Have you ever:

Asked a professional in their field and received a response that was longer than you expected, and much less simple than you thought reasonable?

There's probably a good reason for that.

If I were to ask a construction company for a proposal for a home on land I already owned I know full well that I'd have hundreds and thousands of questions to answer.  Why?  Because they're professionals who know that there are very particular points in their industry which require very specific information, they've also worked with more than one client and have accepted that the more information they get From the client, the better the result they can sell the client at the end of the day.

Well, is photography so complicated?  Why do photographers always give so long of an answer?

Some may give a short answer, that can be good or bad.  Perhaps the best response is a series of informed questions that only require short responses so that both parties can make the best of their day.

A photograph is a very complicated matter from the professional stand point.  A subject (whether it's an inanimate object or a animate object, a person or a pet) is a very dynamic image to capture and everything about that "snap" needs to be considered before the snap.  Why?  Because this allows the photographer to have the right environment for the subject.

Photographing a Ferrari in the war torn country of Somalia is about as brilliant an idea as photographing a couple's engagement photo's outside the county jail (assuming that they don't work there and that's a whole different ballgame called "environmental photography" which has nothing to do with weather or pollution but everything to do about the environment in which a person identifies themselves).

Perhaps the most important element in a photograph is light.  If there's not a good quality of light (for the intended concept in the image), a consistent light, a good color of light, a consistent color of light...then the photographer needs to already have responses to produce a consistent quality and color of light that enhances the desired image.

Environment may be the second most important element, as insinuated to two paragraphs ago.  Taking an image of something in a location that doesn't make sense for it to be in can be effective in some instances, on the other hand it can destroy the desired purpose by conflicting messages in the final product.

The first and second element as previously described determine the third element.  What gear will the photographer need to complete the shoot as desired?  I frequently pre-visualize a setting by actually photographing at the location in the situation I'll be shooting in before I am shooting the actual end-image simply because it allows me to have this third element nailed from the start.  As a photographer I need to know what extra light I need to bring with me, will that require me to bring power cords?  A generator or battery packs for my lights?  Do I need to bring a background to block something out, or to soften light?  Will I need an assistant to help with a reflector to balance the lighting on the subject(s) for the image?  What lens do I need to bring for primary?  Do I need a secondary camera, or three and four lenses ready to go?  Am I shooting a dozen images or three thousand images?

All of those "little" things have a fairly drastic effect on your end image.  I'll get more into nitty gritty concepts that evolve from this in later posts, but for now give the professionals a break.  Answer their questions pertaining to the ideal photo that you want captured and see if they don't just blow you away with the quality they provide you by knowing what you wanted and being able to mitigate how to make that happen for you.  :)

After all, I'm a professional.

While there are non-professionals out there trying to make an extra buck...if they're even a little decent they'll still ask you some of the above questions so that they can at least Try to deliver what they're being asked for.