We see images everywhere, on posters, on sidewalks and in the sides of trucks and buses. They are so common that we often don't notice them. It is the very success of photography that leads it to be casually overlooked and definitely undervalued. Yet every one of those images has been researched, photographed and then positioned with thought and attention. Whether it is a washing powder advertisement or a picture of last night's football game, every photo is created to tell a story. The fact that we don't need to read the copy, or in some cases even know the context, just shows how tuned into images we really are.
Yet with the creation of the camera phone and cheap digital photography, it now appears that everyone can create a fabulous image. These amateur photos flood social media sites, are loaded onto millions of emails and help to perpetuate peoples' public personas. Any public event is crowded with iPhone, iPad and camera phone coverage. No webpage or facebook page is complete without displaying these grainy, out of focus, often meaningless images. The stark truth is that simple photography is now more accessible than it has ever been - and cheaper. The camera phones that are on the market now could compete easily with the professional DSLRs from a decade ago and are a lot more forgiving. So does is all this photographic technology and these budding photo-journalists really spell the finish of professional photography?
The quote "Got an iPhone - now I am a photographer" strikes despair throughout the photo industry, as professional photographers watch their incomes wither and their commission rates slashed. It may be hard to think that professional photography has any leif left in it at all. But we need to realize that the Facebook snappers are mainly recording events, rather than producing images. Their grainy, badly focussed photos represent their memories of the event itself and are just as ephemeral. If they want an image to last for years and still make them smile, or they need a photograph to strike a chord with people beyond their social group, they will need an image that was planned, thought about and shot with the highest standards in mind.
So is the profession of photographer doomed? You might think so if you listen to them. Editorial photographers specifically have taken a beating as newspapers and magazines try to cut expenditure and rely more heavily on free content. They can now find any number of picture sources on the internet and download exactly what they want in seconds. The need to hire a professional to photograph a stock image, or to send a photographer to an event 'just in case' has simply vanished.
Advertising and PR photography are also suffering as companies tighten their belts and are able to find stock photography from the internet. However there are specialties which, whilst suffering from the economic situation, are otherwise steady. Wedding and family photography, special event photography and even animal photography still offer the potential to earn a photographera living - because a client will always want quality when it involves something that really matters to them.
It is ironic to see that many editorial photographers still look down on this kind of photography. These are the guys who have been the most versatile over the years - not just in terms of their jobs, but also in adapting the new technology and requirements. They switched from film to digital from dark rooms to photoshop and from wire machines to laptops in what seemed to be no time at all. Now they need to summon their energies once more to find - and in some cases create - new demand for their skills. They may need to spread their expertise across stills and video making, photograph weddings and kittens, and provide memory sticks or downloadable versions, to keep up with what is expected, but there are photographers already who are offering 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 cheap digital photography, it now appears that everyone can create a fabulous image. These amateur photos flood social media sites, are loaded onto millions of emails and help to perpetuate peoples' public personas. Any public event is crowded with iPhone, iPad and camera phone coverage. No webpage or facebook page is complete without displaying these grainy, out of focus, often meaningless images. The stark truth is that simple photography is now more accessible than it has ever been - and cheaper. The camera phones that are on the market now could compete easily with the professional DSLRs from a decade ago and are a lot more forgiving. So does is all this photographic technology and these budding photo-journalists really spell the finish of professional photography?
The quote "Got an iPhone - now I am a photographer" strikes despair throughout the photo industry, as professional photographers watch their incomes wither and their commission rates slashed. It may be hard to think that professional photography has any leif left in it at all. But we need to realize that the Facebook snappers are mainly recording events, rather than producing images. Their grainy, badly focussed photos represent their memories of the event itself and are just as ephemeral. If they want an image to last for years and still make them smile, or they need a photograph to strike a chord with people beyond their social group, they will need an image that was planned, thought about and shot with the highest standards in mind.
So is the profession of photographer doomed? You might think so if you listen to them. Editorial photographers specifically have taken a beating as newspapers and magazines try to cut expenditure and rely more heavily on free content. They can now find any number of picture sources on the internet and download exactly what they want in seconds. The need to hire a professional to photograph a stock image, or to send a photographer to an event 'just in case' has simply vanished.
Advertising and PR photography are also suffering as companies tighten their belts and are able to find stock photography from the internet. However there are specialties which, whilst suffering from the economic situation, are otherwise steady. Wedding and family photography, special event photography and even animal photography still offer the potential to earn a photographera living - because a client will always want quality when it involves something that really matters to them.
It is ironic to see that many editorial photographers still look down on this kind of photography. These are the guys who have been the most versatile over the years - not just in terms of their jobs, but also in adapting the new technology and requirements. They switched from film to digital from dark rooms to photoshop and from wire machines to laptops in what seemed to be no time at all. Now they need to summon their energies once more to find - and in some cases create - new demand for their skills. They may need to spread their expertise across stills and video making, photograph weddings and kittens, and provide memory sticks or downloadable versions, to keep up with what is expected, but there are photographers already who are offering 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 photographic industry for more than twenty years. He has a specific interest in how digital cameras have evolved. To learn more about the new Nikon D7100 go to his webpage. 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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