Today’s article is from photographer and guest blogger Matthew Bridge Wilkinson

The future of photography has been on a knife’s edge for some time now, although some might say 2011 is the year it has finally fallen from the blade. This really sank in for me recently as I was reading a thread on a forum for professional photographers. Many of the posters, talented full time pros, were conveying just how tough the market is for them right now. Client’s perceived value of photography is being driven down, and costs are being driven up. In a time of recession it is expected that we may struggle for custom or be expected to do more for less, but in reality the problem goes a lot deeper than just the economic climate.

It seems incredibly common for pros in 2011 to be asked to provide services at prices that are untenable as a profit making business. Many report the average client is in some cases expecting a pro to effectively work for free. Modern couples are looking for someone to compete on price, with a cash in hand part timer using an entry level camera. Pros are hanging up their cameras, they claim they can’t make a living anymore. The reason they state? A huge influx of Uncle Bob’s (tongue in cheek term for photography enthusiast without a business) and new photographers entering the photography market part time. These photographers don’t need to make a living and thus can charge prices that would be unrealistic to a successful business that would pay at least one wage. Is this true? Is this all there is too it?

Sadly as someone who aspired to go full time, I am coming to the conclusion that weddings are not a means to do this for me. I wonder even if in a few decades time wedding photography may be untenable as a full time occupation at all, except maybe for the higher end of the market.

So what is behind this decline? What has changed? It is clear to me that photography as a professional service is continuously being devalued by both the public and by the media who consume it.

You only have to look at many “top name” photographers, who don’t shoot weddings themselves anymore, instead they teach aspiring wedding photographers. Very few stop and ask themselves why these talented and experienced people are running these courses and not shooting weddings. The answer of course is quite logical, there is more profit in the training than the actual shooting itself. The number of wedding photographers is growing, far higher than demand.

Look too, to the magazine shelf in your local news agent, how many magazines are popping up to help you go pro, or make money from your photos? Quite a few, I saw 3 in my local newsagents this morning. So there is a clue to the heart of the problem, an influx of enthusiast and amateur photographers aspiring to be a pro. This is a definite increase in supply and anyone with a grasp of basic economics will know that more supply will effect the price unless there is also an increase in demand.

Where you may ask has this influx come from? The easy answer of course is the digital revolution and the internet. In days gone by the pro photographer provided a service that few members of the public dare attempt, they shot using film, and captured the day without knowing if they had the shots. Film was almost perceived as a mystical art. The images on film are not visible until after they are developed and thus, it was hard to know if you had a good image or not without experience and skill.

Fast forward to today and the perception is that digital = “easy”, or “automatic”. Thanks to the marketing of manufacturers the average member of the public believes that a good camera can give amazing results as long as it has enough megapixels. I was told a story by a mentor of mine who overheard a salesman selling as an SLR to someone as a “pay for itself” purchase. Since then I have been in a certain high street retail store and heard a young salesman do just that, tell a person looking at a compact that if they buy the SLR they can earn extra money from weddings. You can’t really blame the manufacturers, they are just trying to sell their cameras as we are trying to sell our photography.

Social media, like flickr and facebook has driven a photography culture which is great. The internet lets anyone be a photographer, Google 365 project and see how many hits you get. Next time you go to a gig or concert you will find half the audience are experiencing it with a phone in-between them and the stage. Which brings about another good point, we also have cameras on everything even our phones, the media in 2011 would rather pay nothing for a rubbish photo from a camera phone over a licensed professional image. This too has driven down the price to rock bottom for stock photography.

I accept it is easy for me as a part timer and a relative newbie to the world of photography to pick apart the market and the industry. A lot harder is to identify ways to change things and make things better for both the client and the photographer. There are some positive aspects of the way society is changing that can lead to opportunities if we just look for them and grab them, instead of struggling and fighting them.

Don’t sell yourself short
It can be tempting to compete with the forever declining prices, but that will only validate these prices are right. Sadly if you are trying to earn a living it is not always so easy as to just turn the work (and thus the money) away. Remember that if your price is cheap the perceived value will be much much lower.

Don’t be overly resistant to change
Modern clients are very media savvy and the internet has spawned a “file sharing generation” who expect instant gratification and to be able to share something instantly across the internet.

