesser” pros? How does it affect you? Is it taking business away from you because their prices are cheaper than yours? Then maybe now would be a good time to reevaluate your business and target clients. If your clients have decided that you aren’t worth what you are charging, maybe you need to work on inspiration, or revamp your prices. I’m not concerned with who might take my clients, I’m concerned with keeping my current clients happy–giving them great pictures and a fair price. If they choose to go elsewhere, that is their American right to do so. If they find someone else’s prices more appealing, I have no right to be angry at the person who is undercutting me. I’m always sad to lose clients because I build a relationship with them, but I can’t fault them for trying other options. And I most certainly will not fault the other photographer. But the bottom line is, I don’t want clients who choose me solely for my prices–I want them to choose me for…well…me. I’m looking for clients who love pictures that show their personality, dig my style, and want what I have to offer, all the while thinking they are getting good bang for their buck. So if they choose to go elsewhere, we weren’t a perfect match, and that’s okay!

3. Why do you think it is your right as a pro to judge others’ photos? I’m not immune–I see a bad photo, and I notice. I’m not a “give everyone a prize and we are all winners” kind of person. I think that in life, there is a true hierarchy with any profession. Seeing photographers who are better than me is inspiration to continue to grow and learn. But looking at a photographer who is starting out and turning my up my nose and bashing their work is wrong. Didn’t your momma ever tell you that if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all? Folks, I remember being there–right at the bottom with no idea what I was doing. After I learned from an online tutorial how to do a vignette in photoshop, every picture was surrounded by the blackness of the moonless sky. I thought that if you could see the edges of the picture, I was doing it wrong. Seriously, I look back at my earlier work and cringe. But that, that, was the first step in my learning process. This journey from the bottom to where I am was a series of steps, all of which had learning properties that have gotten me to where I am today. I hope I never forget what it was like just starting out.

4. Instead of criticizing, why not teach? I had a photographer one time actually show me a picture of another photographer and say, “Can you believe she posted this on facebook? I mean, why would anyone hire her?” I had to take a step back and compose my thoughts into a less harsh verbally-acceptable version before responding. Basically, I believe that everyone starts somewhere, and as long as the photographer is happy with what they are doing, and the client is happy with what they are getting, what concern is it of yours? Who in the world gave you the rights to judge all things photography? Let’s work on turning that criticism into something constructive–like teaching! I started teaching a basic photography class a little over a year ago and it’s been a huge success. With dslrs being so readily available to literally everyone, I see so many people with great cameras who have no idea how to use them. Instead of saying “oh my gosh, did you see that she has her camera set to…………auto!?,” I’ve decided to teach folks how to get out of auto! Some people ask me why I’m not concerned with the possibility that I might be “coaching my future competition.” I say, so what! Folks, I struggled to learn for years. There are simple concepts that, had I known them from the beginning, would have saved me so much frustration. I worked hard to be where I am, and I don’t see any reason why I can’t save someone else that same frustration by teaching them what I agonized to learn. And let’s just say that some of these folks I teach end up being awesomely amazing famous photographers…then I can say “I helped them reach their God-given potential!” And really, what’s more rewarding than that?

In conclusion, I strongly urge and encourage professional photographers to reconsider their viewpoint on the newbies. They are simply passionate people who are trying to learn–so why not help them rather than verbally abuse them? But heck, what do I know? I have a degree in Speech Communication and Computer Science. I’m just a self-taught, trial and error polished, girl with a nice camera.

And just for good measure, to keep myself humble (and slightly humiliated)…here’s a picture from one of the first sessions I ever did in 2007. It’s a newborn shot of my nephew. Don’t get me wrong–he’s adorable. The editing…not so much.