Reddit is often the best place to get advice from a real human being in real time. Whether you are building a travel plan for your next shoot or want advice on your photographs, many photographers often turn to the platform, thanks to the shared community. Per a post on r/photography, Redditors are finally exposing the tips that are often handed out unsolicited, and often do not really help. Here is a look at some that will certainly make you laugh.
- “No need to care about that, you can fix it in post.” That could be any element in your image, from a weird element ruining your frame to the client’s hair looking truly awful in one shot. Either way, this approach is not truly helpful to the photographer, as it often requires them to spend hours at the editing table, which could be better spent building their business. Get it right in-camera, and refine the image if necessary.
- “You must pick a niche and focus on that.” In today’s time, a photographer has to be like a platypus. They should be able to work across genres, edit their images, build their brand, network, and more. A niche made sense back in the early 2000s, but with the photo industry shrinking and influencers being approached by brands, one can’t possibly depend on a niche. Photojournalists shoot weddings, while fashion photographers also dabble with model portfolios. Being able to work across multiple genres can be beneficial in the long run. Or as timetopractice wrote, “If you pick a niche, you better be in the top 0.1% at it.”
- “Gear doesn’t matter.”There are two sides to the argument. If you have a mid- or high-end camera from five years ago, surely you can take it to almost all kinds of shoots. However, if you are a beginner with only a compact camera and want to create client work, you will need a better device. And this is even more important if you want to practice wildlife or sports. So, gear does matter. But it depends on what genre you are working with.
- “Quit now, you’ll probably never make it as a photographer. Most don’t.” This is the one that many young photographers have heard, and they continue to hear it even today. Honestly, if photography is your passion, then you must continue. However, an ideal way for you to avoid burning out is to also consider an alternative part-time or day job. You can be a wedding photographer who is pursuing personal projects on the side or a content writer who shoots commercial work. The first year will probably be hellish, but in the long run, if you do not make money out of photography, you will not, at least, hate it.
- “Go shoot events for free to get your name out there.” Ties up to the advice above. One of the things people expect is that you provide them with images for free. If you don’t have a portfolio, and you are in desperate need to build one, then this can be an option. For instance, in weddings and portraits, people often want to see your work. As for wildlife photography, that’s entirely a matter of whether you have visited the wild (which already requires some amount of money and practice). After you have worked for free for two or three clients, you start charging them a base fee, which covers your time, food, and travel. And gradually, increase your rates with time.
There are many more advices that one will enconter, but these five really stand out. Next time some suggests something, you can politely tell them “no.”