I’ve been doing some pretty intense reading and research in children’s portrait and photography in general for the past few weeks. And I came to the realization that the industry (at as far as U.S. is concerned) is almost exclusively dominated by woman (I have yet to come across a GOOD male children’s photographer portfolio site)! I guess no one should be surprised since women, generally and stereotypically speaking, are thought to have closer and more nurturing ties to children. On top of that, since most family photo decisions are made by the females in a family (and I am just assuming here), it’s natural that one would prefer to choose a photographer whom she deems would understand her and her child(ren) on a deeper level. Plus I also think children may warm up to women more quickly (well, until they find out what fun rides grown up males can be!).
I am not sure if this means I won’t get as many calls and referrals because I am a “guy”. This is the first time I feel that my being a “man” could actually hinder my survival in doing this specific type of photography and that it could be viewed as a disadvantage… (and I am saying this cynically and sarcastically with my own style of humor here).
In trying to come up with a name for a portfolio site, Grace and I brainstormed for a few days but failed to agree on a “gender neutral” name that would be catchy, memorable and be attractive to decision-making moms and, at the same time, showing the “gentler” side of me… Brian jokingly suggested “photosterone.com” to counter that, which made me giggle pretty hard.
In any case, I hope my style of photography and my creativity will be able to convince enough moms that I am actually not half bad! 😉 And maybe that’d put some of the men in families at ease when they find out the photographer is a guy! Hah!!