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An Open Letter To Amateur Photographers

During my journey through the photography scene I have noticed pockets of faux exclusivity. As more of the general public are getting their hands on DSLRs, a lot of amateur photographers are getting protective of their space. This has spawned the verbal campaigns such as “Just because you have a camera, does not mean you are a photographer.” I recently saw a private conversation between two photographers suggesting that a woman in a photo obviously was not a photographer because she had her camera in P mode and was using the on-board flash.

This irritates me a a lot. Not only are these said photographers insulting someone with feelings; but they are also hindering the whole photography community. We need competition to keep at the best of our game and we need new blood all the time. Everyone started somewhere and new photographers should be nurtured, not shunned.

This seems to be a trait mostly of insecure amateur photographers, rather than the professionals thankfully; presumably because they are most threatened. For example, Chase Jarvis has a selection of great iPhone photos on his portfolio; proving that it’s about the art, not the equipment.

So this is my plea to the whole of the photography scene; let’s remember we all started somewhere. Encourage the new generation of photographers and help push the community as a whole.

Tags: amateur, canon, nikon, sony