Photographers–Do you have a healthy ego, or are you just narcissistic?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Mark Wood, Emmy recording artist and inventor of the Viper electric guitar, plays with Chelle, my daughter, and her friend Maggie. They were able to have a performance with Mark Wood after being in a workshop with him during the week at Elkins Pointe Middle School in Roswell, GA.

Every artist has enough self-esteem to want to show their work, so a healthy amount of ego is good.

When you look at others’ work and think your work is at least that good–this is OK. This is good if you think you are even better than most. You need that drive to pursue this as a career.

Wanting to be on stage is a good thing.

There is a line you need not cross, and when you do, you have become narcissistic.

One of the places I see a lot of narcissistic behavior is with “missions” and “humanitarian photography.” Their pictures are more memory joggers for themselves; if they didn’t talk while showing you photos, you would have no idea what they did or why they are taking the photos. Often even with them talking, you may still be clueless.

Some clues that you have crossed the line into narcissism:

  • When asked why you are doing the photography, your motivation is about you having a good experience.
  • When your conversation is all about the gear, you are using. Gear centric is an indication of self-indulgence.
  • When evaluating a trip, you have that country stamped in your passport.
  • When you cannot tell the stories of the people, you just met on the trip.
  • When you cannot explain how your photos are helping further the work of the people in the pictures, you are about yourself.
  • You might be self-centered when taking people’s pictures and rarely have ever asked permission or care to request permission.
  • When you ask people to look at your pictures and look for kudos rather than wanting them to support the cause you photographed.
  • When you evaluate the photos based on how artistic they are versus on, do they communicate the message?
  • When you are pushing all the time to go with teams on trips rather than finding causes, you can help.
  • Have a mentor and ask how well you are doing.
Seth Gamba, the orchestra teacher at Elkins Pointe Middle School, is on the far left in the back helping his youngest students, while on the front row are his oldest students and his guest teacher/performer Mark Wood. Do you have enough belief in who you are working for that you would bring in someone else to be sure they attained their goals?

How to keep a healthy ego

  • You know your purpose for photographing on a trip.
  • You know the subject well.
  • You have taken the time to get to know the people you photograph.
  • You are asking permission to photograph people.
  • You always have your audience in mind when taking photos.
  • You have people calling you to be involved in their projects.
  • You are concerned that the photos you made are making a difference.
  • You are concerned about exploiting people and their situation for your gain.
  • Have a mentor and ask what you can do to improve.
  • You know when someone else would do a better job, and you step aside for now.
  • You know you need to improve and feel the burden to improve for your client’s sake.

Check out this multimedia package I did on the students learning from Mark Wood. I am proud of my daughter for singing and playing the viola with the orchestra.