By John Lekan, CameraBoss
John Lekan is the visual artist and photographer behind CameraBoss. His personal practice explores identity, spirituality and human connection. This reflection also appears on John Lekan's artist website.
The singular idea that we are all humans helped me answer the question of why a photographer needs to be treated as a human, and as a fellow human, when shooting a wedding.
This also raises so many questions for both the person hiring and the person being hired. The first question you want to ask is: should the client provide for, cater for and shelter the vendor? And should the vendor show leniency when it comes to time, the relationship between both parties and how to manage both?
In managing that relationship, we need to take note of a few things.
Number one, we need to realise that we are all humans before we are businesspeople. And while we are looking at that, we should also heavily invest in the Bible. This points us towards putting our humanity first. Otherwise, we are simply behaving like artificial intelligence.
Understand that we have natural intelligence, which is three-legged. We have body, soul and spirit. Our soul, which can also be termed our mind, is the middle ground between our natural intelligence and our spiritual intelligence.
And at both ends of these forms of intelligence, we must remain faithful to one law that bridges the gap between spiritual and physical intelligence, which is love.
The essence of the Christian faith is love. "Love your neighbour as yourself." This encompasses all the laws.
But artificial intelligence does not have the capacity to love. That is why it is artificial. It is man-made, void of love and void of emotions. It is based extensively on principles, laws and contracts.
Now, when you look at this intrinsically, it would be a shame if humans started relating to one another like robots, sticking exclusively to the dictates of the law and trying to dot every "i" and cross every "t" at every junction in our interactions with one another.
That is why it is important that every client sees the creative they have hired as a human being first, before seeing them as a tool.
You can agree with me that, if it is artificial intelligence, you do not need to feed it. You can talk to it anyhow, and it will still, based on its principles, give you what it is supposed to give you.
But even you, as the client, can find yourself working in an environment, perhaps your own workplace, that becomes hostile because of some emotional parameters you have put in place for yourself. For instance, the way someone speaks to you.
You cannot report it to HR because it is not a direct violation of your human rights. But it undermines your human emotions, and you feel bad about it.
Then consider someone you are paying for a particular service, just as you are paid for your own job. If the way people treat you at work matters to you, the way you treat the person working for you should matter as well.
So this brings me to the conclusion that we humans need to understand, first of all, that every person we hire is a human, and we need to treat them as such.
That means they have emotions. They have a mind, and they think. They have blood. You cannot simply give them instructions and expect them to run with them exactly as you would, or exactly as you want them to, without considering the person receiving those instructions.
Now, on the vendor's part in relation to the client, this is where it becomes a little dicey, yet seemingly straightforward.
You give a client a time, say 2 pm to 4 pm. Then something beyond the client's control happens: they have an accident on the road, there is a road blockage, or they have a fever and cannot wake up early because of a health situation.
You cannot harshly say, "This is the time I gave you, and that is the time. You should have been here."
It is advisable, based on the contract, to state that the client should be there at the agreed time. That protects your bottom line and helps prevent people from abusing the arrangement.
However, it is also very important that you put buffers in place because you understand that these people are humans. There should be room to consider what has happened and how the situation can be managed.
Even a plane can be delayed. That is an aeroplane, and it can be delayed. Elections are postponed. Programmes are shifted because of the human factor.
What I am saying today is that, in the pursuit of perfection and contractual agreements, we should never, ever forget that we are humans.
So, clients, take care of your creatives. And creatives, create time and take care of your clients.
Related reading: What to include in your wedding photography timeline.
