The Photographers You Idolize Are No Better Than You

The Photographers You Idolize Are No Better Than You

We look up to other people in all aspects of our lives. Most of us admire our parents or an older sibling. We desire to be like those who have "made it" like actors, musicians, or wealthy business owners. As photographers, we probably all have a list of our favorite people in the industry. I'm here to tell you that they are no better at photography than you are.

Fstoppers.com has given me a very unique, inside look into the photography industry. I've had the rare opportunity to have met with and gotten to know a large number of my photography idols. I've been able to ask them the questions that they would never answer on camera, such as "How exactly did you book that job?" "How much did that campaign pay?" or "Are you making more money shooting or teaching at this point?" In many cases, my idols, the photographers who I always wanted to be like, are actually like me already, but in many cases they are just a few years ahead of me. The thing that all of my favorite photographers seem to have in common is that none of them think that they have "made it." Most of them are still constantly struggling to land that next big job or start that next big business idea. I assumed that once you reached "the top" you could relax but I've found that there is no "top". No matter how successful you become, you can always land more jobs, gain more sponsors or raise your rates. It's exciting to set a goal and then reach it but as soon as you do it's time to set another goal.

When I first got into photography my goal was to assist as many professionals as I could to become a well rounded photographer. I assisted commercial, portrait, wedding, food and architectural photographers. I learned a seemingly endless amount of information from each of them, but I was always shocked by how much each of them didn't know. I watched each deal with amateur problems like forgetting to lower their ISO from 3200 for a studio session or forgetting their cameras maximum sync speed and wondering why their flash wasn't showing up or not understanding crop vs full frame cameras or lenses. Many of these photographers didn't understand the basics of Photoshop.

I've also randomly met shooters who have assisted one or more of the most famous photographers alive today. After we've had a few drinks the stories begin to fly and are usually all pretty similar: "You know that million dollar campaign that ________ shot? Well I was there for that campaign and that photographer didn't know what the hell they were doing. Basically I had to come up with that lighting scheme myself." I've heard so many stories about some of the biggest photographers alive today not having a basic understanding of lighting, their camera or post production.

As I've learned all of the industry's dirty little secrets over the past few years it has both inspired and depressed me. It's inspiring to know that the photographers I've looked up to throughout my entire career are not that different from me. It's inspiring to know that even the best photographers in the world still struggle with some of the same things that I do. It's inspiring to know it actually is possible for me to reach their level. At the same time it's completely depressing to think about how much time I spend online learning every technical aspect of my camera equipment only to hear that the last giant fashion campaign was shot by someone who doesn't understand what ISO is.

The title of this article is "The Photographers You Idolize Are No Better Than You" and that is actually a lie. The Photographers you idolize may not know their camera better than you, but they are actually better than you and me both at a lot of other things that matter more.

Business
Hugely successful photographers are master businessmen and women. If they aren't good with business, they hire someone who is. Most of these photographers have agents that can not only help them find jobs but also do all of the negotiating. If these photographers don't have a private agent they will have a manager on staff that deals with this aspect of their business. Underbidding a job in many cases is worse than overbidding and these photographers know exactly how to negotiate with each client/campaign.

Client Interaction and Perceived Value
I was once told a story about a famous NY photographer by his assistant. The photographer would set up 5-10 extra, unnecessary lights, for every photoshoot and then set them all to fire a fraction of a second late so that they wouldn't affect the actual picture. The set might have 10 lights set up but only 1 or 2 were actually affecting the image. The assistant heard one of the art directors say to another "look at this production, we would have never gotten this quality if we had hired the other guy."

Now this is a story is way over the top but perceived value is a very real thing. Why does a photographer need to shoot with a Hasselblad digital camera to shoot images for a web campaign? Why do you need a 10 million dollar studio to shoot products on seamless? You don't, but your clients appreciate it. I spoke to an art director at a large advertising agency and he told me that they liked to hire a specific photographer because that photographer spent a ton of the photography budget on everyone involved with the shoot. The photographer would hire a professional chef to show up and cook for agency reps. His studio was extremely nice and for the art director "it was so refreshing to get out of our crappy offices and go to his studio for a shoot."

