Eight Annoying Things Photographers Do That Harm the Industry

Eight Annoying Things Photographers Do That Harm the Industry

Let's face it, photographers can be really annoying people. While some of their actions are just mildly tiresome, other things they do are downright harmful to our profession. Are you guilty of any of these wrongdoings?

Having worked for over a decade in the industry, I have crossed paths with many a photographer in my time. I started my career shooting in-house for a large commercial studio and then moved into the world of freelance. During my many incarnations, I have worked alongside a lot of different photographers, and not all those encounters have been positive. They say the world is a small place, and I find the photography industry to be even smaller. It's for this reason that negative experiences surrounding photographers travel like wildfire ,and the reputation of our profession seems to erode away with every bad story, anecdote, or piece of gossip that comes out. Even when a photographer's actions are more annoying than serious, I still regularly find myself rolling my eyes at how some of us "professionals" act. 

In no particular order, here are eight annoying things that photographers do that I believe are harming the industry.

1. By Being Creepy

First on this list of photographer no-nos is the most serious of them all. Being that creepy photographer who ogles the models on a shoot is totally inexcusable. Ask any model who has been working in this industry for some time, and they all will have a story of a photographer who has made them feel uncomfortable. It's the complete opposite of what we should be doing on a shoot, and the negative environment such behavior creates will show in the pictures you make and destroy your reputation forever. People talk and stories stick. If you're serious about having a long career in this industry, then don't be a creep, period.

2. Forgetting Manners

I've seen first hand how people turn into Dr. Jekyll the second they get behind their camera, and it's not pretty. I shouldn't have to say this, but don't forget your manners while on a shoot. It's somewhat of a cliche, but you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, and this is just as true when shooting. I like to think I'm an easy-going, polite, and considerate photographer, and this approach has definitely contributed to the repeat work and long-working relationships I have built up over the years.

3. Name-Dropping Too Much

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay used under Creative Commons.

There's nothing wrong with being excited to have worked with certain clients, creatives, or talent, but name-dropping too much can be a real turn-off for people on a shoot. There's a fine line between being proud and boasting, and you need to tread that line carefully. Like many of the points in this list, creating the best possible working environment will always get you the most favorable results in front of and behind the camera.

4. Not Giving Credit on Social Media

Nothing annoys me more than when photographers don't give credit to all the people that helped to make the picture in question possible. It may only be a small detail, but things like this don't go unnoticed, and it could be harming your working relationships. I recently talked to a photographer who was complaining that they were never tagged in pictures by the clients and creatives they worked with. I later found out that this photographer never bothered to credit people either!

5. Breaking Promises

If a photographer agrees to do something for a person or client, then they should do it. I have lost count of the number of clients I have spoken to that have had unreliable photographers bail on them or not deliver what they promised. This behavior really harms the industry, and it can be hard to rebuild that trust clients have in some photographers. If you really need to break a promise, you must offer an alternative solution in the form of a different photographer recommendation or be able to commit to another date to shoot. We are hired as professionals to solve problems, not cause them.

6. Obsessing Over Gear

While it's ok to get excited about the latest camera body released, it's best to not get too obsessed about gear in front of all the non-photographers you work with. Showing enthusiasm and technical know-how can be reassuring to clients, but it can also be a real bore too. Most people won't understand or care about half the features your new camera has, so best to keep those stats for when you can nerd out with your fellow photographers.

7. Rejecting Any Kind of Criticism or Suggestions

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay used under Creative Commons.

A person who refuses to accept any kind of feedback will create a closed and awkward environment for others to work in. Your team must feel like they are free to add their own thoughts to your shoots without fear of the ideas falling on deaf ears. I have personally been on the receiving end of creatives who refuse criticism or suggestions, and the end result is that I eventually stopped offering my ideas to them. The creative process is always richer when you have more than one perspective on things. Nurture and welcome that input rather than building a wall around yourself.  

8. Telling Lies

Lies will catch up with you sooner rather than later, and most people would rather not work with a liar. As I have already said, the photography industry is a small place, and everyone talks to each other. Thanks to the Internet, untruths have become much easier to spot too. I know of a photographer who claimed a shoot was done in China and boasted about it all over social media. Problem was the rest of the team on the shoot didn't get the memo and disclosed the not-so-exotic location in their own social media posts. While many may think this kind of lie is harmless, it didn't do the photographer in question any favors, and jokes are still made about the event today. When someone is labeled as a liar, it's hard for people to know what is fact and what is fiction anymore. This obviously isn't a great foundation to build a career upon.   

