Photographers.
They are generally not positive, life-affirming, goal-encouraging people. They mostly want to tell you how much they know, and what an idiot your are.
There is a lot of ego in the game, and that ego was largely bred in the fires of middle school.
Example: cheerful photographer decides to try a Nikkor DX lens on an FX camera. He likes what he gets, and then asks a pretty straightforward question:
“Why is this a DX designated lens when it works flawlessly on FX cameras, with even great corner sharpness?”
“Why? Mostly because of the noticeable light fall-off towards the edges and corners of the FX frame, as can been seen in your images.” You idiot.
“Golly, smart photographer on Reddit, you’re right!”
Something similar happened to me lots of years ago, and it was discouraging enough that I essentially stopped posting items, or commenting on them, on any shared web sites: I asked if the group knew of a good way to remove blue haze from an image shot from Muley Point in Utah. No one gave me an answer, but at least a couple of these stewards of photography fellowship made sure to tell me that my image was “horribly overexposed.”
Here’s the thing about that: I didn’t ask for your opinion of the photo or the exposure, and telling me you thought it was bad for some reason doesn’t help anyone.
Also, don’t bother telling these guys what they are getting wrong. They are all about being right no matter how wrong they are. Follow this link (here) to read a piece of photographic truth that no one will admit is right.
Don’t get me wrong. Photograph isn’t the end of it. It extends deep into many male-dominated activities. Amateur radio is full of know-it-alls who are happy to tell you how little you know about antennas, or how the thing you want to do is stupid and impossible. It extends to cars and airplanes and power tools and stereo systems and sports.
Sorry for the rant – I should know better than to keep reading threads like that.
Stop reading those idiots! 99.9 percent of the “professional photographers” I have known were jerks who jealously guarded their “talent” and “skill” and ridiculed the work of not only other photographers but writers and designers (and also thought editors were pretty stupid). I once had to manage two photographers who were equally jealous of each other and made it well known that one was not to receive praise over the other. Rare is the photographer willing to A) talk about what he/she knows or does, much less B) teach it to others.
The urge to be considered the “smartest guy in the room” is a common competitive phenomenon in all sorts of professional venues. I’ve experienced this in IT and it’s common in academia as well. I find it boorish, but there it is.
Is this geared to men ? Asking for all the female photogs out there