Production Value
Production value is the biggest thing separating a good picture from a great one. Haven't you ever watched a behind the scenes video of a giant campaign photoshoot and thought "man, they are only using 1 light, I could totally do this." Well it's true you could, but most of us are to lazy to do it the right way. High end photographers think about making flawless images. You might have an amazing location and dress but if your model doesn't look professional then neither will your picture. Fashion photoshoots require 5 major components and most average photographers fall short in at least 1 of these areas. The model, lighting, location or set, outfit, and the post production must all be world class for the final picture to be world class. As I said above, many of the best photographers in the world are not very good at each of these things, but they realize their shortcomings and they hire a team to handle each aspect. The photographers work with modeling agencies to get the best talent available for every photoshoot. If the lighting is extremely complex many of these photographers have a team of lighting specialists that recreate the photographer's "vision." The photographer has a location scout or a set designer to find or build the perfect location for each picture. Hair, makeup and clothing stylists are brought in to make the models look as perfect as they possibly can. After the shoot it's very rare for these photographers to do the retouching themselves; they almost always have someone on staff or send their photos out for retouching.

The Unnamed Trait
If you want to become a big name photographer everything I've written above is extremely important, but I don't believe that any of those traits are THE most important. The most important trait is something that I don't think I can fully explain with a couple of words. This trait has nothing to do with photography specifically, it has everything to do with success in general. Successful people are "Do'ers." By that I mean successful people accomplish things. In many cases it doesn't even matter what they do, they just have to do something, anything, over and over again. "Talented" people take initiative to do, create, or start something. The average person doesn't actually do anything themselves; they go to work, they do what they are told, and then they come home and watch tv and get ready for the next day of work. Successful people see a problem and then fix it. They have an idea and they create something. Think about the people that you look up to in your life. You probably admire them because they have done something unique or different or they do something specific very well.

The average person is a talker. They claim to be smart, they claim to be talented and they claim to have great ideas. But they also always have an excuse about why they aren't doing anything. Don't you know a person that is always planning something big but their big ideas never turn out? Every time you talk to them they have given up on the last idea but this new idea is "it" and this time it's really going to work. You probably have very little respect for this person because each time someone promises you something and then can't deliver you lose a little bit of faith in them. It's always easier to "talk" than it is to "do." These same people are the ones that will sit back and look at other people who are doing things and talk bad about them or their projects. These are the people that love to visit websites like ours and attack the writers or the photographers in the articles for not doing a good enough job. The truth is, successful people don't have enough time to hate on other people because they are too busy doing things- like making money.

If there is one thing you take away from this article let it be this: stop talking and start doing. My world is filled with people with "great ideas" that they want me to be a part of. At this point I only want to be involved with people that have proven that they actually can accomplish their goals. Everyone has good ideas, that is not a unique talent. The talent lies in making your idea a reality.

When Patrick and I came up with idea for Fstoppers I tried to get other photographers in the area involved and nobody was interested. If the rolls were reversed I wouldn't have been either. Two wedding photographers had an idea for yet another photography website? We had no experience in web design or video production and we wanted to start a video based website? That's crazy. At the time we were just talkers like everyone else. Through a lot of hard work and luck, Fstoppers did turn into something and because of that one relatively small success, we can say with confidence that we had a pretty ambitious idea and we made something of it. The creation of this simple website has gained me access to the secret club of photographers that "do". Without Fstoppers I would have never been able to meet my idols.

Now you may be thinking, what in the world does this have to do with photography? It has everything to do with photography. No matter where you are in your photography career you need to be creating better images on a weekly basis. This does not mean that you need to take more images, it means you need to create better images. Do you talk about your next concept for a photograph or do you plan it out and shoot it within a few days and then move on to the next idea? When you do shoot for yourself how meticulous are you in regards to the final product? Are you involving the most talented models, stylists and retouchers available in your area? It may be difficult to get the most talented people in town to collaborate with you at the beginning but once you prove yourself, just like we did with Fstoppers, the talent will find you. I bet you have an idea for a single photo or a photography series or a behind the scenes video that you have been thinking about for literally years. Turn off your computer and your TV and actually do it. When you're done with it, enjoy the feeling of accomplishing a goal for a day and then move on to the next idea.

