Magnum recently posted a lengthy list of responses to the question “what advice would you give young photographers?”

The list is full of great photographers with a variety of interesting thoughts on how to make better images; a recurring train of thought appears to be improve yourself to improve your eye.

While I’ve seen a lot of photography sites pick up on Magnum’s article, it hasn’t been met with universal love. We Can’t Pain Blog: On Advice and Context:

While I understand that the “advice” question, when posed to a large group of artists or not, is about as helpful as the “equipment” question, I couldn’t help but think that every photographer on the list was responding without context.

… While all of this, my argument that is, may seem a bit obvious or even bitter, I’m simply pointing out that advice is not universal and the worst possible guidance is always devoid of a context.

As I said in a comment I left, “I actually liked some of the responses: not for the advice itself, but for the point of views, for a view into their inherent biases. Biases are fine if we understand what’s behind them.”

Why is understanding context and biases important? Unstructured Thoughts: Don’t Listen to Me:

Encased in anyone’s story, lesson or example of success and failure is the bias created by their own experiences: what they noticed and learned, the choices they made, the insights they gleaned and the conclusions they drew.

But that’s just a part of the story.

And, Content is cheap, context is expensive: Is it any surprise which one we lack?

We lack easy access to the underlying theories to understand and filter what we experience and see. We lack context.

Information and interaction is cheap, but context is expensive.

What kind of context do photographers need? How about a better understanding of the changing dynamics in the photography industry or how to take advantage of industry trends and create new business models?

For that kind of knowledge, start here to dive into the articles I’ve written about the changing photography industry.

What advice would you give to someone in your field? How can you help them understand their situation and their decisions?

What help could you give to an entrepreneur? What advice would you give a a blogger? How could you help an aspiring travel writer? What knowledge and context could you give to a do-it-yourself musician? How could you help someone decide between different lives?

We all have the opportunity to help every day. We all have experiences, knowledge and a voice: use it.

I know I could use the help.

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An aside, how would I have responded to Magnum’s question?

“Be here now.” If you can’t live in the moment, you won’t be able to see, you won’t be able to feel, and you won’t be able to create. Photography is a personal experience in a public environment: if you stay in your bubble you’ll never see or feel enough to create.

And it you want to make money in photography, learn how to sell things to photographers.

But that’s just me.