by Gavin Seim: Help a friend this season. Camera abuse will effect over 950 million people (probably a lot more) this year alone. It most commonly occurs when a person buys a camera, makes business cards, a website, and decides they should start pressing random buttons, as they pretend they suddenly understand a skill that takes years to master.

We understand, as cameras are really cool. But aside from the suffering the camera must endure. Children, individuals, couples and families, will be subjected to poor lighting, posing, composition, false confidence, bad retouching, and often outright lies, as an abuser pretends to know what he or she is doing. While the abuser may trip over a few good photos. Tears will flow in the end.

Stop Camera Abuse. Help the victims and help the abusers. It’s cool that they love their cameras. Just help them learn to fly before they jump out of the airplane. Send a friend educational books, to real workshops, or to long hours of practice, before unleashing them on the masses. Take the batteries out and even burn the business cards, if it’s bad enough.

Art is subjective. Experience is less so. It’s time to be honest. Friends don’t let friends camera abuse. Spread the word and start change now. History will thank you. And your friends will too.

This message brought to you by Gavin Seim and Pro Photo Show. Note: Please be careful when burning business cards. Fire is also awesome, but can be dangerous. Check local laws.