Over to You

So there you have it, the many different ways I have personally found photographers to be annoying and damaging to the industry. While I don't claim to have been holier-than-thou during my career, I have always acted professionally and courteously when working and treated people how I would want to be treated myself. I wouldn't go as far as to say the term "photographer" is a dirty word yet, but its general trajectory seems to be going in the wrong direction. Photographers are definitely not held in the same regard as they used to be now that everyone is a photographer with a camera in their pocket. Unfortunately, this dilution makes it too easy for the world to generalize and to tar us all with the same brush. If you're serious about having a long career in this industry, then you can't be that annoying, unreliable, or creepy photographer. I guarantee that the phone will stop ringing much sooner than you think if you do act in these ways.

This topic is bound to ruffle some feathers and we'd love to hear your thoughts on both sides of this argument. What annoys you about photographers today? Are any of these points defensible? Please leave your comments below.

Lead image by Min An via Pexels used under Creative Commons.

Paul Parker's picture

Paul Parker is a commercial and fine art photographer. On the rare occasion he's not doing photography he loves being outdoors, people watching, and writing awkward "About Me" statements on websites...

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94 Comments
Previous comments

Or a dance recital, or a Musical Theater show, etc. Ruins my pictures, my film, and worst of all it endangers the performers! Flash can temporally blind the performer, who could then get hurt. I have seen it happen.

Although, it is funny watching people's flash going off at a large sporting arena.

I am sure your little on-camera flash is going to illuminate the players from 10 rows back.

Or is going to light up the Grand Canyon, or the moon in the sky. I used to comment to people I saw doing this, and suggest they turn off the flash. I learned the hard way people don't want hear it, even when offered kindly

I would think it is just because most people do not understand how light works. It often works in unusual or unexpected ways e.g. inverse square law.

Best part is seeing the resulting pics. The ground lit up 3 feet in front of them, and everything else that they wanted to captue is in darkness. ;)

And inevitably blaming the camera. "I paid heaps for this piece of shit and it can't even take a simple effing picture!".

Badmouthing the competition to your clients in an effort to book a client.

Destroying sensitive environmental areas just because you want a photo.

Getting too close to wildlife because you want the photo.

Taking photos without asking permission in private venues.

Feeling entitled to be able to take photos anywhere you want.

Driving your SUV wherever you want just because you want a selfie, destroying hundreds of years worth of growth (see first)

Basically, overall, being an entitled brat.

Logan Cressler seems more of comment about cellphone users...

What gear you use doesn't matter. Are they doing it to take a picture? Yes, then they are in the act of photography. I am sick of this modern-day cop-out making some sort of line based on what camera you use. Its ridiculous and stupid.

PS, just two days ago I had a moron in here stick his DSLR (of course it was a canon) through one of the trees to get a better picture of the bear (I work at a museum). He broke a branch on the tree, and made many leaves fall. EVERYONE is told not to touch ANYTHING when they come in. He was directly told before this again, not to touch, and now something that cannot be repaired is further damaged by his blatant assholeness, and his photo sucked anyway. Its not just cell phone users.

Cant wait to come to your museum and break stuff too! Its in my blood as a Canon shooter 👍

:D Just a little jab at the only other decent camera brand.... (and that was just a little jab at sony)

It is in my blood as a nikon shooter to make fun of canon shooters.

Logan has it right - better than the author. Sorry but the points you make (other than being a creeper) arent photography specific. they are just business oriented. there are way to many articles here passing themselves off as photography topics when they are just basic, non industry specific fluff. Logan - start writing for fStoppers!

If I did that, I would have to post so many articles that I wouldn't have time to properly research and edit them, plus I would have to write articles on stuff I know nothing about.

Hilarious!

Don't forget to disable/uninstall your spell check and grammar check plugins so your articles get posted faster

I sure wish my preparation for a career in photography had included a lot MORE non-photography training, including bookkeeping, tax filing, account management, self-promotion, etc. Learning to use a camera is only about 20% of the prep for a career in this industry. I think this article can be useful to hobbyists interested in building a business.

Being Creepy is the biggest one for me and giving images away to be creepy with young girls... Does my head in, its a brush that I get tainted with and have to fight off...

If you have a collection of work that shows you’ve got experience shooting models and you project yourself as a professional, you shouldn’t have a problem.
I don’t have this problem at all but my photos are also readily available to see or find online.

I operated a photographic business in Banff National Park for 30 years employing 3 to 5 photographers depending on the time of the year. I told them to show up on time, dressed appropriately and try to remember, it's not about you.

Just like my Sunday School teacher told me ” Ken you have a way of making your own misery”. I retorted, “ don’t question me, I am an artist” I was dismissed from Sunday school that day. What fun it is at 73 to laugh at myself. I hope someone knows what rule 62 is....

Reading this article motivated me to create an account on FStoppers so I could post a reply to your piece. Your accomplishing the intended purpose.

