It seems like professional photographers are under attack
from all directions. Every rent-a-cop in London seems to have a problem with
anyone holding a dSLR. The TSA released a poster
with a scary looking hooded man with a telephoto lens at an airport encouraging
people to report him. Rates are plunging because people can just hire anyone with a dSLR and a flash to run and gun for free food. That guy probably buys more fancy stuff than the pros, but doesn't have the skills. Hell, their insistence on buying the
latest and greatest camera as soon as it comes out even causes discontentment
(see NPS members griping about amateurs taking all of their D4’s and D800’s because
they needed it for their shoots while the amateurs could continue to use their
suddenly useless and incapable D3s’ for their party snaps). All these
complaints are valid. However, there seems to be a pervasive cynicism among
grizzled pros who can’t seem to make ends meet because of all these external
factors.
At the same time, people value the still photograph less and
less. I see it when a misguided bride wants a $500 wedding shooter on
Craigslist and complains that a photographer charges so much for a shoot (and
the entire photographic community inundates her inbox with angry comments
cutting her down to size). I see it when “Uncle Bob” (yes, there is a
derogatory term for pesky family members with cameras in the photog world)
insists that he can shoot it better because he’s got the latest gear and you
don’t. I see it when people say they don’t want their picture taken during a
party or something and fight you tooth and nail about it but then love it when
they see it on Facebook or Flickr, only to take the image as their own without a
word.
So, the profession isn’t perfect. It’s far from stable, and
it can provide months and years of misery. But think of it this way, we have it
pretty easy, too. Our cameras are more dependable than ever. They’re weatherproof,
tested to over 300 000 exposures, can shoot over 11 frames per second for well
over 100 frames non-stop, can shoot HD video, and provide redundancy through
multiple card slots. A single CF card can hold thousands, if not tens of
thousands, of grain free images that can be reproduced to billboard sizes. When
Jay Maisel was working, he had SIXTEEN Nikon F’s. Four cameras would be used
(with different film and lens combos, I guess), four would be for backup, four
would be in the repair shop, and four would either be going to or coming back
from the repair shop. That’s how unreliable that thing was. Even war
photographers, the bravest, hardest working, most tenacious shooters out there,
have it easier now. When Robert Capa landed with the US forces on D-Day armed
with nothing besides his balls and two Contax rangefinders, most of the film he
shot was ruined by a lab technician in London. Only eleven frames out of 106
survived that mistake. That would be unthinkable now. Images can be backed up
in minutes. Digital traces of images are everywhere, and with a little care, an
image can never really be “lost forever”, as Capa’s were.
Not only this, but there are tens of thousands of websites
dedicated to photography, dispensing free advice. You can ask a stranger for
camera advice and many people will step up and provide opinions (though they
should be taken with a grain of salt). Resources are everywhere, and you’d be a
fool not to take advantage of them.
The problems that come with being a shooter in the 21st
century are preventing a lot of people from getting better, complaining that
others are ruining the profession for them. It was hard in the 20th
century, too. If there’s a snot-nosed photog who’s consistently putting out bad
work and charging for it, eating your market share, fight by shooting better
pictures, not necessarily through lowering your prices. After all, the race to
the bottom means you’ll work harder for less money. The resulting bad feelings
mean you’ll shoot shittier pictures, and no one wants that. If you have to
charge nothing to shoot good pictures, then do that. That’s how Olivia Bee does
things. Her personal work drives her professional work. She’s hired because of
her personal work. Think a little more about the picture instead of the pixels.
Work on yourself before blaming others.
I’m not really sure who this is addressed to. I just
thought it needed to be said.
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