Well it’s easy isn’t it – you press on the button, take a photo and bamm! You’re a photographer.
Doesn’t matter what you take a photograph of – proof of this is the famous ‘Beckham’ photo book. Apparently one of the Beckham brood, named Brooklyn (but why not Clapham or Willesden?) decided he was a photographer one day, and that he was SO good he’d produce a book.
He must have been REALLY good because, to date, the book that has been out a few months has sold 3890 copies (probably to his groupie friends). Wow! He must be so talented…
This is Beckham – you can see he’s good because he’s holding a camera…or did I mean sucking a Chupa Chups, or wearing a Ford t-shirt? Oh, and I forgot to mention, he’s 10, or 15 or something like that. One memorable photograph was of an elephant – or rather it wasn’t – by the time the photo was taken the elephant had got bored and moved off – the caption read something like « it had to be seen to be believed » – bit like his ‘talent’…
Anyway, this is becoming more and more the ‘norm’ – everywhere you look people are declaring « Now I’m a photographer » despite the fact that they have no discernable talent – minor problem really. Be like the film critic in the Monty Python sketch – just shout louder in public.
I laughed the other day when one of these ‘photographers’ (Pro you know, not just an ordinary photographer) decided to announce on Facebook – after being a ‘pro’ for about three days – that from now on, all his previously ‘free’ work would now be ‘paid’ work. All this without ever actually bothering to show what he is capable of, in terms of ‘paid’ work.
Oh I forgot, he did put up a message asking people to give him ideas for what he could take photographs of…a real pro!
UPDATE : This just gets better – today our ‘Pro’ photographer posted this on Facebook
I rather get the impression that everyone else has to do his work for him…