Hard times for young photographers
26/02/09 08:23 Filed in: Work
I mentor a few young photographers and more and
more, I'm hearing how tough it is to break into the
photo world. This isn't news and it isn't
surprising, but this post today on A Photo Editor really drove
it home. Today I feel lucky to have some solid
clients and diverse interests.
I used to tell anyone who asked that snowboard photography was the best job in the world, and at times it can be, but the truth of the matter is that to make it, you have to get published, and the magazines in the snowboard world are in a state of semi-panic as their page counts drop and their corporate bosses tighten the belts. They are forced to do more with less, and since there is little money to develop the web, it becomes underfunded, even though it is clearly the future of media.
Young photographers have always been taken advantage of and it's hard to say no to someone when you are hungry, but these days it's not even like the rates are too low, it's more like there are no rates. I wouldn't mind so much, because everyone can just say no to a bad deal and walk away, but when editors at magazines bully young photographers into giving away their shots for free with threats of blackballing them, things have gone too far.
The stage is set for the demise of paper magazines. At the very least we will see the herd thinned down to one or two titles in snowboarding. Evolution is coming to the shred media and it will come, like all good things, from the bottom up. Behind closed doors, photographers, designers and writers are already planning the next step. We'll soon see the day where publishing bullies are left impotent at the helm of a media ship that has sailed. Then they will have to take a long hard look at how they have treated their young peers.
I've never believed in the theory of stepping on heads to get ahead. I think that today more than ever, the idea of coopetition makes more sense. Also, the idea that poor young photographers should be funding multi-million dollar publishing conglomerates is just abhorrent. I hope that young shooters will stand up for themselves and not get bullied into giving away their shots for free. There is a time and a place for that, but it's called charity, not career. And you magazine editors flexing on these new kids should be ashamed. Especially the ones who were photographers first. This is straight out of Orwell's Animal Farm. Power corrupts eh boys?
"How to start a Home-Based Photography Business"
I used to tell anyone who asked that snowboard photography was the best job in the world, and at times it can be, but the truth of the matter is that to make it, you have to get published, and the magazines in the snowboard world are in a state of semi-panic as their page counts drop and their corporate bosses tighten the belts. They are forced to do more with less, and since there is little money to develop the web, it becomes underfunded, even though it is clearly the future of media.
Young photographers have always been taken advantage of and it's hard to say no to someone when you are hungry, but these days it's not even like the rates are too low, it's more like there are no rates. I wouldn't mind so much, because everyone can just say no to a bad deal and walk away, but when editors at magazines bully young photographers into giving away their shots for free with threats of blackballing them, things have gone too far.
The stage is set for the demise of paper magazines. At the very least we will see the herd thinned down to one or two titles in snowboarding. Evolution is coming to the shred media and it will come, like all good things, from the bottom up. Behind closed doors, photographers, designers and writers are already planning the next step. We'll soon see the day where publishing bullies are left impotent at the helm of a media ship that has sailed. Then they will have to take a long hard look at how they have treated their young peers.
I've never believed in the theory of stepping on heads to get ahead. I think that today more than ever, the idea of coopetition makes more sense. Also, the idea that poor young photographers should be funding multi-million dollar publishing conglomerates is just abhorrent. I hope that young shooters will stand up for themselves and not get bullied into giving away their shots for free. There is a time and a place for that, but it's called charity, not career. And you magazine editors flexing on these new kids should be ashamed. Especially the ones who were photographers first. This is straight out of Orwell's Animal Farm. Power corrupts eh boys?
"How to start a Home-Based Photography Business"