Sandbagging Other Photographers

Sand-bagging (sand'bag'g'ing)
v.
1. The act of speaking negatively to a client about another photographer behind that persons back.
2. Deliberately putting down a photographers work when your own work sucks even worse.

Sandbagging... yup I made up that word, but I think it fits the description.

I have been asking myself why do so many photographers Sandbag each other?

I have come up with two reasons.

One because the competition in our field is so fierce, many shooters lack the confidence in their abilities resulting in a Sandbagging mentality due to the threat of losing a contract.

And Two because to be a successful photographer one needs to have a certain amount of confidence within their own abilities. Often pros make a good deal of money, pay other people to work with them, and of course produce unique images that are designed for people to enjoy. So naturally a photographer will receive a big ego boost if all of these factors come into play. However there is a fine line between Confidence and Arrogance resulting in a lack of respect for other shooters work.

Many people unfortunately end up crossing the Confidence/Arrogance line. Resulting in the Sandbagging syndrome.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a granola guy who thinks everyone should get along. In fact I think checking out and critiquing other shooters work is a great thing, but there is a line that is crossed when it becomes Sandbagging another shooters work.

So how does one stop being a Sandbagger? First photographers need to relax and realize we can't shoot everything that comes to our plate. Second join a group like CAPIC to meet other shooters. And third I think shooters need to extend the olive branch and just contact photographers to say hey whats up.

Emailing shooters is not always cool though. Early on in my career I emailed photographers who I liked and just let them know I loved their work. A few of them looked down on as an amateur and disregarded my comments. This kind of sucked, but proved they were dicks in the first place... As it turns out now many of these guys are actually Sandbagging Dicks.

Personally though some of my closest friends and mentors are photographers in direct competition with me. But I find a comfort in talking and discussing problems with shooters who are in the same position as me... Some of us have become so close that we even trade specialized gear with each other to keep costs low and maximize our creative potential.

Im rambling now, but if any amateur shooters out there are reading this, please remember to keep the Sandbagging to a minimum, you will be happier, and also feel free to send shout outs to photographers who you dig or look up to!

C