Photographers website "about me"

[ricktas]

Just some observations that I was wondering about, and would be interested to hear members views on.

I often come across photographers websites where the 'About Me' is done in the third person. "Mark has been a professional photographer since 1997, and he has won many industry awards in that time. Mark has always been business orientated and that comes across when you first meet him. He is a true professional on every level"

I find these 'third person' biographies really annoying, and wondered what others thought, and if you have one, why?

Next up, is a photograph. How come most do not have a self portrait, even a small one, on their 'about me' page? My view is that it is nice to see at least one photo of the photogapher.

Would be interested to see what other members think, regarding the above.

[kiwi]

No photo, I want to get business !!!

[I @ M]

Self written third person writing on web sites should be made a punishable offence under the laws of this land!!!!! ( Mongo excepted )

Self portraits????
Do you mean every photographer with a website should have a pic of themselves shot in the bathroom mirror with a P & S against a background of shampoo bottles and undies drying on the shower rail???? ---- Pass.

[Dan Cripps]

The word 'passion' should also be banned from photography bios. It's the most ubiquitous and over-used term out there. I would guess it (or a variation of) appears in 7/10 photographer bios.

[MarkChap]

Have you been looking at my page again Rick ??

Could it be that these websites are actually produced by a third party, given the details/ bio of the photographer and actually written by a third party with out thought for how it comes across in real life ??

[Art Vandelay]

I thought your bio page was like a competition for how long you've been using a camera.

Photography became my lifetime passion from 6 mths old when my grandfather first sat me on his knee and taught me to use his box brownie....

[farmer_rob]

If it is in the third person, then it should be "About Rob", not "About me". I don't care if it is in 3rd or 1st, just consistent.

Andrew - I'd hope that a photographer selling him/herself is able to manage a decent self-portrait. If you are trying to make a connection with people, then a picture of who you are helps.

Zeke - I'm off to remove passion from my smugmug page.

[CherylB]

Agree wholeheartedly! I personally think it comes across as very pretentious on a website for a single photographer. It only works when the website is about more than one photographer.

Could it be that these websites are actually produced by a third party, given the details/ bio of the photographer and actually written by a third party with out thought for how it comes across in real life ??

Mark - regardless of who actually creates the website, it should be in the first person. If a photographer commissions somebody else to produce their website, then the brief should be explicit in saying the "about" page is written in the first person. Website creators are creating a website for a client - not for themselves! If this information isn't provided by the client then the website creator should at least be asking.

[ameerat42]

Readers will soon tire of the whim(p).

I agree that Mongo is the 1st of the third persons!! (Maybe there's a place for 2nd.)

[Erin]

If ever I write anything about myself in the third person, I simply ham it up. I've never enjoyed that sort of "about me" page.

[JM Tran]

I wrote mine on facebook as a big spoof and in a humorous and politically wrong manner

[soulman]

If it is in the third person, then it should be "About Rob", not "About me".

Indeed.

Back in the days when what one saw in print tended to be produced by professionals, bios would be written by someone other than the subject. Now that nearly anyone can "publish" their work and far too many do, there are a lot of things written by people who know less than enough about spelling, grammar and other rules of writing. I think it's the same with photos. Most professional bios have a picture. It's good to be able to put a face to the person you're reading about.

[jim]

Jim agrees with Rick on this particular occasion. He believes that referring to oneself in the third person is characteristic of a certain pretentious quality, and betrays that the person might well be, as it were, something of a tosser.

[PerfectPicture]

Theres somebody on here that ALWAYS writes his or hers responses in the 3rd person, is this also annoying to you guys as well? just wondering, as l find it quite funny actually. But George is getting upset (from seinfeld)

[bb45pz]

I think people do it to depersonalise somewhat. Using 'I' all the time doesn't come across all that professional IMO, it's too close a connection to a viewer that you don't know personally.

I'm slightly guilty and use 'we' when really it's just me.

***flame away***

[bobt]

I have a club member who does that. If he wins something he writes to our magazine (or asks someone else to) with a report that appears to be from a third-party reporter - eg "Jack has recently been awarded such and such". I think he feels that it is a more prestigious report if it appears to be someone else writing it about him rather than just telling us about it himself.

He also has a website with the same approach. "Jack is a member of this and that and takes wonderful photos .... Jack can be contacted at...."

Personally, Bob thinks he's a ####er .....

[MegHenry]

Lol! You guys had me laughing at the end of all this And now I'm proud to say that I've never used 3rd person when writing about myself (which I really only do when I'm bored anyway). The 'About Me' section of things is usually left until the next time I get bored, so yeah lol. I've now got a list of things not to do for it in the future, thank you Haha

[ameerat42]

I have a club member who does that. If he wins something he writes to our magazine (or asks someone else to) with a report that appears to be from a third-party reporter - eg "Jack has recently been awarded such and such". I think he feels that it is a more prestigious report if it appears to be someone else writing it about him rather than just telling us about it himself.

He also has a website with the same approach. "Jack is a member of this and that and takes wonderful photos .... Jack can be contacted at...."

Personally, Bob thinks he's a ####er .....

Ha-ha, Bob. Tell him you're all getting namesake of it.....
Am.

[Xenedis]

I find these 'third person' biographies really annoying, and wondered what others thought, and if you have one, why?

i also find biographies written in the third-person to be annoying, probably because they sound like they were written by the subject in such a way to make it look as though someone else wrote them, and frankly, they're as convincing as a fake Rolex.

Next up, is a photograph. How come most do not have a self portrait, even a small one, on their 'about me' page? My view is that it is nice to see at least one photo of the photogapher.

I'm one of these people who specifically doesn't post images of self.

Who I am and how I appear is not important; what's important is the imagery I produce.

[Xenedis]

One other point I should mention is that, in this visual medium, a picture (ie, the merchandise, not the mugshot) is worth a thousand words.

Some (auto)bios sound like over-done sales spiels.

If the photographer has "been photographing weddings for 20 years, and always leaves his clients with an outstanding product they'll truly remember...", then surely the sample images on the site should convey that without the photographer verbally self-indulging.

Something further about images of the photographer on the bio page... Are they really necessary?

When you call a plumber to come and repair a broken pipe, do you need to see a smiling mug on the tradie's Web site, depicting the bloke smiling like a Cheshire cat while holding a wrench?

If I were engaging the services of a professional of any kind, I'd care far less about how (s)he appears than how well (s)he performs the job.