I’ve written previously how, when my interest in photography first started, it was with photographing people and though through time and experience my interests have expanded, evolved and diversified – it’s still people that interest me the most.
In this post I am going to talk about factors that people may not necessarily agree with, that’s fine, these are my views, my feelings, the way photography works for me. It will be different for you, for everyone…if there were only one or two types of photography, the medium would not be nearly as absorbing and dynamic as it is with the wealth of ideas, perspectives, genres…etc. Photography is a very rich subject, though when I was young, in my very early twenties, I was really put off photography, in a big way.
By the time you finish reading this article, should you stay to the end, as I hope you will…you might wonder as to, “what was I thinking?!”. I was young, there was little to no career advice in school, I had very little idea of what I was doing and even less experience of the world I was living in. I was pretty clueless, sadly, very little has changed!
What then is it that I have to share with you today? Well, it’s a story about some well-meaning people, friends of the family, who believed they were doing me a favour, but, as it turned out it, an experience that completely horrified me…remember I was young (pretty simple, very naive) and also clueless. I’m being honest.
I remember the people well, as I said they were family friends and they are lovely people, I haven’t seen them in years now, I left that area in London (going a little further south and out of that area of London) long ago and I’ve been gone from England for sixteen years now.
Janet (family friend), knew a professional photographer, I don’t remember his name anymore, and she had mentioned that she would bring him round one day for me to meet and he would tell me about his job and photography. I was excited.
The day rolled around and Janet brought the photographer round to my home one sunny London afternoon. I don’t remember how long they stayed, what was said, if my emotions were visible on my face and my body language. I was not impressed. The photographer was fine, his work was lovely and he talked a great deal about what he did, assisting, lighting, setups, the works. But there were no people…he was a product photographer. The more he talked, the more horrified I became, this was not for me and he was making it sound like this was what photography was all about, there was no other type of photography, this is what I’d being doing. He offered me an assisting job and I declined, though not immediately, I was too scared at that moment and also thought it rude. I told him that I’d get back to him.
It wasn’t awful, I just had no idea that he was only going to talk about product photography, I don’t remember what I thought he was going to talk about. He also explained product in a way that sounded more hard work than fun…it was off-putting, and I certainly was! I remember feeling a bit deflated about the whole experience, I think he must have thought I wanted to do product photography – I never ever said so, and he wanted me to know that it was going to be a hard graft becoming a product photographer and if product was what I really wanted to do, I probably would have accepted that. However, it wasn’t and I never saw him again.
I don’t know what Janet and her husband (Carl) thought about the whole thing, it never came up in conversation ever again – and we would see each other frequently as we lived very close by and were often at the same mass at church.
It has been many years since that day and the ones shortly after and I haven’t seen Janet and Carl in many long years now. I don’t think they have any idea of myself, or my family now, nor that photography eventually, was going to become my life.
I appreciate all forms of photography, and you have your favourites too, there are certain genres that you won’t be attracted too, and indeed will have no interest in. Time has given me an appreciation for what other photographers do, even if their art holds no interest for me. I have the experience now of having worked and been around all manner of photographers to acknowledge their work and admire it too. I am always willing and interested in seeing photographers, whatever they shoot, work, as you can learn from the images they create and also draw inspiration and ideas for interpretation for your own work.
That day long ago was a lesson for me, though it took me a while to learn from it.