Why Pro Photographers Don't Want To Share Their Knowledge

A pro photographer I respect let me try his lens. Thanks bro really appreciate it.

Not a long time ago I was approached by someone who messaged me to give a thank you note. He thanked me and my fellow photography blogger Ezad for being so generous for sharing a lot of tips online in our writings.

Next, he said that a lot of PRO photographers are unwilling to share their knowledge and expertise to newbies like him.

WHOA.

Ok I absolutely can relate. Been there bro.

I learned photography mostly from reading articles and watching tutorials online. During my years of learning, I have approached some pro photographers, trying to befriend them and probably ask for some tips here and there. Unfortunately not all of them have a lot of time to babysit me (yes I call it babysitting on purpose).

They are full time working professionals. They run a business. They make sales, they handle calls, they make documentations, they handle online marketing, they shoot, they edit, they design, they chase the clients for payment and etc. Running a business, especially a solo gig just takes a lot of time and they do not have a lot of time to answer questions from newbies.

Besides that, there will be one point where you have learned enough of the basics and start to ask ADVANCED questions. Questions so advanced that if you got the answer, you might overpower them and be their competitor. From a business point of view, should you help someone to be your competitor? So yes those pro photographers sometimes might not able to share a lot of things to you because it might hurt their sole source of living.

This is when you know your time has come to grow wings of your own and be more independent in finding the information you need from the hidden libraries of the internet or by joining photography classes or just go out there and try it yourself. No more relying on others to babysit you. (Yep this is why I used the term babysit).

By the way us two bloggers do not rely on photography as our livelihood. One is a mathematics lecturer and another one is an internet content creator working for another company. That's why we have the freedom of sharing everything, all in the spirit of spreading knowledge.

By the way the two reasons mentioned above might not apply to all pro photographers. There are good ones out there that might help us and be a mentor to us until we reach the same level as they are. You just need to find the right person.

But in all honesty, if you do take some time to share what you have, it will benefit you a lot. I share what I just learned and my experiences with my friends online, they reciprocate with actually sharing theirs, and this way I actually learn more from them, from you guys.

So if you are a pro photographer probably helping others by sharing your knowledge and experiences, YOU'RE AWESOME.

I hope that it clears your impression about pro photographers being selfish. Not all of them are like that. Hopefully you will find a suitable mentor you can follow.

Let's talk and discuss photography together on my facebook page by clicking here - Adzrin Mansor Facebook Page