I was in a camera store the other day when I overheard a guy in his early twenties asking the salesperson about SLR cameras. Just the usual stuff like how much are they? Why are they better than point-and-shoots? Which brand is better? etc…
It got me thinking back to my own experience when I was at the counter asking the clerk the same basic questions. Back then it was my girlfriend (now my wife) who was interested in photography. I recall her asking me for an SLR camera, too which I vividly remember responding, “what the hell do you want that for?”. So, off I went to a local camera store to find out more about them so I could make an informed decision. Long story short I got her a Nikon that she never really got to use because it never left my hands. And thus my journey began.
It made me realize that for every person who picks up a camera with any interest at all, invisible, but well defined lines magically spring up in front of them. These lines, like yard lines on a football field, demarcate interest levels and dedication to the art form of photography. Note that those lines also define how much money they’re willing to spend or have spent. As with so many specialized activities, photography is an enormously expensive craft, especially if a few of the aforementioned invisible lines are well behind them.
The groups, in my experience, break down as follows:
1/ There is the I don’t really want a camera but I better get one so I can take incriminating photos of my buddies for coercive purposes later group. These folks just want something, anything, that will record an image. Usually a cheap point-and-shoot or a cell phone with a camera built in will do nicely.
2/ The I still want to take embarrassing photos of friends, but I want a little more quality so I can blow them up to poster size group. This usually equates to a higher end point-and-shoot
3/ The Photography is waaay cool, but what the hell is an f-stop crowd. These people cross a rather large invisible and fiscal line here and purchase an entry level SLR camera. The person may or may not realize what they have gotten themselves into depending on the nature of the salesperson. I won’t get into the various types of sales people at this point in time. Suffice it to say that a few are awesome and very forthright, but most are…do I really need to finish this train of thought? Didn’t think so. Even if the salesperson is great and warns you about the cost of various doodads you might want later, your first thought will most likely be, “Nah! I’ll never need that!”…the inevitable happens in the next level.
4/ The I’ve just bought that insanely expensive doodad and my spouse doesn’t know yet. What the hell have I done! crowd. There is a quiet desperation to these people. They know that they’re fully committed now, not unlike going “all-in” with nothing but a pair of 2′s in poker…in both cases they’re not likely to survive the night. Unless the person has a good chunk of disposable income to blow, the realization soon comes that they have to try and make some money at this “hobby”. It’d be funny to watch these folks squirm if I hadn’t already lived through and blown past this level quite a while ago.
5/ The Zealot group. A varied group of people, some are hardened pros that sometimes make a lot of money, but most often make okay-at-best money and do it for love of the craft. Others are perpetual amateurs with too much money that are in no danger of going anywhere with photography other than the store to buy the latest and greatest gadget that will transform them instantly into pros…these are rare though, much to the chagrin of sales staff the world over. Yet others are skilled and gradually working their way — because they miraculously won with those pair of 2′s at the last level (aka not getting killed by their spouse) — towards the hardened pro status they’ve dreamed about.
Anyway, that’s my take on it. Taking that plunge into photography isn’t for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. I think the key to success is having more passion than brains
