I sometimes like to look at quotes, any kind and ruminate on them and see how the meaning can be applied to my life or just in general. I have a lot of quotes I love and most of them are not about photography, a lot come from what many find to be terribly boring books—biographies. All of them speak to me.
The quote I am deciding to call the Photography Quote of the Year comes from a movie…. I can not remember the movie title, actors, or anything and like a dummy when I was writing the quote down I seriously thought I would remember the movie just not the quote verbatim… I was wrong.
So please forgive me I can not point you toward the movie, I actually can’t remember if I like the movie as a whole but this particular quote leapt out at me and pulled an emotion out of me. I laughed and nodded my head, I had thoughts of agreement, and I know many a professional photographer would agree.
“These photos are terrible! Are you sure you’re a professional?
Some days... no”
So why did I identify with this dialogue or quote from a film? Because at its heart it is so very, very true.
Professional photographers are seen as experts in their field capable of taking amazing, award winning images, that should and often do blow our everyday snapshot out of the water with their composition, technique, framing, atmosphere, lighting, clarity, and story. Professional photographers are quite simply hired and trusted to deliver a quality product that somehow brings to life the image in their clients head.
But as a professional photographer I am 100% aware of the fact that I am capable and often do take absolutely shitty photographs. I mean they are terrible, trash even. Some days I absolutely question how I am considered a professional photographer when I open up files and they are blurry, poorly exposed, bland, and boring. I am my harshest critique for sure, but I also just have utterly bad shoot days every now and then.
I have covered events and missed moments because of a brain fart. Lens cap still on— yeah done it. Camera not in right settings for shooting in bright light after shooting in shadows and completely lost a group photo???? Yeah, done that one too.
This quote is my photography quote of the year because it is a real sediment, a real thought, a reality for every person who calls themselves a photographer. We can and we do take some really terrible photos…. because we are human and therefore prone to mistakes.
So be kind to your photographers some days we are out here on the struggle bus trying to be the capable confident experts everyone expects us to be even when our brains are lagging behind and that damn lens cap is still on!
Other pros what are your thoughts on the quote? Did you feel it in your soul too?