In his blog Thoughts of a Bohemian, Paul Melcher argues that “the future of photography is exclusive content.”
My first thought was that Melcher was talking about selling exclusive rights to stock images, which I have long argued is exactly the wrong direction for the stock photo industry to be headed. But no, he is arguing that, if your aim is to earn a living from photography, you should pretty much forget about shooting specifically for stock. On this point, I reluctantly have to agree.
Melcher argues that, “The market [for stock images] is not there anymore; well, not for pros. Shoot commission work only, and put that in stock. That is how the whole market started anyway and how it will survive. Why? Because commissions will give you access to places or people that are not available to the common mortal. They will also create images that are specific to a need that no one else has thought about… because if they had, they would have used stock instead of hiring you.”
If you are trying to build a career as a photographer, memorize this. Melcher has a lot of other things to say about what photographers should and should not do. Although I do not agree with all his points, his article is well worth reading.
There are many customers who have unique photo needs that can never be fulfilled with a generic stock image. These needs range from photos of manufacturing plants, hotels, company executives, events, products, new fashions or even weddings. Some of these images, once created, will also have life as stock. But the important thing is to look for work which will pay you a upfront fee that will cover most of your cost of doing business.
Some of this work may not be as exciting, challenging, artistic or creative as you would like. And certainly it may not be as interesting as when you have the freedom of a stock photographer to go out and do your own thing, whatever that is. But it does have one redeeming value: it enables you to earn enough to pay your bills.