The current photographic community has two basic philosophies that are best personified by a couple of pop culture character heroes: “Batman” and “MacGyver”. Neither approach is inherently better but do carry with them their own sets of pros and cons. Please keep in mind that these characters simply represent the ideal polar extremes of a spectrum; most photographers will likely relate at a bit to both but more so to one than the other. It really doesn’t matter which hero you “like” more or if you like either one at all, they both have something to teach us about what it means to be a photographer.
Think about both characters for just a moment. Batman would make an awesome photographer. Batman wears all black, has an awesome computer with equally awesome screens, has a great understanding of gobos (bat signal), and has a high-tech fancy gadget for everything. MacGyver would make an equally great photographer even though he’s the complete opposite of that. MacGyver always gets the job done by improvising and working with his surroundings; it isn’t always “pretty and neat” but so long as he has his trusty pocket knife (sub a camera in our case) he got spectacular results.
For no particular reason let’s look at Batman first. He exemplifies the big city studio photographer. He has a number of “high profile clients” (Joker, Poison Ivy, etc.) that keep him very busy but will take on the random low level job here and there (bank robbers, street thugs, etc.). What he lacks in people skills he more than makes up for in his superior technical skills and finely honed abilities. Robin and Alfred are his main assistants but gets help from others only when absolutely necessary; you know, for the big projects. Batman has, what would seem anyhow, unlimited resources, so when he doesn’t have the right tool for the job he either buys the right tool or manufactures it; tools that become part of his arsenal of cool gizmos.
MacGyver, on the other hand, embodies the old ideal of the lone photojournalist or National Geographic photographer. Traveling the world, meeting new peoples, visiting interesting and exotic locations this is what every photojournalist dreams of. He is a total people person; every one of his clients and assignments are friends or become friends. Mac’s “editor”, Pete, is really the only person he works with regularly. MacGyver’s knowledge and life experience are his greatest asset and, other than his Swiss Army Knife (sub a camera for our purposes), the only tool he routinely used. Being the notorious DIYer (Do-It-Yourselfer) that he was, no matter the assignment he could rig something up that usually only worked once or for a short time but achieved the needed effect. Mac traveled light and almost always had no idea what he was getting himself into. One last thing to note is his dislike of guns (strobes for our purposes) and how the only time he used them was when he had absolutely no other choice and almost never in the way they were “intended”.
The truth is that neither ideological extreme would make successful photographers. A healthy balance between the two is where all of us should find ourselves. If you find yourself relating very closely to either one of them it would be of great service to you to attempt trying on the “other shoes” and learning from it. Both characters are, at their core, problem solvers. They excel because they are able to overcome tremendous obstacles and reach their objectives in creative ways. What separates a good photographer from a great photographer is likely just that; the ability, especially under heavy pressure, to problem solve. These two characters simply differ in how they approach their tasks.
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Andrew Wagle is a commercial account manager at C.R.I.S. If you need to fix a camera his company is the place to go for expert camera repair. Because Andrew is a freelance photographer with a passion for environmental portraiture his education, hardware knowledge and digital imaging expertise is a major contributor to the company’s long standing BBB A+ rating. Andrew is also the social media coordinator and moderator of the company’s camera repair blog; focused on care, maintenance and repair tips for digital cameras and imaging equipment.
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