The photography universe is facing a number of threats on a scale I’ve not seen in my lifetime…
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Setting aside the technical skills, the perfect portfolio, the eye, the heart, and the soul that are all so important if you’re going to be a photographer, let’s focus on what you’ll need to be a financially independent photographer…
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Just as the economic collapse was the result of cannibalistic, blind greed driven by a demand for profits, so to will be the coming collapse of the community of content creators, of the artists. The shake out is already beginning…
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Throughout the 1980’s I covered a lot of football, some of it without a motor drive or auto exposure and all of it manually follow-focusing with big glass…
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Why do photographs-- still images-- survive? In this media saturated culture where video is king there remains a vital place in our lives for frozen moments in time-- simple still photographs, produced by what French critic Roland Barthes called “clocks for seeing,” his crazy/perfect description of a camera. For me it seems to be the collision between the profound, deep seated human need to find meaning-- not just in our lives but the meaning of life itself-- and the way our brains must decode still photographs.
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In regard to commercial photography it does seem that with the latest from ASMP and APA that things are definitely getting worse before they get better. With Omnicom’s announcement that they will no longer pay advances and are passing liability to their clients the expectation is that photographers will be asked to provide banking services to multibillion dollar corporations. Insane. Sad. Make no mistake, this is a war on creatives– agency and photographer both.
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To survive the creative, economic and emotional chaos of a life in photography your career must be designed for longevity. To achieve longevity, you must reconcile the conflict between what you shoot for money and what you love to shoot. Ideally, you get paid to shoot exactly what you love to shoot, every day. Reaching this nirvana requires making tough choices, a careful business strategy and attention to basic business practices. (Or be super talented/lucky, born wealthy or marry a brilliant business manager.)
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