Photography, Photographers - Misconceptions
The other day at work I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine about work in general and also about our interests outside of work. This person spoke of their interests and then began to ask me about mine.
I piped in about my love for photography, how I have a side business on the go right now and am trying to grow it. I spoke of how long I have been interested in photography and how it all came about. The next thing out of her mouth was “Oh, I wish I knew you were a photographer when I got married last year, I would have hired you, would have liked to give you the work.
I was flattered by the sentiment of the statement. It was a very nice thing to say! Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything about what she said. Although, the first thing that struck me as odd about this was, she had never ever seen my work before. Secondly, she didn’t even know if I am a wedding shooter or bother to ask. I just found all of this humorous in a way because it would seem to me that people assume because someone says they are a photographer, they are good and every photographer must shoot weddings. This, in my opinion is a huge misconception and frankly stereotyping an entire profession.
Not everyone shoots weddings, nor should just anyone shoot weddings. Most photographers have their niche area which they enjoy and work in. People should really take the time to talk to photographers and find out what area of expertise they focus on before making assumptions.
Image courtesy of jillantreeblog.com