Today we had the second episode of the new series America's Next Top Fashion Photographer…er…Project Studio…er…The Shot.

Now, I don't have a problem with derivative reality programming. Sometimes, a show can replicate the structure of another show but still bring something interesting to the table. Case in point: Top Chef. Yes, it's just Project Runway with food, but the chefs, judges and subject matter are interesting.

But The Shot, so far, doesn't seem to be hitting that mark.

At first I thought that fashion photography made an ideal topic for a reality program. It's such an easy subject matter for the viewer to evaluate. But after seeing the second episode of the program, I think I might have overlooked a major, fundamental flaw in having a program about fashion photographers.

We have had highlighted for us Dean's aggressiveness, Piper's tendency to irritate those around her and Ivan's combination of lovable sunniness and passivity. Other than that, however, the other designers seem kind of…boring.

They're probably not boring as actual real live people, but as reality show contestants, there's not a lot of spark.

Is this a possible fatal flaw for a show like The Shot?

Think about it: photographers are the people behind the camera. Their skill is to manipulate, motivate, or cajole drama out of others.

When you think about the careers represented by similar shows, you can always think of some kind of flamboyant or famous face who represents that role. There are too many names to even begin listing them for models.  Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child, Mario Batali, all food world larger-than-life personalities. Even though fashion design might also seem to lend itself to being behind the scenes, almost anyone with a passing knowledge of fashion can name one or two designers whose personas are famous along with their fashion: Karl Lagerfield, Coco Chanel, Isaac Mizrahi, John Galliano.

I've probably read 70% of the American Vogues that have been published in the past decade, and while I could tell you the names of many of the most famous photographers, I haven't a clue what their personalities might be like. And come to think of it, despite my love of fashion photography, I don't recall ever actually being curious about them either, while I'll always stop to read a profile of a designer or model.

That said, I'll still probably continue to watch the show because I am still interested in the creative process and like to see how the individual photographers come up with their ideas. In tonight's episode, both Maria and Bree have great solutions to working with a tricky subject – a grumpy monkey – and seeing the results in their photographs was fun. But I wonder if it's not possible for The Shot to become a cultural phenomenon like some of the other fashion-related competition shows due to the very nature of what it takes to be a truly great fashion photographer.

What do you think? Are you watching The Shot? Do you think the series has potential or do you also wonder if the subject matter can make for compelling reality television?  Leave your thoughts in the comments below.


- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of VH1)