Are the days of the niche photographer ending?

[minicoop1985]

In the past few years, it seems that high school senior business has been slowing to a halt with all the MWAC/DWAC types and kids just not getting portraits. Is this the way it is around the country? It seems that the only way for a good portrait artist to survive these days is to diversify and tackle new territory to continue to do the portrait work they most enjoy doing. What do you guys think about this?

 

[bribrius]

i agree to a extent. With the improvement in the entry level cameras and more consumer accessibility that is obviously a factor (for instance i do my own childrens portraits now). Plus with the sheer amount of photographs people take of their children now they may have trouble justifying the added expense when they already have a kazillion snapshots.

That said though, i know a portrait photographer that stays fairly busy (granted the business had its dead times) but caters mostly to the upper middle class. Who seem still willing to pay.

 

[sscarmack]

Do you hire someone to mow your grass?

How about paint your walls in your home?

If a pipe leaks, do you call someone?

I don't know about you, but I try and do everything myself.

Give a man a fish.....

 

[vintagesnaps]

People are taking a kazillion or maybe a trillion bazillion photos (which is more? lol). However for one thing they don't seem to be actually getting them off their phones much so might discover they don't actually have photos of their kids and might go back to getting portraits done.

There do seem to be a lot of people with cameras listing themselves on facebook and craigslist etc. as photographers but from what some people say they do I'm not sure how long they'll last. Seems like they're often so underpriced I wonder if/when they'll get tired of doing the work for not much money. Especially once they start running into unhappy customers, people wanting their money back, putting down deposits and not ever paying the rest, etc. etc.

There was someone on here once just starting out who set up a shoot for free and it seemed to go well but then she couldn't get ahold of the person (who she was only able to contact thru FB who unfriended her and trashed her and it snowballed...). I felt bad for her because she actually seemed to be on the right track with what she was doing, where many people don't seem to even have any sort of a business plan.

I have noticed on another site that lately it's a lot of people doing photos for money and I swear they don't have a clue what they're doing, I just shake my head sometimes; I suppose they might do OK if people want cheap and don't care if it's that good. Or some people might decide they want decent photos and are willing to go find a decent photographer and pay a reasonable price.

Seems like people here still are getting senior portraits done, and parents take photos of getting ready for prom, which is how it's always been. Now more people I guess are doing their own thing but for a senior portrait I don't know how many people could do that themselves.

 

[Vtec44]

I only shoot weddings and engagements

 

[KmH]

For a variety of reasons, both retail and commercial photography are dying as ways to make a living.
Start re-training now.

 

[vintagesnaps]

In media too. I was going to major in journalism, good thing I didn't. In my area radio got hid hard too, know three guys who lost jobs and only one is working in media/PR now.

 

[chuasam]

Specialise or perish. Get good at your field and be the best possible. That being said, build a network of other professionals in your league that you can work with.
I specialise in acting and model headshots as well as corporate headshots. If a client wants a product shot or life or real estate, I bring in a friend to do that shoot and pay that friend. It works both ways.

 

[DevC]

In 10 years, i suspect professional photography to be dead.

More people are getting access to more advanced technology. Training is becoming cheaper/ free. It's so easy to pick up a camera and learn, the hobbyist photographer is better than the pro in some cases. What you really get out of a pro is liability to deliver an astounding product. If the proper product isn't delivered there is a throat to choke...

 

[webestang64]

I hear this stuff all the time from the pro's that come to my shop/lab work place........Moms with Canon 5-D's are taking over.

 

[sscarmack]

I hear this stuff all the time from the pro's that come to my shop/lab work place........Moms with Canon 5-D's are taking over.

I hear it all the time too.

But what I mostly hear is " Why don't my photos look like yours?" From the moms.

I simply chuckle, smile, and nicely say, my flash cost more than your whole camera.

The usually get a chuckle out of it, and then I go on to explain to them what the person at Best Buy or Walmart did not, how entry level cameras can't handle high iso and a stock lens won't be fast enough to stop the action, etc.


So in a way, no. There will always be a need for professional photographers, or even serious hobbyist.

 

[dennybeall]

Honestly ask yourself how many times in recent social interactions did someone show you a printed picture (an actual photograph) and how many times did they whip out the ole iPhone and hold it sideways for you to see the most recent pic of little Bobby boo and his puppy?
The only professional photographers that will be around in a few years will be those that do find a niche. It may be 360 degree panos or drone shots or Business Portraits or something we don't even know about now but it will be a small niche.

 

[JoeW]

I think the OP is confusing two questions:

1. Life as a professional photographer is getting significantly harder. The barriers to entry are almost nonexistent, you can get a camera good enough to produce decent shots for a range of themes without breaking the bank, and the public doesn't expect a photographer to have great skills....it's all about the camera...or photoshop. So more and more people are trying to be photographers (usually doing it on the side besides their day gig) and that is driving out the full-time pros who try to make a living on it. Sure, some still exist but it's a lot harder to make a living.

2. I would argue that niche photographers who specialize in a particular theme or genre are actually growing. Before, you'd see a photographer with his/her shingle out. They'd shoot weddings, portraits, kids' sports, buildings, maybe some commercial work for products or local fliers or the local fashion show. Now, you're more likely to see specialists. People who ONLY shoot weddings (or that is 95% of their business). Or ONLY shoot fashion. Or ONLY shoot nature and landscapes. Or ONLY do interiors and architecture. Part of it is that they network and infiltrate key and influential sources in their field (like an interiors photographer will be active with local real estates or be an associate member of ASID or AIA). Part of it is that this niche gives them some degree of safety by allowing them to focus their marketing, leverage their contacts, and be perceived as the expert in that field.

 

[fjrabon]

The high school senior market isn't drying up, it's being taken over by large companies that are adept at negotiating exclusive contracts with large schools. The small schools are doing the MWAC thing. I used to work for a studio that did 36 million dollars a year in just senior portraits and yearbook photos. But this isn't something a one (or even 5) person operation could pull off. It was a well organized COMPANY that owned multiple vans, 5 studios, a state of the art PoS system, several million dollars worth of photography gear, had connections with jostens and every high school yearbook lady in 5 states.

 

[bribrius]

For a variety of reasons, both retail and commercial photography are dying as ways to make a living.
Start re-training now.

I still think you can make good money in photography, if you put your mind to it and the skills are there separating you from mwac or dwac. The quality level is still significantly different between a pro and a amateur. Selling that difference is up to the individual photographer and their ability. The immense amount of knowledge needed to turn out original pro style photos just wont be had with mwac or dwac with a couple tutorials. It seems however this thread turned very negative toward "photography is dead". What we may be seeing, is a LARGE portion of people in photography that never were before. So we will have a LARGE portion that can't make money on it. That doesn't necessarily mean the real photographers with skills and business sense can't make a living on it.
Admitted though, i dont try to. I guess i just have faith there is enough true photographers out there that really know their job who are still living off this. With photos far above the quality levels of dwac and mwac. I have no doubt the rampant spread of photography has hurt the business. I suppose i just find it difficult to dismiss someone with years of experience and knowledge not being able to find a venue to sell those much hard achieved skills. To say it is dead, means you are saying all those years and knowledge of top photographers aren't of any value. I am not quite ready to support that position i suppose. The other 90 percent however, well yeah, probably aren't making much money on it and will probably wash out.