Today on the Internet, I watched photographers draw analogies between a retouching technique and using nerve gas in warfare. While I stared, aghast at the immaturity, I began to wonder: "What would a customer think of this?"
I rarely frequent Facebook groups for photographers anymore, mostly because they always seem to devolve into ego trips and unsolicited rudeness. I'm in a few smaller ones with close friends, but outside those, I avoid them. And yet, today, I received such a stark reminder of why I generally avoid them that I felt compelled to write about it.
Someone posted an unsolicited rant about a certain technique and directly called out another member, and 515 comments (and still counting) later, there was a litany of personal attacks and pettiness to scroll through, very little of which had anything to do with photography techniques. Keep in mind that this was in a group of 10,000 people; I wouldn't exactly say this happened behind closed doors.
It's no secret that the Internet generally enables a disposal of etiquette and basic regard for fellow humans that most people wouldn't dream of in person. Maybe it's because we are secretly more caring people and the relative anonymity of a screen makes us forget that, or maybe it's because said anonymity actually enables our true colors. I hope it's the former.
What surprises me is not the behavior, but the seeming lack of awareness of the real-life consequences it has beyond the confines of Facebook groups. Sure, I can allude to a few individuals in the industry who reached a critical mass of prominence and loud-mouthery that finally caused the pendulum to swing the other way and essentially ripped the rug out from underneath them overnight, but I'm referring more to everyday consequences. These are what I think a lot of people are overlooking.
I've said it before: "Unsubstantiated opinions are a worthless currency most often wielded by the unexperienced, the uninformed, or the overly jaded. They are the lowest hanging fruit." I was wrong, though, because personal attacks are the lowest hanging fruit. And while I'd love to make the moral argument against them, tackling the Internet's rudeness problem might be beyond my powers, so let me make the financial argument. Higher-end photography is a small world. And I'll be honest: nearly every person I know who is truly at the top in terms of both creative and financial success is one of the nicest people I've met, unflinchingly generous in giving their time and knowledge to those who ask. And that's good, because we all rely on each other quite a bit: photographers need retouchers, people recommend each other for jobs they're either unsuited or unavailable for, etc.
So, when I see behavior that should have been left behind in high school on the Internet, it perturbs me. I consider myself a pragmatic person and therefore a relatively good barometer for how people react to such things, and my reaction to such petty, rude, and wholly unnecessary behavior is universally "I will never hire or recommend that person."
This man only pretends to send the immature things he wants to say. Wise choice.
Now, I'm just some guy in Cleveland. What do they care what I think? Fair point. So, I reached out to some other professionals and simply posed the question: "Would someone's behavior on the Internet influence your decision to outsource work to them or recommend them to a client?" Here are some of the answers I received (I've redacted their names):
- "Absolutely. Social media affords us an insight, or peephole, into how people think. I mean, if someone can't show enough restraint on social media to avoid a flame war, to me it speaks volumes about their potential character. Not to mention how they might do business."
- "Absolutely. There are several creatives in town that are talented at what they do, but that I won't work with or refer clients to because of how I have seen them behave and thing I have seen them say online. When I refer someone to another creative, that person's behavior reflects back on me as the guy that vouched for them."
- "Someone's behavior on the Internet gives me a good idea of what they are like as a person. If the behavior is questionable and makes me worry about whether they'll behave in professional manner, I'll never send them work and chances are that I won't work with them. I don't want the drama. Whoever I recommend reflects back on me, and if I don't feel like I can trust you, I wont send work to you."
- "Yes absolutely, what you put out on the Internet safely behind your screen reveals about your true character!"
There seems to be an overwhelming theme here that such behavior does indeed have a very detrimental effect on one's reputation and business prospects. And even if the argument that one doesn't care what other photographers think is made, there's still another issue: online lives are a messy, interconnected web and rarely, if ever, are they entirely divorced from our clients. Most photographers are Facebook friends with at least some of their clients, and if you think that behavior doesn't get back to them, are you willing to trust your business to you having set Facebook's ever-changing privacy settings correctly? Have you checked that that group of 10,000 is a closed or secret group? If colleagues are wiling to be that petty, do you trust all 10,000 of them not to screenshot it anyway and put you on blast? Because that's exactly what happened today. Call me crazy, but I'll take good business and a sound reputation over engaging in Internet ego battles that no one ever wins anyway. There's also the whole "be a nice person" argument too.
