Yesterday, I took a day off to go wedding dress shopping with one of my dearest friends. At this point, you might be wondering what on earth this has to do with photography. But the point I am making is that this friend is a fellow photographer. And she’s not the only photographer I count as a good friend.

There seems to be a belief within many photography circles that photographers can’t be friends with each other. Many photographers guard their careers jealously and part of this jealousy is a belief that all other photographers are to be avoided like the plague, in case they steal ideas or techniques. And this is a real shame. There’s so much to be gained by having friends in the industry.

photo by Pedro Ribeiro Simões

It’s time to stop thinking of other photographers as purely competition and to start thinking of them as people who understand us!

Paying It Forward

When I started out in photography (more years ago than I care to think about!), I was lucky enough to meet several photographers who provided invaluable mentoring experience to me. They were (and still are) top advertising and portrait photographers whose names you would all recognise. But, despite their credentials, they both took time to help and advise me. It’s something I’ve never forgotten and is a philosophy that I’ve tried to carry through my own working life.

My strengths lie in my ability to communicate with people and to get a great portrait from them. But I have other photographer friends who enjoy the minute technical details of photography more than I do, for instance, and it’s therefore interesting to bounce ideas of them. Then there are the friends that I’ve mentored myself – from when they started out as my assistants many years ago to now being fully fledged photographers in their own right. Each of them has something to offer and each of them allows me an avenue to discuss my work with them.

Meeting Other Photographers

As a portrait photographer, I think it’s essential to actually enjoy meeting new people, and perhaps this is why I’ve actually made so many friends in the photographic world. But however far you take the acquaintance of other photographers, it’s good to get to the point where you have people that you can ask for advice and second opinions.

I come from the old school of film photography and the days when events and exhibitions were a great way to meet other photographers and people within the industry. Nowadays so much of our interaction is online that it does take more effort. But there are still plenty of industry events, networking opportunities and the such like to go to. And I think it’s really important to take advantage of this. If you want to be the best photographer you can be, then surely it makes sense to get inspiration from your peers?

Only my photographer friends want to sit and discuss the merits of a Canon lens for hours on end. They’re the only ones that are interested in spending time tweaking lighting until it looks perfect. And they’re certainly the only ones to find photography jokes funny! More importantly, they are there if I have a problem or need help with clients or photos. I think of us all as a collective and I’m happy to pass work between us as needs be.

Being a freelance photographer can be a solitary existence. Of course, we all deal with clients but that isn’t the same as having people to talk to as in an office environment. And, like an office, different people have different skills.

Those photographers that lead an entirely solitary existence are, in my opinion, missing out. There’s so much to be gained from having friends in the industry and, when you are friends with your competitors you work together, rather than competing. In a way, it actually makes good business sense!

Please let me know what you think by chiming in via Twitter or Facebook!