How To Handle An “Insult” Photographers Get Frequently – Part 1

Whether you’re an experienced photographer or a “newbie” sooner or later someone will make a comment about your photography that you may think is, well, rather insulting.  I’m not talking about criticism which is about what I don’t like and most importantly why I don’t like it.  I am talking about an insult; something that says you’re a bad photographer with no talent, period!  Let me say right up front that 99.9999% of the time these comments were never intended as an insult at all.  They don’t really think you’re a bad photographer or that you have no talent.  Strangely, the comment comes about from them liking your work but they articulated it poorly.

Let’s talk about the two most common insults (pseudo-insults if you will) in detail and how to handle them in a way that makes/keeps a friend rather than making an enemy.  Due to the length of this discussion I’ll break the discussion into two posts, one for each insult.

Pseudo-Insult #1 – “You must have a really good camera.”

The typical scenario and one that I actually experienced goes something like this.  I had a repair technician come to the house to take a look at the air conditioner.  As I was taking him to where he could access the unit, we passed by some of my photos that I had up on the wall.  He remarked, “These are beautiful photos”.  Hearing this, my ego soared, but then he plunged a dagger into my heart with “You must have a really good camera.”

WHAT!!!!  All the time I put into studying techniques, practicing, making mistakes, learning from mistakes, learning from other photographers means nothing?  It’s all because I have a good camera?  Is that what you are really saying?

Did anyone ever say to chef after a delicious meal, “That was a great meal.  You must have some really good pots and pans.”?  Did anyone ever read a good book and think, “That was a great novel.  She must have a really good computer.”?  Did anyone ever go to a museum and overhear some comment about a statue, “That statue is wonderful.  The sculptor must have a really good chisel.”?  In the same museum did you ever overhear someone comment, “Oh my, what beautiful paintings.  The artist must have a really good brush.”?  Of course, not.  And yet photographers receive the “You must have a really good camera.” comment all the time.

Why Are They Saying That?

So why is that pseudo-insult so commonly said to photographers?  I’ll start by answering my earlier question, no, they don’t appreciate all that went in to taking a good photo.  They don’t understand that the camera is just a tool.  It’s in knowing how to use the tools that makes the meal, the novel, the sculpture, the painting and the photo good.  It’s all the hard work that went into honing your craft before you started a particular piece of art that makes it good.  They simply don’t know or understand all the effort they’ve put into your work as a photographer.  Today, everyone in the world has a camera on their phone and everyone is a photographer.  We can all take photos and share them with the world instantly.  Why should we think we are so different or special?

Is It All Just Marketing?

We are all culturally aware of the effort other artists have to put in, but not so with photographers. The cliché of the “starving artist” seems to cover all of the creative artistic endeavors except photography.  Perhaps it’s because photography is seen as virtually effortless; all we have to do is “point and shoot”.  Our friends, the camera companies, market cameras based on that concept.  Likewise the post-processing software companies promote the idea that with a few simple mouse clicks they will turn your snapshot into a piece of fine art.  All the equipment and processing software vendors like to promote the idea that anyone can be a good photographer; all you need to do is buy their product and voila!  

Interestingly enough things are getting to the point that maybe we do have to start wondering, whose photo is this?  Mine or the camera/software’s?  With presets, auto modes, filters, and artificial intelligence guiding our composition, lighting and exposure have we become the tool that simply pushes the button?  This is an interesting topic, but I’ll leave that for another time.

How To Handle The Pseudo-Insults? How Should We Respond?

There’s no easy answer.  Lashing out in response just creates ill will.  There’s nothing to be gained by that.  My suggestion is to respond in a polite manner with response that contains 4 elements:

1. Take a deep breath.  Remember they didn’t really mean it as an insult.
2. A simple thank you.  Acknowledge their comment and that you appreciate it. “Thank you. It helps.” Adding “It helps.” alerts in polite and subtle way that it wasn’t all due to the camera.
3. Briefly explain the effort that was involved.  “I spent a lot of time on this. Between the effort to plan the shot and the post-process it I must have spent X hours on it.”  They will probably be surprised at the effort it takes and hopefully they may appreciate you had some part in making that photo a good one.
4. Engage them in a discussion that shows you value their opinion.  “What types of photography do you like best?”

Stayed tuned for Part 2 where I’ll discuss the second common pseudo-insult.

How do you respond when someone says your photo is good because “You must have a really good camera.”? Please leave a comment in the comment box below.