In my journeys as an amateur photographer, I have met fellow photographers from different walks of life. As I reflect on their personalities, I came to a conclusion that most of them would fall into one of eight different personality types based on how they handle the camera. See below if you could identify yourself from one these categories.
The Pixel Peepers
They are also known by many other names such as, Hair Splitters, Measurebators, etc. Their passion for photography is confined to scrutinizing the atoms that make up a photo. While most people judge photos by its aesthetic value, these people admire photos by its numerical value. They spend an inordinate amount of time looking at MTF charts, Color Histograms and all other modes of photo measurements. Their lingo is littered with terms like acutance, luminance, contrast, grain and other high-falutin’ words. In case you want to show them the shots you have taken, just give them a 200% crop of your photo and that is all they need to see. Every year they go on a pilgrimage to Mount Fuji where the god of the perfect histogram lives.*
The Artisans
They are very ruthless people with an acute sense of aesthetic judgment. For every one hundred shots they take only one survives. They could discriminate a good photo from a bad one in 1/8000 of a second even with their eyelids stop down. While the Pixel Peepers use technical jargon all the time, the Artisan uses evocative words like warm, great, striking, dramatic, sublime, poignant, etc. Before a photo is taken, they already have seen it in their minds. These people are fun to watch for they double as a contortionist when they take shots. However, you do not want to go shooting with them. As artists they cannot be rushed. They are known for staying in one spot for hours just to find the right shot. Very creative is the word that describes them. No wonder they take the best photos.
The Machine Gunners
Advocates of documentary photography, they are trigger-happy snappers who are found in all levels of photography ranging from those using disposable cameras to high end DSLRs. Secretly inside them they wish they have a video camera. In its absence, they fire multiple shots for every piece of action. For them every photo is a good photo. For such reason, they print all their photos and end up having numerous stacks of pictures for every single event. Their friends love them because they cover everything that happens in a party and there is always a photo for everyone.
The Socialites
They are into people photography. What I mean is that they are into photography to meet people. For that matter, they love EBs (Eyeballs) or club get-togethers. They roam the forums not to scour for information but to say hi to everyone there. The shutter clicks they do may just be a few but the friends they make while holding the camera is in the thousands. What is nice with the Socialites is that even if your camera is broken you can still go to a photo shoot with them.
The Cameraholics
These kinds are into product photography. For them, photography is just an excuse to go shop for products like cameras, lenses, filters, tripods, flashes and every camera accessory. Understandably, they spend most of their time at camera brick stores, web stores and all other places that sell photographic equipment. These people hate outdoor photography for they are always inside the mall or at home in front of their computers waiting for the bidding to end at EBay. The good thing with them is that all their equipment stays in mint condition even after decades of doing photography. To qualify as one, the photos you take must be less than the total number of photographic equipment that you own.
The Snobs
Interestingly, you will not see them lugging a Pentax, Sony or an Olympus camera on their shoulders. They might be highly educated but they only care about a few letters in the alphabet – L, IS, VR and FX. They discuss photos not in terms of its aesthetic worth but the cost of the camera plus lens used in taking the pictures. Their opinion is that the more expensive the equipment … the more beautiful the photograph is. Deep inside the Snob is the desire to be liked. Unfortunately, they attract more envy than admiration.
The Purists
They are the old Masters – the Obi-Wan Kenobis in photography. These people carry only film cameras and everything they do is manual – focusing and metering. They do not touch any lens without an aperture ring for it makes them feel unclean. AF for them is for the uninitiated. Their clothes are randomly stained with dark brown spots and they emit a certain chemical smell that screams laboratory. They are a unique species in themselves for they only have to blink their eyes to take exposure readings. Their creations hang in every museum and exhibit so no one makes a fuss about their weird qualities.
The Paparazzi
No, they are not only found in Hollywood but also in remote barrios where there is a flicker of social activity. They show up in every wedding, graduation, sports meet and even at funerals. They do not need invitation letters for their camera is their gate pass. They fire their cameras at anyone who looks even vaguely important. Half of the people love them and the other half hate them. With the little equipment that they have, they make more money and recover their investments long before anyone of the earlier mentioned camera buffs do. These people are extremely hardworking so take it easy on them.
* Mt Mayon for Filipino locals
Note: Not everyone falls strictly into one category. Most of us is a mixture of one or more types. The more split your personality is, the more categories you belong to. So have fun in identifying your personality type and mix.
Caution: If you find yourself falling into all categories given, drop all photographic appointments and see Dr. Phil without delay. You urgently need a firmware fix in your head.
