Three years ago (Tampa) was my first DWF Convention. David A. Williams gave a heart-wrenching presentation. It was one of the best messages I’ve ever heard at ANY convention. EVER. But he presented it to a meager audience.
Honestly, it pissed me off. That’s the reason I pushed to have him deliver the Keynote for DWF C in Phoenix. I honestly believe more people need to hear what he has to say. If you were there, you know that there were very few dry eyes in the house and almost all of us took home some VERY valuable lessons.
Here’s the thing… There are a LOT of really good educators in this industry, who may not have the most current portfolios with their brides in last year’s designer couture, but dammit, they’re great educators! And they’re all too often overlooked.
I’ve been guilty. I’ve bought into a workshop based on the presenter’s portfolio and then later regretted it. If you’re looking for a workshop to teach you the current trends in photography, then it makes sense to shop based on portfolio alone.
But if you want to learn something, something actionable, something you can use and apply to your own photography? If you want to learn the WHY and not just the HOW? Then you need to pay attention to the folks who have been teaching photographers MUCH LONGER than you’ve even been shooting. There’s a reason they give plus classes at WPPI year after year. There’s a reason they go on national tours. There’s a reason they have scores of sponsors supporting them, not just one.
They’re one of our industry’s best kept secrets. And they really shouldn’t be.
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9 Comments at "Photography and the Under-Appreciated Educators"
I saw David this year at Mystic 5 and unfortunately the same thing happened. He was scheduled last as a headliner, but by then most people were either too tired to attend or wanted to get an early start home. What a loss!!!
David’s presentation help curtail exactly where I want my photography to go. It was deep, insightful, and poignant.
I think I’ve learned the most from photographers who don’t care about trends as much as they care about a legacy.
Mabyn I agree it sucked so many people missed what was an awesome presentation but I’m not going to complain that it was a more intimate crowd David was AWESOME and it’s too bad for those who didn’t stay! =)
I’ve had the good fortune to learn from some true master of their craft, like Bruce Evenson and Joseph and Louise Simone. People who can do things with light you just wouldn’t believe.
I’m really sorry I never got to take a class with Don Blair before he died, as Don is amongst the greatest portrait artists of all time. That’s the really sad thing about under-appreciating some of the best and most accomplished teachers…they tend to be from the older generation, and once they’re gone, their knowledge dies with them. Better learn what you can from them now, because you don’t know how many more years you’ll have the opportunity to do so.
– Matt
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There’s far too many unproved “educators” who are really little more than the cannibals of the wedding industry.
The under-appreciated educators have been swamped by a tidal wave of heavily self-promoted blowhards.
What I’ve witnessed is those photographers, with a view to creating an extra revenue stream, have utilised social media and blogs. They’ve been supported by a bunch of similarly positioned photographers who all get on each others pages and write super glowing comments and don’t seem to take a moment to actually look at the quality of the images.
There’s a general paucity of critical analysis. Many seem to be in a mad rush to become just like the others and not like themselves cause they don’t have a unique vision and are only involved in photography because they see it as an easy earn.
Unfortunately, organizations like WPPI don’t help the photographer as they put many poor educators and speakers front and center because they are popular.
I agree that too many wonderful, though not trendy, photographers are overlooked as educators….but I think I know why. If a bride looks at your work and says “it’s pretty…but outdated” she will not hire you…in fact she may even give her money to someone with less experience and knowledge because she likes their work more. It is not fair—but neither is life….So I think ALL educators who want to both succeed financially AND educate should push themselves to create current portfolios that “wow”—-just like those of us in the wedding industry have to if we want to be hired. Then they will be seen and truely appreciated.
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