Question for professionals

[jacsul]

Hey everyone,

I got this thought for asking a question after reading another thread on here titled "Perception".
Let me start off by stating I am in know way, even close, a professional. With that out of the way here is the question: With the popularity of social media; snapchat, facebook, instagram, ect.; the technological advances in cell phones & pocket cameras, has anyone seen an increase or decrease in business? In what segment and why in your opinion?

I'm very curious to hear what folks have to say.

[William W]

Decrease in what might be described as the more traditional business. Not necessarily because of the Technological advances that you note.

The "why" is complex and multifaceted.

The "where" is just as complex.

As one example many (commercial) National TV News Evening Coverages here, will load up "weather images" as the backdrops for the 30 second weather-cast, three or four times each afternoon/evening. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of "photographers" send in their landscape images for 30 seconds of fame - no money just "fame": what was previously an image attracting royalties for each use, is now free and there are a gazillon options for the News Producer.

Examples, like that, are endless.

WW

[george013]

Hey everyone,

I got this thought for asking a question after reading another thread on here titled "Perception".
Let me start off by stating I am in know way, even close, a professional. With that out of the way here is the question: With the popularity of social media; snapchat, facebook, instagram, ect.; the technological advances in cell phones & pocket cameras, has anyone seen an increase or decrease in business? In what segment and why in your opinion?

I'm very curious to hear what folks have to say.

The yearly World Press Photo exhibition added this year a selection of video. The impact of video on " social media" is growing. Most or all of them were made with a cellphone. It's a different catagory within the exhibition.
It's a travelling echibition going over the world. And is still going on.
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/exhibitions

Photo's and video's made with a cell phone can have a high journalistic value. Nearly everyone has one, there're allways some present at the moment of surpreme.

George

[William W]

. . . Photo's and video's made with a cell phone can have a high journalistic value. Nearly everyone has one, there're allways some present at the moment of surpreme. . .

Yes. And the multi-platformed upload facilities and the many distribution conduits, address: "immediacy" and to a very VERY wide audience.

More than addressing 'immediacy', is the fueling the desire for it.

What was, in 2000 the '120 minute news cycle'; in 2010 was the '20 minute news cycle'; is now the '20 second news cycle'.

And "news" has been redefined too.

***

Totally different set of considerations: Who now looks at Prints? And who now looks at screen images? Ergo - what many "professionals" are now selling, has also substantially changed in only 10~15 years.

WW

[george013]

Totally different set of considerations: Who now looks at Prints? And who now looks at screen images? Ergo - what many "professionals" are now selling, has also substantially changed in only 10~15 years.

WW

Cellphone photo's will allways live further as digital. When printed they loose " quality".
It's funny, a print is the only medium where the photographer can control his image. Digital is allways dependent on the used output device and its settings.

George

[Shadowman]

Yes. And the multi-platformed upload facilities and the many distribution conduits, address: "immediacy" and to a very VERY wide audience.

More than addressing 'immediacy', is the fueling the desire for it.

What was, in 2000 the '120 minute news cycle'; in 2010 was the '20 minute news cycle'; is now the '20 second news cycle'.

And "news" has been redefined too.

***

Totally different set of considerations: Who now looks at Prints? And who now looks at screen images? Ergo - what many "professionals" are now selling, has also substantially changed in only 10~15 years.

WW

Another form of immediacy is the ability to broadcast or podcast news items without going through traditional news platforms and also get paid to do so. However, just like traditional news platforms; it's just as easy to lose your credibility or source of revenue.

[Mike Buckley]

When we consider professionals' business, we should also include the pros who host photo safaris, conduct classes and provide instructional materials. As an example, Lynda.com recently sold for USD $1.5 billion to Linked In.

[Manfred M]

Jack - while I am not a professional photographer, I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are / were. A number of them are people who got into the business thirty or forty years ago and others entered "in the digital age". All of them are reporting increased competition and a drop in their business versus where things stood a decade ago (prior to the 2008 recession). They are not just portrait / wedding photographers, but include wildlife / nature photographers, product (catalogue) photographers and event photographers as well. A couple of these were nationally and to some extent internationally recognized in their fields.