Even if you're right as can be, it's almost never worth it to engage in a flame war. Many of us rely on the Internet and our online presence a great deal for our work, and given how easy it is to tear those down in one fell swoop, shouldn't we give a little more care to our reputations and behavior?
Nice article Alex. just curios tho, "you reached out to other professionals" meaning, you asked other photographers? just wondering...
I have witnessed wars over and over on Facebook groups and forums and i have wondered the same myself. I have even gone to the same lengths as to ask fellow photographers who are on those forums and groups and also included my reach to potential clients, observers and people on other industries. All of them witnesses of such fights and discussions and the pattern is always as follow:
Photographers will always condemn those acts and show disapproval for that kind of behaviour. Clients will follow up on that with words but hardly with actions. Given the right incentive most of them are willing to overlook this acts and book one to the photographers anyway if it means a gain for them monetary, in fame or otherwise. Hence why photographers with a foul temper still make a living, convicted sexual assault photographers can still work with young models, convicted of fraud photographers can still make money. In these day and age some people are willing to put blinkers on morals if it means a gain for them in any way... sad but true
Yes i agree that acts like that certainly will impact on business but seems to me the impact is not big enough to make some individuals change their ways or take note of their behaviour at least. In the mean time, is business as usual it seems...
Alex...do you really think photographers hold some "maturity" high ground from everyone else?
There is a reason beyond "budgets" that see our fees going down steadily each year. We don't support each other, we don't project professional behaviour and attitudes etc...
You don't see this in Law, Banking, etc. They have professional standards and better stick to it under the penalty of sanctions...and it works.
Nope, my point was in line with what you're saying. In the absence of the penalties you mentioned, it's up to us to self-govern.
I know dude...just being sarcastic. You hit a several very good points and highlight the single largest issue in our industry...lack of professional standards and accountability.
My bad, I was very tired yesterday! And thank you for the kind words. :)
>>> in Law, Banking, etc. They have professional standards
You've obviously never seen a lawyer's billing sheet. It's standard to bill in minimum time blocks of, say, half an hour. And to charge the full cost of the block if even a few seconds of work was done. As for bankers...
LOL I'm well experienced in lawyer's billable hours...don't assume we were all photographers from birth. I had a life before the camera. My point was that lawyers do not go around bad mouthing other colleagues in their profession. It's bad for business.
Lawyers certainly do "bad mouth" each other. The reason they are paid more than photographers is that legal cases are generally more important than senior portraits, that lawyers need vastly more training than photographers, that bar associations etc are able to control minimum prices to a significant degree, and that the major firms - the ones where lawyers earn the really big fees - have a very significant degree of influence over the judicial process through personal and professional connections.
The differences between lawyers and photographers are so vast and the major advantages are so significant that trying to use them in the way that you did is simply ludicrous.
Case...and point. You resort to hyperbole instead of focusing on the general ideas Alex presented with the article.
And now you are just trying to save face.
Firstly, responding to comments is not only standard, it is why there is a "reply" for comments!
Secondly, no, I haven't used hyperbole. The differences between high billing lawyers and photographers are vast! Photographers don't have to get high LSAT scores, spend years at law school, pass bar exams... For you to pretend that the two cases are in anyway equivalent simply is foolish. Of course someone with a top 5% IQ and $250,000 of education is going to bill more than a guy with a DSLR! "Bad mouthing" has nothing to do with it; the legal profession has extremely high barriers to entry and photography does not.
In fact you're revealing a lot about your personality: you say things that are obviously ridiculous and then, rather than correcting your mistake, you obfuscate, distort and make accusations. This really isn't a great way to impress clients.
Consider this guy....Exhibit A....perfect example of this article.
Yes, you already tried that approach. Now you are just showing that you are unimaginative.