Of course this view is at odds with the concept of copyright which few members of the public understand and some who do frankly don’t even care about it. Our works do look better in prints, that cannot be denied, but if a customer wants a disc, then sell it at the right price.

Regulation or qualification
It is a simple fact that, anyone can buy a camera and call themselves a photographer. We all know someone who hired a cheap photographer for their wedding and many get terrible pictures. Industry wide regulation would be hugely beneficial to the photographers and to the clients. Sadly as photography is subjective and has no safety implications, such as that of say gas fitting or electrical work, it’s very unlikely the government will intervene and demand any kind of regulation. It is sadly an extremely unlikely outcome unless photography organisations and individuals lobby hard, this also seems unlikely sadly.

Educate your customers:
It can often seem ironic to me that a wedding being one of the most expensive occasions in a persons life and that capturing the day is something people try to do on the cheap. A day where you spend so much on things that last only one day, that people will skimp on the photography. Photographs are the lasting legacy of the big day, they are often all you have to show for it, they are how we remember it, they are heirlooms for our children. I know I and many others attempt to communicate this value to any clients I meet, but not only that, I communicate that to my friends, my family, to people I meet. I share my philosophy and hopefully they will come to share that view.

Diversify or reinvent
Strangely todays generation are more image conscious than ever. Even children have such a high understanding of fashion and self image and they always want to look their best. As photographers we need to tap into that mindset, speak to our potential customers and understand the market.

Sell something unique, look to the trends of the modern market and find a niche. True enough no niche lasts forever as others will jump on the band wagon, but successful pros are there because they are ahead of the trends, not following behind them. Many photographers are now moving into the video world as moving pictures seems to be “the” modern medium. Of course this may be a concern to the existing videographers who may well perceive photographers as their “Uncle Bobs”.

Brand yourself
In the modern world branding is a powerful tool, and can go a long way. If done correctly, you can portray your business as one of quality and stand out beyond the average competition.

Just as importantly don’t make your photography about price, if we focus on competing on price alone we are doomed to fail. Make it about great presentation, about quality and about high levels of service.

Re-educate linked industries
I have read a wedding magazine article stating that you can easily get wedding photography for £500 or less, or buy a camera and get your friend to shoot it. They are rife now and are part of our problem. If we see this we need to take time to correct it, to explain why it is unrealistic or a false economy. If we just get annoyed but do nothing we are in effect condoning the statements through inaction.

Educate new and aspiring photographers

It’s easy to think that photography like any industry is jealously guarded and no-one shares anything. This couldn’t be further from the truth. However if we are to keep our future profession tenable, we need to take time to educate new and aspiring photographers, explain to them the challenges of the market, of the long term repercussions of unrealistic pricing. If you are new, try and research the market, work out a business plan, look into what it costs to earn a living from photography and understand it. Business skills are more important than your photography skills.

Conclusion:
In conclusion it seems likely to me that low to mid range wedding photography will become ever more a “part time” profession, and the sad reality if that happens is that the standard of the photography will suffer for it. Like anything in life the more you practice the better you get and an industry of part timers will never be as high a standard as those who do it all day every day. On the flip side, work for the commercial sector can never fully go part time, as business customers will not want photographers who can’t work in the week.

The simple fact is, if you want to earn your living from photography, you need a good business mind. The competition is fierce, even if not in quality but in price, the perceived value is lower than ever and the number of photographers increases every day. That is not to say the fight is over, there is plenty we can do, and with a little planning and thought there is still money to be earned from photography.

This article is far from exhaustive its barely scratching the surface. Please join the discussion and share your thoughts and views.

Thanks to all the photographer’s on the SWPP forums who have helped me form my opinions over the past year and to the recent thread that sparked me to put thoughts in to writing. I hope I have represented our issues accurately.

 

Matthew Bridge Wilkinson

Matthew is a professional photographer based in Warwickshire in the Midlands of England. He has qualified as a Licenciateship with the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP). Originally self taught in photography, his love for capturing a beautiful image has grown. Whilst he loves to try all aspects of photography,  his passion is for photographing people. In the past 12 months Matthew has been mentored by noted professional photographer Damian McGillicuddy

Twitter : @MattBW

www.warwickshirephotographer.com

www.bridgewilkinson.com