It started with a meme.

In June 2019, @memesfortogs was born — a simple Instagram account built around the things photographers say, think, and do when they're by themselves. The response was immediate. Turns out, the photography community had been waiting for someone to say the quiet part loud.

But memes are small. The stories behind them were bigger.

A few months in, the founder, Lemuel, started writing. Not captions — articles. Full pieces with headlines, ledes, and the kind of authoritative tone that only someone with absolutely no business being authoritative could pull off. Because that was the point.

The inspiration was simple: the absurdity of being a new photographer. The unearned confidence. The gear obsession mistaken for talent. The client work that made no sense but somehow got delivered with a straight face. The backstories hiding behind every meme — equal parts ridiculous, relatable, and real.

The Tog Times was the natural home for all of it.

What we do here.

The Tog Times covers the professional photography world with the seriousness it deserves — which is to say, not very much, but with tremendous commitment to the bit.

We publish satire. Fabricated news. Made-up quotes from fictional photographers who nonetheless sound exactly like someone you know. We write about gear nobody needs, clients nobody wanted, and techniques that are questionable.

We do this because the photography industry — bless its histogram-obsessed heart — takes itself very seriously. Someone has to balance that out.

That someone is us. You're welcome.

What The Tog Times is not.

• —Not a news organization. Any resemblance to actual journalism is purely stylistic.
• —Not affiliated with any camera manufacturer, photo editing software company, gear retailer, or photography school — though we remain open to being sponsored by all of the above, cause we like money - somehow I wonder why photography then?.
• —Not endorsing any specific camera brand, shooting style, or color grading preset. We judge all of them equally, especially its color science and soft focus. (You know who.)
• —Not responsible for any gear purchases made after reading our content. We did warn you. It's in the footer.
• —Not anti-photographer. We are photographers.

The family tree.

The Tog Times is a sibling publication to @memesfortogs — the Instagram account that started it all. Same founder. Same energy. Just more words.

If the memes are the headlines, The Tog Times is the story behind them.

Both are made by one person, in New York, who has strong opinions about your lack of articial light skills and is not afraid to publish them.