Will you tell me your secret?
Ooh. That's a cool old barn that you photographed. Where did you find it?
Wow! Great lighting! What technique did you use?
Have you been asked these questions? Or asked them? What was the response?
Oh, I found that barn on my latest road trip. The technique is natural light. And is that all the response given? It's as if the photographer is afraid to tell you too much for fear that you'll then know his or her secret?
Well let me tell you a secret of my own. Don't tell anyone, ok? Just between you and me.
There are no secrets.
There are no secrets.
Let me repeat that - there are NO secrets.
A recent exchange on Facebook left me wondering why some photographers are so hesitant to share their knowledge. I can understand trying to protect a place as a fellow photographer lamented the destruction of vegetation near a waterfall as photographer's clambered to get just the right image. But sadly once a place has been found, it will not remain secret and our next step in protecting the place is through education and Leave No Trace policies. Sarah Marino wrote an excellent blog post about this very thing.
But beyond protecting a place from overuse is there another reason? Is it a fear of not being unique anymore? Not having that one of a kind image?
Another friend of mine was helping a wedding photographer for a year when he finally "discovered" how that photographer achieved a certain look in his images. Why not ask? Was it because photographers have a heinous reputation for guarding their secrets?
Just do me a favor. Open your browser to Google and type in that place or that technique you think only you know. See what happens. I will lay even money down that there will be several entries for your query. So why do you keep it secret.
What's a better solution? Teaching. For those special places we hold dear, teach the next photographer you see how best to preserve the environment. For the person who wants to know how to light a subject, guide them through the steps.
I promise, you will be all the better for it.
Oh and if you're interested in where the above image was made. I created it somewhere is Eastern Washington. ;-)
A recent exchange on Facebook left me wondering why some photographers are so hesitant to share their knowledge. I can understand trying to protect a place as a fellow photographer lamented the destruction of vegetation near a waterfall as photographer's clambered to get just the right image. But sadly once a place has been found, it will not remain secret and our next step in protecting the place is through education and Leave No Trace policies. Sarah Marino wrote an excellent blog post about this very thing.
But beyond protecting a place from overuse is there another reason? Is it a fear of not being unique anymore? Not having that one of a kind image?
Another friend of mine was helping a wedding photographer for a year when he finally "discovered" how that photographer achieved a certain look in his images. Why not ask? Was it because photographers have a heinous reputation for guarding their secrets?
Just do me a favor. Open your browser to Google and type in that place or that technique you think only you know. See what happens. I will lay even money down that there will be several entries for your query. So why do you keep it secret.
What's a better solution? Teaching. For those special places we hold dear, teach the next photographer you see how best to preserve the environment. For the person who wants to know how to light a subject, guide them through the steps.
I promise, you will be all the better for it.
Oh and if you're interested in where the above image was made. I created it somewhere is Eastern Washington. ;-)
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