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Photography Culture

The Truth About How to Be a Responsible Hobbyist Photographer

Chris Gampat
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08/10/2020
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm X Pro 3 first impressions product images

Long live the hobbyist photographer: here are some truths you should know.

While everyone wants to act like and shoot like a professional, most of the people who shoot images are hobbyists. They just want that flare of cool, cinematic, and suave photos. Just look at the way most people shoot carelessly. It’s wonderful and people should embrace being a hobbyist and get higher grade cameras beyond what their phone is capable of doing. So, if you’re a hobbyist here’s how to responsibly enjoy the photography world.

Learn from Each Other: The PhotoWalk Helps Out So Much

You, the hobbyist, should embrace you for who you are. Hobbyists are social, and like sharing their hobbies with others. So share it with friends. Talk about the hobby. Argue. Ask questions. We can guarantee that watching some videos on YouTube isn’t going to make you learn everything. So have fun shooting in groups. Talk about more than just gear. In fact, that’s the big point of our second item on this list.

Gear: It’s More Expensive Than Music, Beer, Whiskey, and Most Watches

Breakthrough Photography x4 Circular Polarizer

You probably already know this one: photography can be a very expensive hobby. At the lower end, it can mean a really good smartphone. But at the higher end, it can start at around $2,000 and go all the way into six figures. Gear will help you get certain photos better and easier than using Photoshop and time-consuming software. But, no matter what, you should always know there is a means to an end.

Be Kind: It’s One of the Few Interpersonal Social Hobbies Out There

Few hobbies let you multi-task like photography. While shooting photos you can easily discuss your latest finds from Netflix or enjoy some quality pizza together. That’s not always possible when playing music, shooting archery together, etc. Photography is a social hobby. So do it with buddies!

No Really, Be Kind: You Still Need to Abide by Ethics

Higher shoulder towards a wall. Have the body bear most of the contact on the bicep. Pivot the subject in a 30 degree angle backward. Bring the hair to the opposite side. Bring the arms along the body to give a more natural appearance or bring them up to flatten the profile a bit. And again, watch the nose.

Even though you’re a hobbyist, there are still ethics. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t abuse models. Don’t take photos of homeless people. Always ask for permission. Always check your intentions.

Don’t Make Your Work Disposable: Your Instagram Page Isn’t Your Website

The two aren’t the same. A website is more or less a stagnant place for people to see your best work. On Instagram, you’re playing against an algorithm and that’s it. You can’t always create in earnest at the rate Instagram wants: you’ll become too busy building someone else’s castle.

Don’t Fret: The Hashtag Game Isn’t Everything

There will be a day where Instagram will fall. See previous tip.

Beyond Digital: The Print Is the True Finished Product, Not the Export

Print a photo and you’ll get a completely different experience than you did when you look at it on a screen. A screen has a multitude of distractions going on vs a gallery and a museum. These places are often spots where work is treated with respect vs the phone’s screen.

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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