What would you have wanted to know when you started?

[amolitor]

I'm just joshin ya, imagemaker. Perhaps not very *kindly* but it's meant in good humor.

There is no denying you are in a tough situation. Yeah, you got to change and adapt. The part of the story that gets left out is that it might not help. You might change and adapt a whole bunch, and it ain't enough, you still get spat out the back of the pack and wind up washing dishes someplace for minimum wage. The world is changing, and while it's exciting and fun for dilettantes like me, it sucks and can be pretty horrible for professionals.

My standard refrain here goes like this:

In this new world, people are not going to be willing to pay (much) for photographs. They're simply not valued, by anyone, as highly as they were. What they *will* pay for is:

- unique objects
- unique experiences

If I were a professional photographer, the directions I would be adapting and changing toward are to provide those two things. Ambrotypes and tintypes are examples of unique objects. What about a large, manipulated, gum bichromate print from a digital negative which is guaranteed to be destroyed completely afterwards (or not)?

Unique photo-themed experiences already exist: photobooth, trash-the-dress. Can you invent more?

Partner with a spa to do a manicure, pedicure, makeup and boudoir shoot. An afternoon of the sexy.
Partner with a high performance driving school to create a weekend experience at the track, complete with a 16x24 print and a calendar of You.

 

[rexbobcat]

I would have liked to have known that photography was going to become a world where mediocre images were considered great, where people with no skill could take pictures without understanding anything about photography. It would have saved me 40 years of learning a skill that is slowly being taken over by amateurs with phones.

People with no skill have always taken pictures without knowing anything about photography?

How is photography being "taken over" and how does one person or a hundred thousand people with no talent impact your own skill?

Just baffles me that photographers are so offended by the idea that somebody besides them take pictures?

EDIT: I guess I think of it in terms of my own craft... people that shoot. There are millions of gun owners who pride themselves on their ability on a regular basis.. the vast majority of which can't shoot at a professional level... it doesn't have any effect on my skill sets so it's never bothered me.

Likewise in Photography ... the industry has produced point and shoot cameras for a long time that required no skill on behalf of the photographer. That doesn't impact the people who do have skills ... it just means lots of people at various skill levels have cameras.

He's not referring to the momma Jenny down the street taking pictures of little Susie on a P&S and getting the photos printed at Walgreen's for the scrapbook.

He's referring to oblivious John who got a DSLR for Christmas and decided that he's qualified to photograph others and bill himself as an "amateur professional" because he thinks his camera takes really professional-looking photos where the background is really blurry and stuff.

I don't care about people taking pictures. What I do care about is the ignorant delusions that people seem to acquire about how good their photos really are.

 

[imagemaker46]

I have made changes to how I approach photography. Based on the fact that I have been shooting professional football in Canada since 1969 and my Dad from 1959 I decided to start scanning all the original negatives as 90% were never used or seen by anyone, creating an archive that never existed before and now generates income from sales. It is time consuming, I have been doing this for 3 years and have just started on the second wave of negs which will be close 5000. I have created a money making business from sales that also drives people to my web site. There are already close to 7300 photos online. This is a change that I made to fill in gaps when I'm not shooting.

I have 20 straight days of shooting starting next Wednesday, with swimming 5 days, a professional football game on Thursday night, home on Monday for 1 day and then back on the road for the Canada Games which has 20 different sports for me to shoot in 2 weeks, or 3-4 different sports per day. The downside to it all, I had heart surgery last Thursday, a heart attack in May, I get to test how well the doctors fixed me. Thing is, that I could have told my clients to use someone else, but do I risk losing the clients for future shoots? In the past it would not have been a problem, but as times change I can't allow someone else with a camera to fill in for me, not that I am concerned they would be better or do a better job, but just the opposite, having my clients stuck with someone who "thinks" they can do the job.

No work, no pay, that's how it really works as a freelancer, and everyone with a camera has the potential to be a minor threat these days.

 

[odinibo]

I had the same book, and I will recommand this book as well.

 

[Overread]

That the common advice to keep your ISO as low as possible is really only applicable to a very select range of photography areas (and most often landscape) and that instead you really need to learn to free up and use higher ISOs to get the shot (esp for action based photography).

In other words learn not to be afraid of high ISOs

 

[ShooterJ]

Sure, I get that the reference was to those who have a nice camera and believe they're pros. To me, it still doesn't matter. There are plenty of really good photographers in business regardless of the fact that there are self proclaimed pros out there charging people.

If you're good, and you know how to market that (show people the how and why behind your skill) then who cares how many Oblivious Johns there are with a DSLR they got for Christmas.

Again to reference skill vs. equipment as I did previously .. if you gave oblivious John the latest high tech rifle with all the bells and whistles, I'd still be able to demonstrate more knowledge and skill with ANY rifle I picked up.

Likewise, you're likely a better photographer than he is with ANY camera simply because you have the knowledge to use it properly.

I never worry about amateurs taking over things I'm very good at because I know if we stand side by side to demonstrate what we can do, how and why... I'm going to send Oblivious John home rather embarrassed.

A lot of you on here would crush me if we approached the same client looking for work, because you've got the portfolio and experience.. and you can explain to a client why you do what you do.