The photographers that I idolize may not be a better photographers than me, technically speaking, but they are far better than me in the areas that actually matter. I am still trying to figure out how to make the jump from average photographer up to the "top" but as I said before, I don't think there is a top. The road to success for 99% of people isn't a jump, it's a steady incline from one successful project to the next. You're not going to go directly from shooting girls on Model Mayhem to shooting a campaign for Prada but if you act like every one of your photoshoots is for Prada I have no doubt you will get there. The photographers that we all look up to had to start from the bottom just like us.

In my mind I am a very average wedding photographer so I am always shocked and flattered to hear that I have inspired someone else in some way. Three years ago, before Fstoppers, I was struggling to book my next job just like all of you and nobody knew who I was. Honestly I'm still struggling to book photography jobs today. I didn't think that Fstoppers would ever turn into what it is now. I simply had an idea and unlike all of my other failed ideas, this one actually worked. I did something and it paid off. I'm honestly no different than you, at best I'm just a few years ahead of you.

I hope that this article has inspired you. I hope you now realize that you are just as capable as anyone of "making it". But the truth is, I didn't really write it for you. I wrote this to myself because I am probably the laziest person I know. I needed to give myself a pep-talk for 2013. There are a lot of ideas that I need to make realities.

Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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I have no idea about everything I'm doing but I do have some idea about some things I do.
In photography, I have seen some trying to pass off mediocrity as the new high.
What a pity...

Great article.  This was very well stated.

Thank you for this article! I will definitely read it again later this year, then the next one! 

And what do "non-doers" watch on TV after a day of cog-like work?  They watch ther people taking charge and doing things!   You don't see Jack Bauer or Captain Kirk taking time out for a nap or to gossip or criticize other people.  They relentlessly do things!

I'm not a spiritual person but I listened to Joel Osteen say exactly the same thing yesterday and now reading it again here.  Apparently, I needed to hear the sermon twice!  Although, I would've liked to read your thoughts about the internal struggle with not putting all those "top" photographers on a pedestal, it was a great read and quite reassuring. Kudos to you for this badass site and its huuuuge following! I enjoyed your candor about the topic.

Hi Lee, thanks for this.  This was something that I've actually experienced personally despite being a photographer for only a short span of time, I always say to myself that I'm not a gifted photographer but i'm merely a gifted learner.  I never went on workshops (unless it was someone i really really wanted to learn from) because I often see peers get great but generic shots.  I leaned towards the opposite and ran after shots that i can claim as only mine and tried to refine a signature of quality, But getting there was tough...I was what you mentioned in your article 'A talker'  so much that I lost my gf of three years because i talked about ideas until there was less done than talked, because of the talker attitude, i lost not just her but a lot of people and potential clients.  It was a lesson i learned, these are things you wont learn anywhere and you'll learn if you only really want to rather than waiting for the next person to fall.  It's very similar to claiming 'I want to lose weight gain muscle' but can't get off your arse to workout.  great stuff man! thanks!

It holds good in any field I guess. The people we idolize are no better than us :) Brilliant read!

this was an a-ha moment for me.  thank you for a brilliant prose!!  

this article is like a revelation for me.. kinda cheesy but its really opening my eyes and lifted up my burden as a photographer to reach the 'top' is. fstopper has been one of the places for me to get inspiration... but this article really moves me... so thanks lee... it such a blessing... i live in Indonesia a country that justin beiber once mention as a 'random country'.. surprisingly its the same thing happen overhere for the photography business.. ' famous photographer who don't know what flash sync' "hire so many lightings but use only like only 2 of them maybe one' "great food and playstation 3 in the waiting room while the photoshoot is going' it makes u get booked LOL. This article really change my mindset. whenever u come here please contact me.. i try to be a good guide LOL. God bless u Lee and Fstoppers

This was a great read, I know so many people who have a great idea but never do anything about it. Success is really about getting up and doing something.

Thank you for the pep talk, I too needed to read this!! We BOTH will get there! Kudos!

