A Photographer Never RevealsTheir Secrets

Today I came across a Journal entry from another photographer who suggested that the sharing of information and techniques amongst people in the artistic community should be improved in order for the art form to grow.  

I think one of the issues specific to Photographers is the advancement of technology.  The quality and simplicity that is available these days is nothing short of threatening.  People can buy a decent DSLR, download a pirated copy of Photoshop or Lightroom from bit torrent, and install a 3rd party plugin that will allow them to create pro quality effects in a single-click that 10 years ago would have taken me a lot of time and effort to produce.  This has narrowed the gap between the people who have put in a considerable amount of time to perfect their craft, and the wannabe posers looking to pump out images as fast as possible in an effort to proclaim themselves as "professionals."

Obviously there is no substitute for the artistic vision needed to take the image in the first place and the skill of the photographer handling his/her instrument.  But if everyone could paint with the same skill and creativity as DaVinci or Picaso, their work would cease to be special.  I would be happy to share information with someone to help them out or swap techniques with another established photographer, as I am sure would a community of magicians for example.  But there are always going to be those special tricks that you will keep to yourself, the tricks that you have spent a lot of time perfecting.  If everyone can do the same technique, it looses it's uniqueness and in some cases, the artist will loose their individuality.

The other obvious reason for not sharing, is if your photographic endeavors are also your main source of income.  It clearly doesn't make sense to show all the other photographers in your community the special way you process wedding photos if that is what makes you unique to that genre. 

Lets be honest, photography has never been easier or more accessible than it is right now.  And in an art form where technology plays such a huge roll, and the access to information is so easily obtained, true individual style will become more and more difficult to achieve and maintain.  Only a minority of photographers will reach that status in their careers.  The value of a few unique individuals making an impact by preserving their specific techniques outweighs the convenience of the whole community sharing in that knowledge.