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Author Topic: The image of a shrinking path.  (Read 3211 times)

bill t.

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The image of a shrinking path.
« on: March 30, 2010, 02:08:58 am »

Yet another mother-of-six driving nails into the professional coffin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/business...ref=global-home

I think I'm gonna start working real hard on name recognition.  And I think my decision to concentrate on selling my photographic talents in the form of finished, framed art pieces ready for sale is a wise one.  Maybe.  For now.
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ckimmerle

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« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2010, 07:45:59 pm »

To be honest, I've never been much of a an of stock photography as very little shows much creativity, instead relying on formulaic situations and lighting. It is too generic. I think this new reality is going to force professional stock shooters to become creative and innovate, or enroll in a good electrician's school. Sure, this is about money, but it's also about companies being able to get similar quality photographs from untrained amateurs. Why do we expect others to buy something from us, when they can get it cheaper, yet as good, from elsewhere. Some of this may, in fact, be our own doing.

Perhaps it's time photographers stop complaining about amateurs and start offering a product that is better and more compelling than can be produced by the average housewife.
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RSL

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« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2010, 08:00:46 pm »

Chuck, I think you hit the nail on the head. "The times, they are a changin.." The end hove in sight way back when TV came along and killed Life, Look, etc., etc. Then digital came along and that was the last nail in the coffin. If you can go out and shoot four or five hundred pictures in an afternoon and not have to pay for film or processing, you're almost bound to get something that's saleable, whether you know what you're doing or not. Stock photographs, of course, have to be cliches, because that's what the market understands.

Bill, I wish you all the luck in the world selling finished prints. If you can make a living at it, you should get a medal.
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Justan

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« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2010, 12:49:05 am »

At this point at time there are so many things driving nails in so many coffins the real opportunity appears to be the digging of graves.

I'm not sure what the metaphor means exactly, other than we are in dire times and there are an over whelming number of reasons why we are in dire times. The article preys on that sentiment.

But there is always a market for people who are willing to offer a quality product, and to go the steps needed to get it to market.

At least that's the working hypothesis................

Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2010, 01:27:03 am »

Quote from: ckimmerle
... Perhaps it's time photographers stop complaining about amateurs and start offering a product that is better and more compelling than can be produced by the average housewife.
Unfortunately (at least for professionals), it is not just about being better than amateurs. That would make sense ONLY if there is sufficient demand for such products. If what an "average housewife" shoots is good enough for potential clients, it does not matter if you shoot something better (given that you would be also charging more, she would be still a "better value for money").

RSL

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« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2010, 06:30:17 am »

Quote from: Justan
But there is always a market for people who are willing to offer a quality product, and to go the steps needed to get it to market.

At least that's the working hypothesis................

Justan, I think that was the working hypothesis for the guys who used to make buggy whips too.
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Justan

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« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2010, 11:00:04 am »

Quote from: Slobodan Blagojevic
Unfortunately (at least for professionals), it is not just about being better than amateurs. That would make sense ONLY if there is sufficient demand for such products. If what an "average housewife" shoots is good enough for potential clients, it does not matter if you shoot something better (given that you would be also charging more, she would be still a "better value for money").

I understand your point. But not all of photography is about shooting and selling generic ad copy.

There is a difference between the part of the market place that sells generic ad copy and those who do product photography, as example, or those who put together a collection of properly matted & framed works, and brings those works to market, as another example. This group is what Bill is talking about. Very few recreational photographers are willing to commit the time or expense to do either of these genres of photography.

Justan

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« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2010, 11:00:35 am »

Quote from: RSL
Justan, I think that was the working hypothesis for the guys who used to make buggy whips too.

Russ,

You would help your position by doing a little research on mixed metaphors. Buggy whips faded due to a decline of horses used for transportation. There is no decline in photography but there is vastly increased competition.

ckimmerle

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« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2010, 12:04:39 pm »

Quote from: Justan
Buggy whips faded due to a decline of horses used for transportation.

Yes, and Russ remembers those days fondly, I am sure  
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2010, 01:38:20 pm »

Quote from: Justan
... mixed metaphors. Buggy whips faded due to a decline of horses used for transportation. There is no decline in photography but there is vastly increased competition.
OK... let me try this: horses = professional photographers... transportation = photography... cars = amateur photographers... how does that work for you as a mixed (or not) metaphor?
« Last Edit: March 31, 2010, 10:41:59 pm by Slobodan Blagojevic »
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Rob C

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« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2010, 02:46:04 pm »

Quote from: Justan
At this point at time there are so many things driving nails in so many coffins the real opportunity appears to be the digging of graves.



That is perhaps the most accurate one-liner I have ever come across.

Rob C

RSL

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« Reply #11 on: April 02, 2010, 07:42:00 pm »

Quote from: Slobodan Blagojevic
OK... let me try this: horses = professional photographers... transportation = photography... cars = amateur photographers... how does that work for you as a mixed (or not) metaphor?

I think Slobodan hit the nail on the head again. (That's the nail in the coffin, Justan). And Chuck, you're right. There's nothing quite as bracing as the smell of horse manure at dawn.
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Justan

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« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2010, 12:07:13 pm »

Quote from: Slobodan Blagojevic
OK... let me try this: horses = professional photographers... transportation = photography... cars = amateur photographers... how does that work for you as a mixed (or not) metaphor?

I dunno, a metaphor which requires a 3 point flow chart is not only a weak a metaphor but the greater implied point is the acceptance of failure.

When I was a teen ager, oh so long ago, I used to go to golf courses and during tournaments I’d offer to take fotos of people doing their tee shots, and then print and sell the golfers 8x10s. I’d tell them that at the very worst the results would be the least expensive lesson they ever had and at best it would be something they were very proud of. I’d sell about 50% to 75% of the fotos I took, and back in the 1970s I made up to a kilobuck for what amounted to a few days of work.

At one of my usual courses, someone tried to chase me away and in response I offered to let them sell the fotos for me and said I’d give them 30% of the gross take for doing so, and offered them other incentives. Not only did it get me solid contracts with the course management, but it also freed me up from having to track down the golfers and get them the fotos. Even better, this lead to a wide variety of other opportunities.

When times change, the willingness to innovate will lead some to success where others will just curl up an accept failure.

Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #13 on: April 04, 2010, 02:16:46 pm »

Quote from: Justan
I dunno, a metaphor which requires a 3 point flow chart is...  a weak a metaphor...
I dunno, for some probably... others get it in an instant  

Quote
When times change, the willingness to innovate will lead some to success where others will just curl up an accept failure.
Oh, I am sure some buggy whip guys "innovated" into S&M whips, then discovered photography, and then... I will leave the rest to your imagination

Justan

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« Reply #14 on: April 04, 2010, 03:37:06 pm »

….and as another topic winds its way to obscurity, remember that serving your customers better than the other guy is everything, while being certain that others will “get it” is to take the back seat, rather than the driver’s seat, of your own future…

Metaphorically speaking, that is…  

Rob C

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« Reply #15 on: April 05, 2010, 12:24:13 pm »

Quote from: RSL
I think Slobodan hit the nail on the head again. (That's the nail in the coffin, Justan). And Chuck, you're right. There's nothing quite as bracing as the smell of horse manure at dawn.




Hey, Russ, I thought that was supposed to be napalm!

Rob C
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