The Story of Photographers Who Have More 'Words' Than 'Shutter Releases' — Why People Who Don't Shoot Appear to 'Know Everything'

When looking across the camera community on social media, one occasionally encounters accounts that harbor a strange gap.
In the equipment section of their profiles, the latest high-end flagship cameras that everyone envies, or super-telephoto lenses with prices that would make an average person flinch, are lined up.

Their titles are filled with words that sound like they are actively involved, such as 'Camera YouTuber' or 'XX-style Influencer'.
However, no matter how far back you scroll through their timelines, the photos or videos they have actually taken are surprisingly absent.

Instead, what overflows are abstract poems about 'the depth of life realized with age' and 'condescending' lectures on manners and knowledge for beginners.

Why is it that they, who have clearly clicked the shutter less than an 'average person taking daily photos with a smartphone,' can continue to speak in a tone that suggests they 'know everything'?

I would like to unravel the distorted psychological structure behind this 'number of words' that increases in inverse proportion to the number of shutter releases.

Escaping the 'cost of shooting' and drowning in the cheapness of the 'cost of talking'

Truly chasing moving subjects like wild birds or vehicles, or consistently producing and posting videos, requires an enormous amount of time and gritty effort (cost).

You wake up early, carry heavy equipment to the field, and wait for a photo opportunity while bearing the risk of coming home empty-handed. Or you sit in front of a computer for hours, struggling with meticulous video editing work. The type of photographer with many 'words' has often long since drifted away from this most difficult 'practical work in the field.' However, they do not want to be taken down from the 'special seat in the camera community' at any cost. So, the method they choose is to skillfully rearrange knowledge obtained from the internet or guidebooks to create summary articles with a condescending attitude, saying 'it's obvious to know this much,' or to talk about lofty spiritual theories. Because they can perform 'expert vibes' most easily without risk without ever leaving their room, in their world, only 'theories (number of words)' multiply at an abnormal speed instead of 'works (number of shutter releases).'

A 'defensive wall of sophistry' to justify their own inaction

Another characteristic of theirs is that they set up truly impressive 'preventive measures' against not shooting or not releasing videos. 'I don't have enough private time, and there's no need to force myself to shoot at the expense of my work-life balance.' 'For me, the camera is a sanctuary that I can only face when I am completely mentally satisfied and have peace of mind.' At first glance, they appear to have a very deep commitment and a high-class mental stance. However, this is merely a defensive wall of sophistry to avoid looking directly at the 'self that is not taking action.' They are in a state of desperately arming themselves with words to continue wearing the mask of an 'expert who just happened to upload a few videos in the past' while remaining inexperienced and without any significant achievements.

The 'drug of position' that accelerates the distortion

Why do they cling to a title without substance to this extent? It is because they have come to know the unique comfort that the label of 'opinion leader with a say' or 'XX-style YouTuber' holds in social media communities. Even if they skip the gritty effort of working with their own hands to create works, the success experience of being looked up to by people around them as 'impressive' or 'deep' just by posing with shiny high-end equipment and acting like they 'know it all.' The obsession with not wanting to lose that special place (position) and wanting to continue being pampered binds them to social media as 'talkers' rather than 'players.'

The cold reality after the plating peels off

However, no matter how many words they use to pretend they 'know everything,' poems and lectures without substance will eventually fail to resonate with anyone's heart. Even if they line up grand life lessons or equipment theories, the reality that they are completely spinning their wheels—where only a few 'likes' are attached to the impressions (number of views) of their timeline—is coldly reflected in the numbers on social media. The figure of someone who cannot forget their former glory, muttering excuses like 'I haven't been getting many views on my timeline lately' night after night while staring at a screen with no reaction from anyone, is not an influencer, but the sorrow of someone lost in their own desire for approval.

We record 'light,' not 'words'

A camera is not a machine for spinning 'words.' It is a machine for recording the 'light' or the 'life of the subject' that exists in that place by clicking the shutter. No matter how eloquent you are, and no matter how many expensive flagship cameras are sleeping in your dry cabinet, a single clumsy but passionate shot by a beginner who is covered in mud and clicking the shutter in the field is far more valuable. There is no need to be bothered by the 'number of words' lined up by social media opinion leaders. We should just lightly brush off their sophistry and quietly continue to increase the 'number of shutter releases' toward the subjects we love.