BTS

I went to a Sony camera event where there were models, lighting set ups, and cameras on loan for the attendees to test and shoot. I’ve been to Bild Expo before, and this is a similar thing but Sony only and on a tiny scale. Me, being the furthest person from a Sony shooter, decided to just people watch while Hampus played with a 135mm lens. Any time there’s any event involving photography and gear, you can bet that the male to female ratio is skewed to high heaven. The bias is staggering, as well as infuriating, as the photography space is still very much a man’s domain. In fact, numerous booth staff at Bild Expo assumed I was a vlogger and tried pushing cute little lightweight cameras that exceled at shooting selfies and videos. I wasn’t really interested. Their second guesses were unanimously that I was a wedding photographer. That too, was incorrect.

But I wasn’t at Bild Expo nor the Sony event to buy gear, I was there to soak in the vibes of what exactly the photography industry felt like. I already have a kit that works well with my job, and after perusing the booths briefly, I found that the most interesting aspect of events like this is how hungry the guys with cameras were to shoot a pretty girl. It was perhaps a bit masochistic as I already foresaw what it would be like (greasy), but I wanted the confirmation nonetheless.

This was like a flashback to seeing posts on Craigslist where ‘experienced photographers’ were looking to do ‘artistic nudes’ TFP with female models. The samples were all badly lit, awkwardly posed photos of girls in their underwear with rigid smiles that are supposed to be some kind of sensual but read more like ‘help me.’ These photographers have the latest gear but haven’t an inkling of how to take a flattering photo of a woman. The angles, the exploitative composition, the utter thoughtlessness of artistry can be distilled into the one motive: “Yeah I’d fuck that.”

While I’m not saying everyone at these events were of the caliber of photographer I just described, but I’d bet my left foot that there were a good number of them — especially the creepy ones who weren’t using any of the free gear provided, but their phones instead.

At one booth, an athletic man was throwing a glowing ball around, performing movements that mimic sporting events, and a whopping singular photographer was there to snap away while the booths with female models were so full there was barely any room to stand.

While the slightly disgusting and depressing thoughts ran through my head, Hampus snuck up on me and whispered, “What do you these these guys actually shoot outside of here?” I gave him a look, and he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“They’re like vultures descending on fresh meat,” I answered.

He agreed and then asked, “How does it feel to be the only girl in the room? Aside from the model I mean.”

I guess comical was a word that came to mind.

As we went from room to room, it was the same story at every booth. While Hampus was very pleased with the lens he was testing, and couldn’t stop talking about how fast the autofocus was, I wasn’t so sure that a lot of people there were actually concerned about the gear.

“Come on, eye contact here,” I hear a man instruct one of the models, “Keep eye contact as you walk to the other side.” It felt… gross. I can practically feel them salivating as they snapped endless photos. I think of girls I knew who want to get into photography, who are capable of taking photos of women without any sexual undertones, but don’t for whatever reason. If only they had 1/10 of the confidence these oblivious guys with cameras possessed, they would be shoo-ins. If only they can be considered professionals and not simply vloggers upon first impression. If only.

There was one booth where a model posed with an actual live bird, but when we circled back, it would appear that she was on break, and a bird wrangler stepped in instead. Suddenly, the swarming photographers previously there dispersed from that particular set up, leaving only one man shooting, the very same one taking photos of the athlete from earlier.

That guy cared about gear and photography. He also cared about taking pictures of the bird and not just who was posing with the bird. Maybe there is hope after all.