Toward the beginning of the history of photography, the photographer had a mysterious cachet. Everything was manual, intricate, and ostensibly shrouded in secrecy.
As the technology progressed, although much became more accessible, much remained the secret purview of the Wizard (wielding all the strange pieces of equipment and hidden within the darkroom).
Today an infant grabs a nearby cell phone and starts pressing buttons. It seems as if the universe has coughed up cameras into the hands of everyone. Moreover, since it is “all” digital, let's face it, you take hundreds of shots, even a monkey is bound to have one or two turn out. To say that the field has unprecedented competition is an understatement.
As the profession itself has progressed, most all of the standard positions seem to have a line of people waiting to fill an already filled position.
Such is the challenge for today's photo major. To spend nearly $100,000 and four years of your life to gain a baccalaureate degree, at first blush, would not readily seem a cost-effective use of one's time. Yet, if the student is serious, then a fulfilling career awaits.
I have written before on the distinction between art and craft (search the blog). The serious photographer of tomorrow will constantly:
• be practicing the art
• be reviewing what has gone before
• be a student of what is currently unfolding in the industry
• be developing and maintaining a database of all players associated with the photographic experience
• seek new ways (stylistically/stylizing, software-based, etc.)
• schedule for oneself exposure through gallery shows on a regular basis
• expose themselves to every inspiration
• develop and maintain an online presence, both their own and within the online folios used by art buyers
• seek ways to design producing every result they will need
• look for ways to be ever more professional
In other words, the photographic profession is not necessarily glamorous and certainly is real work.
In the face of all this, what had been the "working class" photographer (of weddings, school pictures and Little League cards), has pushed even these expressions into a higher art.
The most promising approach to this that I am aware of is not a new one. It is the capacity to be a specialist. There are photographers who make a very good living because they are the go to people when it comes to photographing produce, or cloth (or whatever). Certainly, if there is a man or woman out there specializing in produce photography, I am confident that they photograph more than just produce. My point is that their take on the photography of produce reinvigorates the mystery of old, the approach being akin to a research scientist desperately looking for the cure to a disease. Aside from all the obvious, such as different lighting, different backgrounds, they may play with different sprays to produce condensation. They may gently stroke a sheen of oil upon the skin of a grape. They might try applying simple syrup, instead of water, one droplet at a time.
Let's say its electronics. How many thousands of ways has electronics been represented thus far? How many thousands of ways can you think of that have yet to be expressed? How many software manipulations have yet to be tried because they had not been around in the past?
If I'm a print media guy and I want the best shots I can get of a new USB port, I'm going to want to hire a specialist.
What do you bring to the table that is new, different, more, better? What special niche will become yours? If there were visions of traveling around the world or hanging out with gorgeous models and just clicking something in your hand, then you may want to rethink the profession. The exotic aborigines are now photographing for themselves! Real art, real passion, real work, to produce real dividends as part of a real profession … if you can make it all real for you, and keep up with the ever unfolding technology, there is an as yet unseen tomorrow that you will help create for all of us.
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