Photography is dead – long live photography!

I came across the following article via a Facebook acquaintance:  http://carolinemadison.deviantart.com/journal/Photography-is-Dead-361141537

While I am sorry for Caroline’s loss and the death of a talented photographer, I do not entirely agree with the article.  I do not know Bruno (though reading Caroline’s article I wish I had) and I do not mean to hurt anyone with my comments. They are just what immediately comes to my mind in response to Caroline’s writing.  Below are in short some of the things I agree and disagree with:

Agree

• Companies & media who would have previously hired a photographer now take advantage of the sea of images available to them (due to budget cuts), more often than not this hurts the quality
  • “Webmags or papermags that do casting calls for free editorials, no budgets for muas, models or photographers but manage to sell anyway with the damn excuse of great exposure.”
  • This is the main problem – as a pro who consistently delivers high quality would still be preferred (on time, reliable, name etc.) to various different artists, but there is no budget: “The current economic situation made things no better.”
• “Popularity means nothing” – yep being popular on Facebook won’t pay your bills
• “Social media “likes” are feeding artists egos” – the same is true for professional photographers’ egos
• quality photography costs money and should be reimbursed (gear, time, model, MUA, set, preparation etc.)
  • Quality also suffers as not as much is invested in the shoot requiring more post production work
• “I remembered once, that I was really chuffed about a picture I posted and made 10 000 views in 24 hours. I told Bruno and he said to me: ‘Cool, but what does that bring to you??  Well, it actually brings nothing …”  – nothing except for boosting your ego 😉
• “Since that moment, I realized that views were nothing but just a number. A number is not relevant on what you do or are worth. It is nothing but virtual.” – true because a like or a comment does not cost anything.  Ask the same people to buy your work and you will see…
• “Look at the horrible nudes that are here on DA and you’ll find out why.” – many of those are the result of guys with a camera (GWCs) who only get into photography to see beautiful girls and show explicit nudity (still gets the most views).  This has nothing to do with art, but with our society’s taboos.
• “But I have the sad feeling that photographers are not considered for their true value nowadays.” – I don’t think many of the artists whose work we now go see in museums were being considered that way during their lifetime.
• “Most of the time, it is not about what  you know, but who you know.” – very true – applies to everything.
• “The problem is more complex than that and doesn’t concern only the visual industry.” – it has happened with other industries where there used to be masters, now their craft is being mass produced and variety and quality have suffered.
• “I have no problem with hobbyists, some of them have a true gift.” – I agree – an artist is not defined by what he/she studies.  You either have “the eye” or you don’t.  A professional invests a lot more time and therefore brings along a lot more experience.
• “If you call yourself an Artist, do care and start valuing yourself, skills and work.
   If you want to be treated like a professional, think and act like one.” –  very true

Disagree

• I disagree that amateurs should not call themselves photographers. “Photographer” is not a protected title and  simply means “light writer”.  The      same way just about anyone can call themselves a painter (doesn’t mean they can paint). Gear has come a long way.  Where only someone who understood      photography could take good pictures, now even people with no clue (but      hopefully some aesthetic sense) can take good pictures.  As the Chinese say: “even a blind chicken can find a piece of corn sometimes”.  What sets a pro or a talented amateur apart from the rest is the ability to consistently produce quality images.  This is also why many art buyers prefer series to single images.
• A professional photographer I know once asked his workshop participants for their business card.  They all presented him with a card with their name on it and the title photographer below it.  So he asked one of them what he did for a living and he said he was a brain surgeon.  So he handed him his card with his name on it and wrote the title Brain surgeon below his name.  Then he asked “would you let me operate on you?”.  While he does have a point, I do not agree to this comparison. The brain surgeon might have been perfectly capable of producing a beautiful photograph, whereas I  doubt he would have survived the photographers operation 😉
• While the market is saturated with wannabes allowing potential clients to pick and choose for next to nothing, a serious business still prefers the reliability and consistency of a pro (as long as there is a budget).
• Even professionals had to “undersell” their work at some point. The same way an upcoming model who models for free to get some decent pictures (beware of GWCs).
• Some amateurs consistently produce quality work and without the means (models, team, MUA etc.) a pro with a professional budget might get.
• “Since digital photography has appeared, everyone can call himself a photographer.” – they could before too, it was just not as easy as it is today (especially dark room work)
• “I am amazed with the bad quality and quantity of pictures I see each day everytime I open my Facebook.” – if you look in the toilet, expect to see shit…       Facebook is no reference for anything but vanity and stupidity.
• “The problem is that phenomenon has increased a real self narcism and mediocrity.” – I find the same to be true with professional photographers.       Photographers I look up to become full of themselves just because a mediocre image of theirs has received a bunch of likes on FB.
• “Again, it is not about the quantity of people who love your work but quality.” – quantity becomes quality (unfortunately).  When the media sees that 300’000 people like a puppy image, they will feature such images…
• “I have true love and devotion for what I do. Always ready to give the best of myself.” – so do many amateurs whether they are good or not does not matter as to how they feel about it.
• “I am angry because there are true talents who struggle to make a living of their passion. ” – but then this is how most now world famous artists were (Van Gogh). Except that now there is such a crapload of photo “art” out there that even someone who would have been on par with Ansel Adams 60 years ago may go barely noticed…
• “You don’t need magazines, photo associations or galleries to exist. You don’t need them but they need YOU.” – well apparently not  – they may need “you” but if you are not willing to lower your price to suit their budget, they will find someone else who is willing to (unfortunately).
• “Because of the raise of amateurs that proclaim themselves photographers, the cut of rates, prices and even free of charge have killed the market and industry. Therefore the quality is not what it used to be. That is the main reason among many others why some professionals are being left in the cupboard. ” – this is not because of the amateurs but because of the photography clients (magazines, media, companies) who are willing to go with less professional material (mainly due to lacking budgets).  Also because the audience does not know any better – like you said, they “like” everything on Facebook, even crap.  So why pay tens of thousands of dollars for a professional campaign, when the non-professional gets the job done and is just as liked by those morons on FB? This way you don’t have to pay an art director either. The masses likes mediocre crap – so give the masses what they want… (terrible I know)
• “He was angry with those wannabes he had  no respect for.” – I doubt he would have acted differently, wannabes have passion too and when you are passionate you do not follow reason. He should have been angry with his clients who left him for the wannabes…