When I asked them what has happened the older ones will tell you that photography was always a very competitive business, but not nearly as much as it is today:

1. In the past (film days) it took a combination of technical and artistic skills to be a photographer. A modern camera (really a computer that takes pictures) has automated a lot of the technical side (mainly focus, exposure) so a lot more people can pull off decent images. Add to that the cost of film and processing versus the virtually "free" nature of a shot on a digital camera viewed on a computer, and suddenly you have a lot of people who have "entered" the photographic marketplace.

I took a photographic lighting course (mostly studio lighting) at the local community college. I had to try for over a year to get in (it was that popular). This was a part-time course and the full-time day photography course was running as well .Well over 90% of the people enrolled in the course wanted to get into becoming professional photographers; there were only two of us (me and one other) who were there out of personal interest. The rest of the students could be described as "soccer moms", retirees who wanted to supplement their incomes, people looking for a career change, etc.

2. Technology change - in the past photography was largely print based; whether it was a framed photograph, a newspaper or magazine or catalogue. Limitations in the printing industry required the images to meet certain technical standards before they could be used, so only a certain group had the technical skills to produce works that met these standards.

The internet and social media have ultimately lowered the standards of what makes a "good" picture. Poorly taken (composition and technical issues) and poorly processed images litter the internet. How many "likes" have you seen in Facebook for images that can only be described as "awful". I've seen some "professionally done" wedding pictures (someone my wife and I both knew quite well at university) that looked like snapshots.

Often technology raises standards, but it appears to have had the opposite effect on photography.

3. Budget cuts to photography - much commercial photography used to deal with corporate clients - here 100% of the photographers I know tell me that the 2008 recession "killed" that part of the business. Corporate plans, publications, etc. were the bread and butter of many commercial photographers. With budget cuts when companies were hurting meant they found less expensive ways to fill these needs and to a large extent this business has disappeared for good.

The publications industry (newspaper and magazines) is having real problems competing with on-line sources. Cuts in staff (writers, editors and photographers) have hit everyone hard. Freelancers are being turned to for images and often to break into the market will work for free or at rates so low that they are unsupportable. I'm sure that I'm not the only member who has been approached by companies who want to use my work for free or extremely low prices. If someone suggests that look at the publicity you will get from having your images used by us or offered ridiculously low prices for their work. I haven't done this out of respect of people who are trying to make a living out of photography, but do know that many amateur photographers fall for this "trap".

That, in my mind, sums up the answer to your question.

[Mike Buckley]

Often technology raises standards, but it appears to have had the opposite effect on photography.

When I think of all the technological innovations in photography since its inception including digital photography, the very highest standard was always raised with the adoption of each new technology. However, new technologies that were adopted in mass by consumers taking their own photos resulted in far lower standards also becoming acceptable. As an example, the adoption of digital photo technology by masses of consumers has resulted in the same lowering of standards that occurred with the adoption of film technology by masses of consumers. In both cases, the highest standards were raised while at the same time lower standards were added to the realm of all acceptable standards.

[William W]

Another form of immediacy is the ability to broadcast or podcast news items without going through traditional news platforms and also get paid to do so.

I agree. Whilst there are many 'photography' income streams that are closing off or getting tighter, there are others which are opening up.

It's probably very relevant to mention that for many professional photographers a significant change in their output came around 2000 ~ 2005: it was then that mostly all became their own darkroom technicians. That particular aspect is undergoing change again as the outsourcing of Post Production especially high volume 'batch' Post Production is becoming an industry within itself.

This is another example (at the moment) of a growth area.

WW

[Mike Buckley]

Whilst there are many 'photography' income streams that are closing off or getting tighter, there are others which are opening up.

That's almost always the case when any industry adopts a new digital technology. Innovations in digital technology are adopted at a faster and faster rate than occurred with previous technologies. So, the professionals (the people making money using digital technology) have to be flexible and forward thinking enough to rapidly change their business model to have any hope of maintaining their income, much less increasing it.

[rpcrowe]

You can really see that many folks use their cell phones as video cameras by the horribly cropped video clips which result from folks holding their cell phones vertically when shooting.

[xpatUSA]

And "news" has been redefined too.

somewhat like 'the time' which is now whatever Chuck Norris says it is . . if you get my drift