I just want you to know that this article lead me to your wedding website and I watched your video.... amazing!! You Rock!

Thank you

because u rote it to urself, we got to know the reality. All these were queries that got stuck in my mind for a long time and as i believed my answeres to be true and this article has helped me find those answers well and correct. thank you

Well well. Thank you for your inspiring words. I'll leave home to work today with a scratch. If it was your intention, you got it. And let me raise my hand: Yes, I do admire your work and the community you raised with Fstoppers. Keep it up.

Hit the nail on the head. Great read and thank you for sharing.

Great piece. I def need to get 'do-ing'
Thanks!

awesome article, thanks

Well written article, but your title "The Photographers You Idolize Are No Better Than You" ... could be little misleading!

This is great; I love it, thanks!

40 years ago I had a photography teacher tell my class: "I'm sure you are all great photographers but at the end of the day, it's not about how good of a photographer you are. It's about how well you kiss butt."

Very well put. The only advice I have ever really given anyone is to stop talking about doing something and do it. I'm glad others think a little like I do.

Congratulations on the great site, too!

Greate Read :) really Thanks

Very inspiring read ! I feel empowered by what you wrote Lee. I rarely comment, but this time I NEEDED to say THANK YOU !

Great post! I have assisted some AMAZING photographers that had little to no technical lighting skills. But you would never know that if you looked at their beautiful portfolios.

What they were good at is assembling the perfect team, marketing themselves and networking. But most importantly, they had a good eye for what looks good and what makes a good photo.

That type of photographer is always gonna be more successful than the fanboys on Dpreview that know every miniscule detail about their camera down to what the sensor is made out of, but have no style or visual sense.

The one thing that most of the more successful photos have more than anything else, minus learning how to do the business side, is they have confidence. Confidence that they will get the right shots no matter what. Confidence that they can put together the right people. Confidence that all will come together in the end, even if it seems like things are getting tough. It takes balls to stand out. It takes confidence to put it all together.

Awesome! Was at the local cam shop having similar discussions with the counter guy when a lady walked in on the way to a paid wedding shoot asking for a lens that will 'blow out' the background for a group shot of 15 people. We had a good chuckle at that...

Needed this. Not only a pep talk for yourself but for others too

Thanks Lee. I needed this too. I have been spending too much time trying to learn how to be a photographer by watching online videos (and learning how to get someone to squinch) and not enough time shooting. Pardon me, I have to go now. My camera is waiting.

Thank you Lee!! Great article!

Lee you know something? i'm a huge fan from Guatemala, and i have learned so much from fstoppers and your DVD WCF, but this kick my face with the truth in all your words, i'm fighting to be the best photographer of my country, but i'm a newborn and is to difficult to be an asistant because the photographers here are lonely workers, this article help me to understand that if i'm fighting and struggling that much, im on a good way to become the photographer that i dream but like you said, there is no limit. And i try to understand that when i say the best photographer of my country i mean the one that changes the way the photographers think and work.

I'm really glad I read this! Very Inspired, thank you!

Really awesome article.
Well done.

Lee....this article is perfection. It's EXACTLY what we all need to hear. I want to just hug you man. Brilliant. It helps to hear this from someone we all look up to so much. Thank you.

Just realized this is an older article. Still just as relevant.

I just read this in June 2014. It is very relevant. Thank you!

Brilliant article! I am going to plan my next shoot as soon as my exams are over. This gave me inspiration to go out there and actually shoot the idea on my mind!

made my day!

Very motivational and so true. Those who "make it", dont know everything. It was a combination of a lot of things, including networking with the right people, good business sense, and other things you pointed out in the article. For example, and not disrespect intended, but the recent shootout you had - you had some confusion about the Sony mounts. Now, I know all about those mounts, but does that matter? I dont have a huge successful business and a popular YouTube channel.

Point is, this is good advice. Focus on what you need to, and dont get discouraged. You dont have to learn EVERYTHING to get somewhere. I am sure there are some famous guitarists that can play the blues but have them try to play some country music chicken pickin' and they can't. Doesnt matter. They're still playing stages every night. Anyway, thanks again.

Damn Lee.. just what I needed to hear.