Why are pro photographers always complaining about other people with a camera

TL,DR;

Because they are not better than the average Joe. They only have better cameras and more technical skills, but what they miss is another level of storytelling ability and most people like the stories, the memories, not the tech.

Photography is a universal language

I will face this argument starting from the beginning, because this is going to be some kind of lightweight rant.

I'm not a native english speaker and I guess you will immediately understand this while reading because I can't have a vocabulary as rich as I have in my native language which is italian.

I struggle to express myself. Every time I write an article for SteemIt, when I need to send a simple email for a client based outside of Italy or even a comment on Reddit I'm always scared to do something wrong, to make mistakes, to write something unappropriated or even deadly wrong. Spelling is my enemy. I have too few words to choose from.

But if I show you this picture you will instantly understand it.
Wherever you are in the world, regardless the language you speak, you see that this is a landscape, a wide beach with only two people on it. They have a surf. There are clouds and it look like a nice place to be.

But it's not just that. There's more!

If I was a good enough photographer you could also notice that I tried to convey a message with this image. The smoothness of the shoreline that looks like a mirror for the clouds and the people, the vastity of the scene, the colors I chose, the focal length I used and many more elements are all part of a vocabulary that I used to express the calmness and the humbling sensation I had when I walked on this incredible beach which, by the way, is known as Keel Beach and is in Ireland.

You can do it, everybody can do it!

Photography is easy!
Let's make myself clear here, because I don't want to be the target for all the "artists" out there, that I'm not talking about photography as a job or as a sellable form of art/craftmanship, I'm talking about photography as a way to record images, memories, proof of you being in a specific place and so on. In one word: snapshots.

Everybody has a quite powerfull camera in the pocket these days. Any smartphone today has a camera much better than what's really needed to take snapshots and everybody is using it with, literaly, one tap on the screen! Imagine what it takes to write down a detailed description of the place you are right now.

Imagine how much time and effort you need to even describe it whith spoken words to someone. People with drawing skills can make a paint if they want, but it takes hours at best. Now grab your phone, tap on the camera app and take a picture.

Done. 3 seconds.
Now take a selfie. Done. 2 Seconds.
Now share the selfie with your friends. Done. 10 seconds.

It's so easy and popular that every given SECOND at least 2500 pictures are uploaded on Facebook. Think about it. While you're reading this article hundreds of thousands of images are being published all over the world by all kinds of people for the most varied reasons!

All of those pictures are perfectly legitimate photographs, they all serve a purpose at least in the eyes of the people who took them an that's the bare minumun needed.

You can get away with this and live happy. All your friends will see you while you stare at the horizon on a clear summer sunset. They WILL recognize you, the sunset, the context, the mood and the reason why you shared it.

This is a snapshot of me taking a snapshot of the horizon at sunset.

So many levels! WOW!

You can use english to write the instructions for the toaster or you can use it to write Infinite Jest. It's the same thing, but on different levels. So it is with photography.

Many professional photographers complain about the fact that nowadays everyone who can buy a camera suddely becomes a photographer. But my point is that it's true! Anyone with a camera IS a photographer! What makes good photographer is not the camera or the lack of it, it's the ability to live on a different level.

There are all kind of photographers and they all live and work on different levels: war, fashion, landscape, nude, street, still life, architecture, interiors, wildlife, weddings, graduations, etc etc. Photography is a powerful medium and you can use it to tell stories about anything you want. What makes YOU special is the context in which you are operating and the level of consciousness you have of what you are doing.

Photographers have just one way to "beat" the competition of my cousin with a DSLR. They HAVE to take better pictures AND tell better stories. Period. If they can't, then my cousin with the DSLR has the right to kick their asses. Period.

And if so many people makes photography, then pros should be delighted to know how to use well a language that so many people love.

Let's make an example
There are almost no common ground between what I can write and what Carver could and this is why I don't see many writers complaining about their neighbour being able to write, because they know that what they are doing is on another level, for another target, different. Better.

This is me drinking 1 liter of mojito in Miami to wash away my anger that day I thought about my writing skills compared to those of Raymond Carver.

Conclusion

We are lucky to live in an era of freedom of speech (at least our rich western countries), to be able to express ourselves with photography, to have the luxury of the spare time. Many people don't have all our opportunities so stop wasting your time complaining about Joe buying a camera and help him take better pictures if he wants to improve or spend your time trying to be better than him.

My Portfolio

If you like my pictures and my articles you can find more on my website where you can also buy numbered and certified prints or original instant photography frames and sets!