Career
John Fowler points out that his strategy for running a stock photography business isn't working, acknowledges that he needs to make changes and asks for ideas as to what those changes should be. I added some of my experiences and perspective and encourage readers to suggest positive ways forward.
With this article Dan finishes his five part series on the steps you need to take to become a professional photographer. Today he talks about Finding Success and
explores what it takes to achieve success in a
very tough, competitive and rapidly changing industry. The previous articles include:
Part 1- Making the Jump,
Part 2- Getting the Gear and Expertise,
Part 3- Marketing and Self-Promotion and
Part 4- The Business of Photography.
Photographers are primarily right brain people. We’re creative. We focus on the
subjective, the random, the visual and the intuitive. We tend to focus
on the whole picture first, then focus on the details later. That’s why
we bought cameras and chose a career that revolves around creativity. Business, on the other hand, is analytical, sequential, verbal and
it focuses on the details. These are all left brain ways of thinking.
Often times these clash with what may come more naturally to us, and the
result is that we’re just not always the best business people.
Marketing is where things start to get scary for some photographers.
After all, we’re passionate enough about our imagery to want to make
this our full or part time profession, and we’re certainly adept with
technology and digital imaging gear. However, this is where photography
starts enter the business realm, which, unfortunately, doesn’t always
come easy to some creative and artistic types. However, photographers are good at creative problem solving, right?
Well, marketing is the same thing. It’s solving a very simple creative problem that can easily be summed up in one sentence. “How can I convince clients to hire me?”
This is the second of five articles where Dan Bailey discusses what it takes to make the jump from amateur photographer to pro and work towards making a living with photography. This article focuses on the types of gear and professional expertise you'll need to gain as you make the transition. In future articles, he'll discuss, Marketing and Self-Promotion, The Business of Photography and how to put it all together and get started in a photography career.
Unemployment in the United States may be affecting freelance
photographers in some not so obvious ways. While many photographers and
designers have either lost their jobs or are under employed what we
often forget is that those who still have viable businesses may now be
competing with the unemployed as they produce new images as a way or
earning a little extra cash.
This is the first of five articles where Dan Bailey discusses his 15 year odyssey in photography, from being an amateur to making a living taking pictures. He starts out by outlining a number of things you need to consider before deciding to jump from amateur to pro. In future he'll discuss Getting The Gear and Expertise, Marketing and Self Promotion and other aspects of the Business of Photography.
In his biography,
The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan said, “The presumption of individual property ownership and the
legality of its transfer must be
deeply embedded in the culture of a society
(emphasis mine) for free market economies to function effectively. In
the West, the moral validity of property rights is accepted, or at least
acquiesced in, by virtually the whole of the population.” I was
struck by how this relates to the photography business today. The concept of individual property ownership is no
longer deeply embedded in the culture of our society. A large segment of
the population believes that certain property should be free to all and
that the creators have no rights once the property is shown to anyone.
Using the creative works of others without permission or compensation is
becoming the morally accepted standard.
Many professional photographers are disturbed by the changes taking place in their careers. Photographers who dream of earning their living taking pictures will, at the very least, find that goal much harder to achieve than it was for their predecessors. Amateurs have taken over an increasing share of the business. And their share will continue to grow. The shift from professional control of the market to significant amateur involvement is irreversible and will accelerate. That doesn’t mean that no one will be able to earn a living as a still photographer. But many fewer will do it successfully than was the case in the past. There is no way to predict the amount of the market amateurs will finally control, but it will be significant.
In theory there should be a major growth in demand in the near future
for video. However, people have been making that prediction for more
than a decade and the demand still doesn’t seem to be taking off. In
fact, videographers who were among the leading sellers of video clips a
decade ago are now reporting that their sales are down 50% from what
they were just three or four years ago.
Many who got into the photography business by shooting stock are
finding that relying on stock income alone is insufficient and
increasingly unpredictable. In looking for other ways to earn money
using their photographic skills, some are exploring the wedding
business.