Once again, replying to comments is a normal thing to do and you have to learn to deal with the fact that other people will sometimes disagree with you. This is a big part of what being a grown-up is about. If you respond by saying that anyone who disagrees with is automatically a bad person, then the adults in the room are going to reach unfavourable conclusions, I'm afraid.
(As in conclusions about *you*, in case you haven't realised this...)
Well, crud. I actually thought lawyers were paid to bad mouth other people.
Been following that thread(fb group) since it was posted by that "professional" retoucher... for me it really doesn't matter what technique or what style you use, the important thing is the end product and your clients approval. Sad though that it involves with the two people whom i look up to in the retouching industry (the thread starter not included).
Sadly, this is what the whole of society is devolving to at this point in history. Few have class and even fewer ethics or morals. It's a dark day for humanity.
Well stated
My participation photography groups has also been slowly dwindling with the exception of a 1-2 private ones. They're great in theory, but most just end up turning into a royal rumble of egos.
I expect, and hope for a fair and critical analysis of photos in these groups. But too many individuals think constructive criticism is an invitation for unsoliciated passive aggressive jabs and insults.
It's seems that humanity's favorite feature of all the internet offers is a blank check of rudeness.
At this point, I am mostly a fly on the wall.
I'm sort of amazed by what photographers will post on social media (I'm more aware of photographers, so that's why I probably notice it more). I watched one guy go on rant about customers on his business' page, complaining about specific clients. Much of it was really petty and they guy needs to downsize his ego.
I'm really careful about what I put out on social media, even my personal page, because I never know where my next client is coming from.
It's disappointing, but not surprising. I had a chance to speak with a few recent college graduates, and even growing up with the internet they were taken aback when I told them I checked social networks before hiring someone to see what kind of person I was about to add to my team. The internet in general but specifically social networks, blogs, micro sites, etc has made gathering information on someone super easy. Their opinions, likes, dislikes, and how they interact with people. I have seen time and time again poor behavior on the web turn into withdrawn offers, or offers that never came to be simply because the hiring manager decided that due to those behaviors they would not be the right fit for the job and their team. And it's not like there is any incentive to reach out and describe why you didn't hire them, so they go right on with their behaviors living in a bubble. Oh well. For decades we grumbled about "Big Brother" looking over our shoulders, but given half a chance we are our own worst enemies when it comes to our online presence. The concept of "Big Brother" has changed, now it is our friends, relatives, employers, customers and potential customers, strangers and yes, even our governments. But I will end with this thought, be kind to others, if you're angry stop before you hit "reply", be helpful and understanding, but don't do it because you think someone might be watching you, do it because it's the right thing to do.
My solution is to stay away from photography as a business altogether. Then I can get as grouchy as I want in photography forums, and chances are the people I mix with in my actual business will never see it! ☺️
Hi Alex, I've definitely sympathized in the past with the points of view that you brought up in the article.
Good article Alex. I've seen it all (or at least I hope I have). I follow this "rule of thumb": What good will it do me to post this? If I can't answer that question with something positive, I don't post.
the thing that sucks about social media is that it's a double edged sword. While it affords us the right to be vocal about things and express our opinions, it also allows people/clients/influencers to bend those opinions and view them in a way that may be different than the way that it was delivered. Just because a photographer may say something that comes across as crass/opinionated/schrewd/etc....that should not detract from their business acumen or pose a dent into their capabilities as a photographer. I've met some photographers that have been very dismissive of people but at the same time, after looking at the person from another angle....you tend to get an idea that they might not be crass but just very blunt and not wanting to sugarcoat anything. Sugarcoating stuff and trying to appease clients is a 50/50 crapshoot. As one professional photographer stated in a vlog, you will never be able to turn a $50 dollar client into a $500 client. All in all as I have stated in the beginning of my post, social media will always be a double edged sword for any professional.
I have unfollowed so many people, including many clients and fellow photographers that I admire, since this last political season. I was amazed how politics turn even the most talented people at the national level into abrasive personalities. I still admire their work, I just do not like all the noise that comes with following them on social media. An old saying comes to mind from when I would hire people back in my corporate days:
"People tell you who they are.......believe them"
It's nice to be nice.