When photography becomes a business …
April 28, 2008
If you want to lose passion for your hobby, just make it your business!
When photography becomes a business ... often times it looses its most appealing attraction, uniqueness and artistic essence.
For most photographers that go into the business of making money with their photography, the initial driver is a personal passion for art, an internal need to express themselves with their photography. Soon after, they face the reality that a business is about the product, and it is about the client and market needs.
Commercial, and editorial photography target "average tastes", and it has become a commodity. Event photography is a commodity as well. Yes, exceptions occur, and some advertisement and magazines take advantage of the artistic aspects of photography. Even some event photographers do great artistic images, although it seems that most use the same "cheesy" photoshop filters and actions. Some great editorial photographers are now exhibiting in fine art galleries, an interesting trend that keeps growing in importance. But, in general, photography has become a commodity.
Anyway, why is this important?
Well, because selling commodities is a hard pill to swallow for people with artistic passion, people that want to be themselves, unique. Many photographers can't handle the idea of creating average pictures to satisfy average tastes just because of the money. They much prefer to sell their "unique" product, no matter if there is only a tiny market for it. Like in any other business, selling to a tiny market is a hard path to follow.
One has the option to explore the fine art market, and sell personal art for money. In fine art, no commodities are allowed, originality is what pays. This is a genuine adventure that I very much appreciate and admire, but often times it becomes a recipe for frustration. After all, what is the proportion of fine art photographers that can make a living selling their work?
So, what are the options for most of the photographers that just want to make the pictures they are passionated about?
One path is quite simple, and actually can be very satisfactory. Keep photography as your hobby, and do it just for pure passion and interest, not for money. This will allow you to keep your artistic essence intact, and you will follow a given path because your emotions drive you there. It will not be about the money, no need to compromise your work because of the money. Your images will just be limited by your own skills, talent, dedication and passion. You, nothing else, nobody else, will set the limit. Perhaps you will even have more time to photograph your personal projects than if you work as a full time professional photographer. Ironic, isn't it.
Photographers are passionated people, and passionated people are passionated not only about one thing, but many. Perhaps an option to consider is to choose to make a living with a passion that offers better opportunities to bring money home, and keep your second passion, photography, alive as a hobby ... to live a passionated life, at full intensity. Your job and your photography. I took this path myself. Circumstances and realities set the trajectory for me. Now I live with passion my job as a scientist and thoroughly enjoy my love for photography.
But, of course, if you are one of the few ones that truly have courage, genuine and unique talent as an artist, I wish you the best to try make your art your daily job. I admire you for trying, and respect you for succeeding.
This post was inspired after reading recently some posts from great emerging photographers that I very much admire and respect, who expressed at their blogs the frustration of the difficult path to make a living and get recognition. It is also inspired after reading an article about stock photography and seeing, "again", the commodities that are being produced by top micro stock earners.
Miguel Garcia-Guzman
Posted in Photography
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April 28th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
You can make your living as a commercial photographer and still do your own work. Photography is both my work and my passion.
The personal work I do makes me a better professional, and my pro work makes me a better artist. However, I work very differently at the two endeavors, both on a technical level and from a point of view.
My personal work is all done on film with medium format manual cameras, images are scanned to make prints and books. It’s all street work with my own way of seeing the world. My pro work is to satisfy clients. It’s all digital and all of my efforts go into making the client look their best no matter what I’m shooting. When I shoot for myself it is all about communicating what I feel about the world I inhabit. For clients, it’s all about giving them what they need, and then some. It’s not about my ego or how I feel, but how I use my skills to make them look their best.
I draw a very strong line between the two worlds, in the way I approach my subject and how I work. It is important to keep them separated because you will rarely derive any personal satisfaction, other than being well paid, from a commercial shoot. Photography is not an easy way to make a living, and because of that you can get easily and quickly burned out if you don’t stay in touch with why you became a photographer in the first place. I can’t imagine not shooting for myself, I’d become and angry old hack if I didn’t. I’m sure you’ve met one, I know I’ve met more than a few.
In the end, all we have is our passion for what we do and how we see the world around us. Exercise that passion on a regular basis, don’t let your personal work become a commodity. Hopefully, our personal work will one day be the work we’re all known for, but until then, I have bills to pay and kids to send to college. I wish I had a trust fund.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Great post, Miguel. We all go through this and I thank you for your honesty. There is a wonderful book by Glenn Kurtz called “Practicing” that speaks of this truth. You may want to check it out.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Thanks a lot for your comments.
Congratulations Mike for keeping your hobby alive while working full time as a photographer. I am very glad you realized about the importance of separating both, so you can cover financial needs and create art.
Stella, thanks for the reference. I will check it out.
Miguel
April 28th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Very correct words!
Completely with you agree!
The Photo as it not paradox are - easy money (behind very small exception of great names which burned down on the work and have left after itself - property of a photo). Often photographers come far in a component of business of magic of a photography. Photographers people observant and consequently in this life pass much through themselves, but especially - a rich life and poor - is disturbs them always.
Later 3 years professional works as the photographer, I come to the same conclusion which you here have written.
Sorry for my bad English.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Miguel,
reading your post today morning made me really think that I was the author
I’m exactly in the same position you are, enjoying photography as a Passion but working in a different area. It hearts, however, sometimes since I realize I would like to have more time for my passion and this is often impossible.
Thank you again for putting in words so clearly what is in my mind.