If you have decided on a career as a freelance photographer, your
vocation will be marketing and your avocation, or sideline, will be
photography.
Recently on Linkedin Jacintha van Beveren observed that “The old
photography business model is gone,” observed and asked if the road to
survival and future success is through “creativity and flexibility or
stubborn protection.” Neither.
Phrases like “it’s not all doom and gloom” pop up often, but those who offer such encouraging analysis are typically in the top tier of the profession. While their experience is certainly real and laudable if not amazing, is it representative enough to be touted as a roadmap to a successful career? Common sense, economics, mathematics and every available source of statistical information says no.
When I published “Top Pros Stop Shooting” in my other newsletter Selling-Stock received an unusual number of comments from industry leaders. Most of those who commented had some disagreement with
the positions I took in the article. Since PhotoLicensingOptions readers will have missed
seeing these comments, I have printed them here along with an editorial response.
Today, a lot of businesses get marketing and branding mixed up. They
are confused as to what the differences are, what they both mean or they
try promoting their business with one and without the other. Simply
put, marketing is how you reach your target market with advertising,
promotions and public relations. Marketing is showing the world with
what you do. Branding is who you are or what the world thinks you are.
Every time a prospect or a potential customer makes contact with you in
person, print, virally or by other means, they are formulating an
opinion of you as a brand.
On Linkedin’s Photography Industry Professionals
discussion group, Brooke Fagel recently asked: “What’s it like to be a
freelance photographer?” These select responses provide a comprehensive
picture of what a photographer faces.
There is a reason why it is called “social” media and there are rules
that you should follow when it comes to employing “social media” to
market and brand yourself and your art. Every day I see small businesses
that are ruining their brand by abusing social media. Artists are no
different, as they are a “small business” too! Here are some quick rules
of social media that you should follow.
When you are a freelance self-employed photographer, getting to the
level of earning enough to support yourself and your family is
difficult. But you know you can do it, because you are willing to work
hard and you produce great, unique images that are better than anything
offered by the competition. Here are a few basic principles of the
photography business to remember.
In the last few years there has been dramatic growth in the use of
images on the Internet, a market for images that virtually did not exist 10
years ago. Some believe that the potential for growth of the Internet is
infinite, and that there will always be an ever-increasing demand for imagery.
So far in this series we’ve learned there is declining demand for images
that will be used in print, and growing demand for images that will be
used online and in electronic formats. Photographers just starting out
should be aware of the number of images already in online databases and
recognize that any images they produce will be competing against those
that already exist.
More and more people are producing pictures of a quality sufficient to
satisfy the needs of many who want to use pictures. Thanks to the
Internet—and to a great extent microstock—it is now much easier than in
the past for people to earn a little money from the images they have
produced and to make contact with customers who might want to use them.
The “Going Pro” series of articles targets not the successful
professional but the person just starting out, or the microstock
photographer who has had some success producing images that sell and
believes it is time to quit his or her day job and go into photography
full time. What are the things they need to be aware of before taking
the big plunge of trying to turn something that is a fun hobby into a
career?
As little as five years ago, approximately 98% of all stock photo
revenue came from print uses. There was little or no Internet and small
business uses. Today about 20% of industry revenue comes from Internet and small business uses. The needs of these new customers were hardly addressed five years ago, as all traditional sellers focused on the high end of the market. Consequently, when someone
wanted an image for these purposes they either took the picture
themselves, or copied something off another Internet site and paid
nothing for its use. In the last five years the demand for images that
will be used electronically has grown dramatically.
I receive regular requests from photographers who want to know how they
can license rights to the images they have created over the years on
film. Here’s what I tell them. Licensing rights to images is very
difficult in today’s market because there is such an oversupply
available compared to the demand.
Putting a value on your life's work can present a major problem for your heirs. Every successful photographer needs to do some estate planning. This major article outlines the steps to take in light of the new tax laws.