Before I get into this, just let me state that this is NOT an original topic nor something that I just became aware of...

So, I have a fashion shoot coming (first shoot in over a year!) in a few weeks in Seattle and thought it might be great to find an assistant for the shoot.  So, I go browse the photographers in the area specifically looking for female photographers.  I like the energy of having more women on a set and find the odds of getting a creepy comment for a photographer I just met towards or around a model far less when it's not a man (we all know "that guy").  Anyways, that is neither here nor there and not really part of the discussion.  What is, it that I found that barely 6% of the photographers who list their area as Seattle are women.  I don't know if that is the same as other cities, but I suspect the numbers to be similar.  We all know that the behind the lens side of things tends to be dominated by men (sales numbers of cameras back that up).  So my question to my fellow male photographers out there, is this something you ever think about?  It is a "is what it is" thing, or something we should actively be trying to change.  For those that feel we should be doing more, what do you do foster more women in the industry or what do you think should be done?  For the few women who may read this and chime in, aside from the obvious of don't be a creepy a-hole, what can guys do to help?  Or what are we doing that is making it less enjoyable for you to be a photographer?

I have worked with a couple of amateur female photographers, but I agree they are few and far between. I think you will find that there are more women professional photographers.

Shortly after I became a member in 2005, I organized a Meet and Greet at my home for local Photographers and Models. !5 photographers came,4 were female, and one model showed up. I'm still friends with those people, and they are all still working except the model.

In the last 5 years, many of the Models I have been shooting with for years have acquired Cameras and are shooting. Some shoot landscapes and Architecture, some do trade shoots with other models, some do self shooting for sites like OF, and some are Pros and work for hire.

I try to encourage and give advice when asked to any one interested in photography, Male or Female. I've lent gear, given gear that I no longer utilize and held lights and reflectors for other photographers.

If someone is interested in shooting, I'll help where I can but I don't see a need to encourage any particular subset of Humans to start shooting.

When I was taking photography classes almost all of the fellow students if not sometimes all but me were women. Most of the instructors were women.

3 of the 4 interns I have had were women.

Half of all photographers I have worked for worked for as an assistant or second photographer were women.

Women are taking over the boudoir market here locally and why not. Makes sense to me.

All of that said I still recognize it it a male dominant profession but I believe the tide is changing. 

I also recognize it is far more often the female togs who suddenly disappear from the profession usually due to family or financial demands.

According to MM in the last year 63 female and 561 male photographers have login where I'm at.   Outside of MM I've encounter a different number or at least I try to encounter a different number.  I oversee a Group on Facebook and screen all members.   When you exclude photographers with a creepy vibe or a creepy portfolio you'll find the ratio of female to male photographers will improve.  I suspect there's even more female photographers but my guess is that they are avoiding the socializing part of social media.

I'm not responding from my photography account here, but from my modeling one.

I'd say there are quite a few female photographers, but the vast majority of them are not on MM. The only reason I got an account here as a photographer (which I might delete) is to find potential maternity models when I was first setting up my maternity and baby photography business. The maternity, boudoir, baby, family, engagement/wedding industries are, from what I can tell, mostly women at this point. Especially for babies, I almost never see a male photographer - and it's likely because most women aren't going to hire a male photographer to come to their home and photograph their children.

But on MM, it's going to be skewed the opposite direction for a lot of normal reasons. I'd say the bulk of the platform is not really geared toward traditional fashion. Most of the photographer profiles I see are art nude, glamour, and fetish/erotic with probably 90%+ (or more) of the images being of women between the ages of 18-35 years old. For photography focused on pretty young women, especially the more sexual the images, it's going to primarily be men behind the lens. I photographed nude models for years, and still do occasionally. But it's not what I usually like to do. There needs to be a very specific context (beautiful location + model who meets specific standards + a reason for the shoot), and even then I'll probably bring some wardrobe.

I also don't know how much bearing the sales of cameras show this difference necessarily. For example, my boyfriend has purchased numerous cameras in the past year (his photography job is much more demanding than mine so it makes sense) - trying out new equipment, not liking something, some camera has a new feature, etc. I've purchased exactly two digital cameras in the last 5 years because I don't care about my gear. I find this to be a pretty typical difference between male and female photographers - the men are WAY more likely to be gear-heads or to be purchasing new equipment.

When I took my photography classes, we started with 2 male attendants, versus 8 females. I was the only guy that finally graduated, along with the 8 women. None of the women went on as a pro photographer, which struck me as odd, for it took us 5 years to complete that education..