Massimo
April 29th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Lose is spelt with one o, the word you have used is loose which is the opposite of tight. My pants are too loose, I hope they don’t fall down. If they do I might lose them completely.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:36 am
Are you kidding?? Keeping photography as a “hobby” for people who have spent thousands of dollars going to art school for photography is a huge waste of money and talent. How can one say that you will have more time creating your art projects, while paying the bills in a traditional 9-5 job? I know many commercial, wedding and event photographers who are behind the camera everyday learning about photography, making a decent living and having enough time to create personal work. Full-time, free-lance photographers take huge risks in their profession but get the opportunity to do what they love. I don’t know many successful artists who are say, “Photography is just a hobby for me.”
April 29th, 2008 at 5:27 am
loose or lose … thanks for correcting my stupid mistake …
Miguel
April 29th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Hey Tamara,
No, of course, I am not kidding. It is a question of choices.
The reality is that an artist will do what it wants, only when it doesn’t do it for money, just to express his/her vision. Call it a hobby or a profession, it doesn’t matter. The point is to make the case that when the artistic direction is driven by the need to satisfy the client, to generate photography that sells, there are compromises to be made, and not everyone likes to make them. If you have to make a living from your artistic work, sometimes it becomes complicated.
A full-time photographer that takes his/her own private time to do personal work is not different from what I described in my post. They have a day job and on the side a passion for photography. What is the day job, it does not matter as long as you enjoy it. When it comes to do what you like as you like in your free time, not driven by money but by personal interest, then you can call it a hobby.
Thanks much for sharing your opinion.
Miguel
April 29th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Miguel:
I agree with you about your words on compromises. Maybe it’s an issue of semantics for me. I am not sure the wonderful photographers or artists that you feature on your blog consider themselves “hobbists.” As you are well aware, making art is hard work full of sacrifices and compromises. Compromises/sacrifices in the form of making the decision to work on art projects during weekends rather than spending time with family or friends or turning down paid work in order to spend time shooting. If these are the issues that you are referring to, then I wholeheartedly agree. However, there are plenty of world renown artists that make no compromises in the form of making art to satisfy the masses or collectors, and have become extremely successful. Sometimes personal work does generate money. There are artists/photographers who live quite well generating their own artistic vision.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Miguel,
you nailed the nail on the head. I get this question asked almost every week. Next time any my friends ask me why I don’t sell my photos or do work at events I’ll direct them to your post. I, nevertheless, envy and admire those that pursue their passion against all odds, and sometimes sacrifice comfort and a good life for the pursuit of their art.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
“I had a world popularity, so-called glory, but thus I have started to live in misery. To sell it was possible nothing. And with 1930 on 1940 I was glad, when it was possible to get money for a dinner. Then I was helped my lessons which by I taught photographers to fans, I learned them to do portraits, certificates and landscapes”
Frantisek Drtikol
It is possible to be guided certainly by high principles of a photography, and to recollect many-many known photographers of the present, but all we people, and at us in a life it is a lot of duties before relatives financial plan..
When speak on great modern photographers why everyone forget that many different reserves which it have helped - rich families, family of hereditary artists, acquaintances to editors of magazines, and simply related communications..
Let’s try to speak more truths..
Not all were born with “gold spoon” in a mouth, the some people feel a photographic reality too close to a body..
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:30 am
About forty years ago I came to this same crossroad and decided to turn my hobby into my work. I took the Rembrandt approach. Rembrandt did some wonderful work purely from inspiration (artistic endeavors). He also hired himself out as a portrait painter (commercial endeavors). Today, all of his work from commercial portraits to religious works to quick sketches are all considered priceless. As for me, I quickly learned that I was no Rembrandt.
I slaved over each project, from weddings, to portraits, to industrial case work. I strained for my own unique visions of each project. I did good work and I was proud of it. Unfortunately, most of my clients didn’t agree. They had their own visions.
I think most working photographers soon learn to separate their personal tastes from those of their clients. It only makes sense that you have to satisfy your clients. If you can do both, that is satisfy your clients and keep your artistic drive alive, then you are most fortunate indeed.
I couldn’t do it. Consequently, I gave up my photography as a career and kept it as my avocation. It has been my safety valve and artistic salvation ever sense. I guess I’m missing the Rembrandt gene.
May 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I agree wholeheartedly. I recently made the decision to ‘not’ try to be a professional event photographer and keep my 4-5 events per weekend ‘hobby’ because I could clearly feel the need to please the client in the paid shoots, and felt the images I created were vastly different from the ones I made when I was just trying to capture an event in my own way. It’s hard to explain to some people why you won’t accept their money because you want to shoot it your own way.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Hey Jim … I love your Rembrandt gene theory … very original … and your point very true.
Miguel
May 6th, 2008 at 2:09 am
I know with some certainty that I have no interest in commercial work. I envy someone like Michael Kenna, who does some advertising work but it appears to be entirely on his own terms. Agencies hire him for his style and it comes off as quite effortless (if you didn’t know they were ads, many of them would fit right in with his fine art work.)
So, although photography is so much more than a hobby to me, I will never be a full time photographer until I can sell enough of my work to actually support myself, which is probably never.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
If you want to make a living as a photographer, you have to compromise. You don’t have to compromise your vision, it’s really your time you are sharing. You can take the attitude that you will do the best work you can for your client, and try to offer him something unique to you, your own personal vision, but you have to be prepared that the client may not want that.
I think people become professional photographers because they want to make a living doing what they love. Even if you’re not an “artist,” you love the act of photographing, the involvement, maybe the troubleshooting aspects, and you want to be doing that all the time. You can be a photographer and have fun some of the time, or you can be a truck driver.