3 ms·
I’m a photographer, and weddings make up the largest percentage of my income. I advertise on The Knot/Wedding Wire, which are wedding planning sites and vendor
by AuryGlenz 6y ago
I’m a photographer, and weddings make up the largest percentage of my income. I advertise on The Knot/Wedding Wire, which are wedding planning sites and vendor directories. I pay something like $300 a month to be on the first page of results for photographers.
Some time last year they added a filter option to their vendor search results. Black owned, Hispanic owned, LGBT owned, woman owned, etc. There are a lot of options, only one of which can possibly apply to white men - veteran owned.
I don’t really mind the race related ones, as black people can be hard to photograph for (poor) photographers used to white people. Some cultures have different wedding traditions too.
But the woman owned option? Photography is absolutely dominated by women. I’m part of a photographer group on Facebook for my region and a lot of posts start out “hey ladies.” There are entire websites dedicated to “momtographers.” I would say for every 10 female professions photographers there’s one male or less.
That disparity evens out a bit when you’re talking about decently high-end photographers, but I’d still say we’re in the minority. Yet every time I log in they ask me which of those groups I belong to, and there is no “none” option. Every time someone uses those search filters it means I’m effectively paying more than everyone else for the same amount of advertising, just because I’m a white man.
It’s gross.
- jjeaff 6y agoI get your meaning since it does seem to be a profession already dominated by women. But judging by some wedding photos I've seen, I can see why a bride might actually feel more comfortable with a female photographer. Considering sometimes, brides want photos in the dressing room of the bridal party getting ready. But I also don't see any problem adding a tag for male photographers.
- legolas2412 6y agoI thought discrimination based on sex and gender is illegal. You are now condoning an illegal practice?
- AuryGlenz 6y agoSure, some people could have a preference. People rarely hire me do portraits of their children, and I straight up don’t do newborns as there are plenty of women that basically specialize in it. But that’s just the point. People can hide men with their search parameters, but not women. Some people might actually prefer a man to shoot their wedding. Like you said, adding the ability to mark search for male owned businesses would make it all completely ok, in my opinion. As an aside I’m often in the room when the bride is getting dressed, and of course it’s completely up to them. It’s just like any other profession that might see people naked - you handle it professionally, and you’re too busy doing your job to “enjoy” it. I’ve also done boudoir but don’t actively advertise it as that’s an uphill battle, but there are great male boudoir photographers. The bridesmaids themselves (almost) always dress in private whether the photographer is a guy or girl.
- notananthem 6y agoAwww poor baby :(
- local_dev 6y agoIs this comment really necessary? Are you unable to empathize with someone because of their skin color and sex?