Have you fallen in love with your new DSLR camera and now you want to go pro? Join the club! The good news is that you are in good company. Many of us have gone down this road as well and have found it to be quite a rewarding, interesting process of lifelong learning (so far, anyway) and an enjoyable way to make a few bucks or more. I think you should pursue those dreams and make them realities.
To that end, let me relate a story. A few days ago I was driving from one job to another when I got a call from a colleague who is a videographer. She was working with a newly minted photographer whose camera was giving her problems.
I spoke with the photographer, who described the problem she was having and I quickly diagnosed it. “It sounds like your exposure compensation is out of whack,” I suggested. There was silence on the other end.
“Do you know what exposure compensation is?” I asked. More silence. I tried to be helpful. “It’s the mechanism that lets you adjust the exposure in small increments, like one-third of a stop at a time. Normally you might hold down a button and turn the thumbwheel to adjust it.”
I quickly learned that this photography neophyte really did not know much about how the camera worked. That’s fine with me for two reasons. First, her job is to create a great picture for her client. If she can do that without knowing all the intricacies of her camera, that’s fine. Good for her. Second, if she fails to deliver on this contract, that’s one more bit of competition gone. This may sound heartless but it’s true.
So what’s the moral of the story? Know how to use your tools. In addition, bring your owner’s manual with you to every shoot. It’s a great resource and indispensable for those times you need it. If you don’t need it, it won’t take up much room in your kit bag.
Another moral of the story is to act gracious when someone, especially a competitor, tries to help you out of a jam. For my good faith effort of trying to help this person, I got a “goodbye.” I know she was under pressure but a quick thank-you call later on or perhaps an offer to network and help each other out would be nice. It’s the polite thing to do and may lead to more business. I’m just saying.
Those of you out there who need help, please ask each other, ask me or ask somebody. But if someone tries to help you, be gracious about it. And if someone asks for your help, please give assistance liberally. You never know who could become your greatest ally and who could become your greatest competitor. Even more important, you never know where your next friend might come from or what that little bit of assistance you offer could develop into.
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