We see photos everywhere, on posters, on sidewalks and in the sides of lorries and automobiles. They are so common that we often walk right past them. It is the very success of photography that leads it to be casually overlooked and definitely undervalued. Yet all of those images has been researched, photographed and then positioned with thought and attention. Whether it is a washing powder advertisement or a shot of last night's basketball game, every photograph is designed to tell a story. The fact that we don't need to read the words, or in some cases even know the context, just shows how tuned into photos we really are.
Yet with the creation of the camera phone and low cost digital photography, it seems that everyone can create a fabulous image. These amateur images flood Facebook, are loaded onto thousands of emails and help to perpetuate peoples' public personas. Any public event is festooned with iPhone, iPad and camera phone coverage. No site or facebook page is complete without displaying these grainy, mal-focussed, often meaningless photographs. The bald truth is that simple photography is now more accessible than it has ever been - and relatively inexpensive. The camera phones that are on the market now could compete easily with the professional digital SLRs from a few years ago and are a lot more flexible. So does is all this photographic technology and these enthusiastic photo-journalists really spell the nemesis of professional photography?
The phrase "Got an iPhone - now I am a photographer" strikes fear throughout the photo industry, as professional photographers see their incomes wither and their commission rates slashed. It might be hard to hope that professional photography has any future at all. But we need to realize that the Facebook photographers are usually recording what is in front of them, rather than crafting photographs. Their grainy, out of focus photos represent their memories of the time itself and are just as superficial. If they want an image to last for years and still make them smile, or they need an image to strike a chord with people outside of their immediate circle of friends, they will need an image that was planned, considered and shot with the highest standards in mind.
So is the profession of photographer fatally injured? You might think so if you discuss it with them. Editorial photographers in particular have had a hard time as print media try to cut expenditure and rely more heavily on reader generated content. Media can now find any number of image sources on the web and retrieve exactly what they want immediately. The need to hire a professional to photograph a stock image, or to send a photographer to an event 'just in case' has all but gone.
Advertising and commercial photography are also suffering as companies slash their costs and are able to access stock photos from the web. However there are specialties which, whilst suffering from the poor economy, are otherwise steady. Wedding and family photography, special event photography and even animal photography still have the potential to earn a photographera living - because a person will always want quality when it involves something that really matters to them.
It is unfortunate to see that many editorial photographers still belittle this kind of photography. These are the guys who have been the most flexible over the years - not just in terms of their commissions, but also in adapting the new technology and requirements. They flipped from film to digital from dark rooms to photoshop and from wire machines to laptops in what seemed to be hardly any time at all. Now they need to redirect their energies once more to locate - and in some cases create - new demand for their skills. They may need to spread their skills across stills and videography, photograph weddings and puppies, and provide memory sticks or web downloads, to keep up with what is expected, but there are photographers already who are selling these services and they are prospering. The Profession of photographer is not dying, it is evolving and the fittest will survive.
Yet with the creation of the camera phone and low cost digital photography, it seems that everyone can create a fabulous image. These amateur images flood Facebook, are loaded onto thousands of emails and help to perpetuate peoples' public personas. Any public event is festooned with iPhone, iPad and camera phone coverage. No site or facebook page is complete without displaying these grainy, mal-focussed, often meaningless photographs. The bald truth is that simple photography is now more accessible than it has ever been - and relatively inexpensive. The camera phones that are on the market now could compete easily with the professional digital SLRs from a few years ago and are a lot more flexible. So does is all this photographic technology and these enthusiastic photo-journalists really spell the nemesis of professional photography?
The phrase "Got an iPhone - now I am a photographer" strikes fear throughout the photo industry, as professional photographers see their incomes wither and their commission rates slashed. It might be hard to hope that professional photography has any future at all. But we need to realize that the Facebook photographers are usually recording what is in front of them, rather than crafting photographs. Their grainy, out of focus photos represent their memories of the time itself and are just as superficial. If they want an image to last for years and still make them smile, or they need an image to strike a chord with people outside of their immediate circle of friends, they will need an image that was planned, considered and shot with the highest standards in mind.
So is the profession of photographer fatally injured? You might think so if you discuss it with them. Editorial photographers in particular have had a hard time as print media try to cut expenditure and rely more heavily on reader generated content. Media can now find any number of image sources on the web and retrieve exactly what they want immediately. The need to hire a professional to photograph a stock image, or to send a photographer to an event 'just in case' has all but gone.
Advertising and commercial photography are also suffering as companies slash their costs and are able to access stock photos from the web. However there are specialties which, whilst suffering from the poor economy, are otherwise steady. Wedding and family photography, special event photography and even animal photography still have the potential to earn a photographera living - because a person will always want quality when it involves something that really matters to them.
It is unfortunate to see that many editorial photographers still belittle this kind of photography. These are the guys who have been the most flexible over the years - not just in terms of their commissions, but also in adapting the new technology and requirements. They flipped from film to digital from dark rooms to photoshop and from wire machines to laptops in what seemed to be hardly any time at all. Now they need to redirect their energies once more to locate - and in some cases create - new demand for their skills. They may need to spread their skills across stills and videography, photograph weddings and puppies, and provide memory sticks or web downloads, to keep up with what is expected, but there are photographers already who are selling these services and they are prospering. The Profession of photographer is not dying, it is evolving and the fittest will survive.
About the Author:
Andy James has worked in the photo industry for over twenty years. He has a particular interest in the evolution of digital photography. To find out more about the new Nikon D7100 check out his website. The site will also have information about the Nikon D7100 release date and offers great advice about how to Use Nikon DSLRs.
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