1. Creepy photographer

I am assuming your targeting male photographers here? Male fashion photographers? Photographers that shoot women and men with little or no clothing on? I know your not targeting female photographers right because how is that possible? I just find this sort of irresponsible and myopic. Maybe you could write something about etiquette and how to carry yourself? Write about your experience as a male photographer and be honest about who YOU are. Your specifically writing about male photographers that shoot female subjects? So its not male photographers that shoot lets say architecture or landscapes that are ruining the industry for you? Those guys can be creative and fly under your radar? Is there a specific description of a creepy photographer? How does this person dress? How old are they? What is it specifically they do that's creepy?

If your not passionate about getting good images don't be a poser pretending to be a photographer just to get near some hot girls or guys? Yea I agree.

Is this article really about how loads of people (creepy old dudes) are getting exposure as photographers now and marginalizing your work? Is it about outlets starved for content and models who are not really models needing to feed the beast constantly? Maybe your at the point in your career where you don't want to deal with all of this?

I personally just want to become a better photographer and be inspired. For me to do that many times I take risks and make people uncomfortable. I have been fortunate that for the most part when people see the final outcome they are pleased but sometimes they aren't and I'm fine with that.

Cheers!

You're*. Step 1 in signing up for a site to bash an author: Get your spelling and grammar checkers warmed up.

"Is there a specific description of a creepy photographer? How does this person dress? How old are they? What is it specifically they do that's creepy?"
Well for a start, google Terry Richardson.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/terry-richardson-under-investigat...

Are you suggesting that it is only possible for males to objectify females and that it is not possible for females to objectify males? Just making sure I read your sexism correctly

Nothing is harming the industry it is changing and you either adapt or get left behind. For each photographer this means something different. You cannot have two cameras in the same place at the same time and that's the beauty of it. Make every day count and you will be fine!

#1. Use stock photography agencies that do not pay photographers. Kinda like how Fstoppers uses Unsplash. https://fstoppers.com/business/should-fstoppers-use-free-stock-photograp...

#1, 2, and 3 could be combined into one; lose the attitude. Treat others how you would have them treat you.

#4 and 5 may be combined into; it ain't all about you.

#6, most people don't care at all about your gear or what you paid for it. See #4.

#7, there is a difference between "critique" and "criticize".

#8, don't be that guy.

#4. Not Giving Credit on Social Media
its mostly the other way around, Cant tell you how many times i've not been tagged or credited on my photos a client posts, It legitimately takes less then 5 seconds.
Not sure why to this day its still such a problem,

I see that a lot on Instagram. I'll visit a credited model's page and find photos from the same series with no credit back to the photographer.

Not paying support staff in a timely manner. "Oh, I'm still waiting for the client's check" doesn't cut it with a young assistant who's overloading her credit card to pay her rent and have food in the fridge just because you - the ostensible pro - don't have working capital or a line of credit.

Over promising...

Harming the industry...oh please.....this industry is a disaster.

The incessant posts on whats wrong with everything is also a disaster. Some of these posts are barely worth reading. I do think this is an enthusiasts site, so it does have value...but lately the trend is kind of bonkers.

That said, the part of the industry Ive seen from NYC is destined to die...truly horrible photographers (person wise), no structure to the field whatsoever, and wow if you read industry data on photography...its a disaster. So why are we here? The people that get 'lucky' enough to participate in photography know that there are so little spots in this dying field, they become the same assholes they would ask for advice or guidance. Most become tutors or sell classes to others who will love the art but will never ever be a pro, or even that competent.

Many of the old guard have no interest of teaching something they cant sell to the next gen. Many get so pompous they cant hold a simple human conversation. And even more are losing their lifelong jobs. So the next class of photographers have no guidance. I am lucky enough to be a self taught multi-talent....but not many are and its heartbreaking to see what this industry truly is/has become.

But we love it. It is art, it is images of life and the world, and dammit photography is awesome. But i'll be damned if I would recommend this to anyone. Its the land of crazy, and sometimes crazy awesome. I truly wish I could call many photographers my peers...but at this point I just cant, because I have seen too much that makes me sick to my stomach.

Photographers who think being a "pro" means they are better than someone shooting for fun.

Complaining too much about other photographers and how they go about their business. Some of these people on this site make photographers look like a bunch of moody children who think their way is the only way.

True that

fanny pack, photo vest and bad breath

Hi, if I remember correctly, dr. Jekyll is the nice guy... I suppose in point 2 you want to say that a photographer turns in mr. Hyde when getting behind the camera

The most annoying thing about photographers, or those who call themselves that without any merit, is not even on your list!

Here it is:
Not taking any time to learn about Copyright and most importantly Licensing, while being all eager to discount both on various comment sections or message boards. Nothing is more annoying.

Can someone explain to me what the guy in the main photo is doing?

You forgot posting garbage in the comment section of a photography site.
😘

Dr. Jekyll, the nice guy, turned into Mr Hyde, the villain, is how the story went.