Hi, I am Mareen, a then 23-year-old female photographer from Germany.

This tumblelog started with a question I raised in my personal tumblelog in 2007.
The idea is:

I would like to know why people feel the need to compare me to "real" photographers. Comparing not in the sense of style or something, but as a different demographic (like, 35+ and male).

Just want to save the answers and think about it.

I have had several encounters where clients treated me like a child or thought I was the know-it-all intern of Mareen Fischinger.

So far, everyone here is stating the problem. Need to find a solution. Because letting your work speak for itself only works when the people you are supposed to deal with know it. But then it works really well! :)

More email or repost responses welcome. I will post them here. myfirstname.fischinger @ google’s email service
October 5

Waiting for the real photographer

  • Me, female, 24: I am booked by your company to take photos of the interior of your store.
  • Woman: Well yea, but you really don't need to. You see we have no time for this yet?
  • Me: My plane is not leaving until later tomorrow, I can drop by when you think everything is ready.
  • Woman: Didn't you already take enough pictures?
  • Me: Not of the finished place, obviously. I came from the other side of the country for this. You can imagine this is not just some playing around for me, right?
  • Woman: We already have a photographer for the store.
  • Me: Booked by your company? Are you sure that is not me? Sounds like my job.
  • Woman: Someone will take photos of our opening party later tomorrow. He is also going to photograph the store.
  • Me: I think taking pictures of the party is something else than capturing just the architecture. I did all the coordination with the layouters in Hamburg, the people in Darmstadt and Bonn. They know I am taking these photographs.
  • Woman: But he will do it. He is a real photographer, you know, a real one. He will come later today.
  • Me, patiently waiting until this woman has finished her sentence: I find it funny whenever someone starts talking about real photographers. Does that mean he is male and over thirty? What else makes him real?
  • Woman: Oh, ha, you really don't need to feel bad about this. [smiles, pads me on the back.]
  • Conversation is interrupted by some event person, I walk off:
  • [Turns out, the »real photographer« was a photo guy with party photo equipment and didn't even want to do anything else]