Five types of Professional Photographer - which one are you?
photo credit: William Hook
As we wend our way gleefuly into the abyss (only kidding folks!) that is the ever growing, ever increasing pool of “professional photographers” (cough splutter) chasing less and less work, I took a look around an identified five types of photographers working in my area today.
Which one are you? Which one would you like to be? One thing is for sure. Once you’ve made your bed as one of these types you sure can’t move up the ladder. You can try but the evidence of your past shoot ‘n’ run exploits will be all over the net like a bad rash. Oh dear.
So, prospective pro’s out there (and buyers of photography who can’t seem to understand that they’re hiring a photographer and not a camera operator ;)) - lets have a look at the contenders.
1) Dave DoItAll
There are many Dave’s about - more since digital. Dave will tackle any job he’s offered. He’s not proud. From a grip and grin at the local school to stringing for the local paper to product shots and ‘fashion’ shoots for two-bit bridal magazines, Dave’s done it all. His pièce de résistance is the evening corporate dinner & dance where he lurks about shooting candids and posed portraits as people arrive.
Dave has a studio that’s actually his garage or “annexe” as he likes to call it. He shoots portraits there of anything that moves and tries to compete with the local Walmart. Dave owns a blue sky backdrop and a set of Alien Bees. Dave likes brollies. Dave can’t be bothered with “usage” he gives all his commercial clients unlimited usage.
He has a website that he put together himself to save costs and it shows. Dave thinks animated gif’s are still cool. He lists his entire Nikon equipment inventory on his website (like his level of client base gives a ****!!).
Dave never shoots a RAW file. He shoots large jpeg and gives his clients everything he shoots on CD. Dave doesn’t believe in spending time on computers. Dave charges $400 for a full day shoot no matter what it is and discounts that for volume.
2) Wendy Mainly-Weddings
Wendy shoots mainly weddings. She’s not uber-expensive and isn’t bad. She gets pretty booked up in advance and is a good businesswoman….with weddings. She also does commercial work on the side and while she can coax a smile out of the Mother-in-law from hell, she really doesn’t have the first clue about how a commercial photographer operates or charges. She shoots architecture with a DSLR because “you can fix the verticals in Photoshop easier nowadays”. She never uses a flash off the camera. Like Dave she is also an officionado of the ready-to-go JPEG but she’s getting interested in RAW since Lightroom came out. Wendy is thinking about leasing a vacant shop in the local town where she will shoot public portraits during the week. She doesn’t understand “usage”.
Wendy has an off-the shelf website made in Flash with a slideshow function. It plays “I will always love you” from a midi file. Wendy thinks retouching is using a set of pre-made actions she bought off the internet to add vignettes and soft glow effects to her shots.
She thinks nothing of charging the father of the bride $5000 to cover his daughters wedding but will happily shoot a commercial brochure midweek for a Fortune 500 company and charge them a flat fee of $500….because it only took 3 hours didn’t it…..
3) Nick Niche
Nick is the man. He owns a photography business; he’s not a solo runner. He employs two assistants. Nick wouldn’t be seen dead near a PR shoot or a wedding, he is a specialist and he pursues his niche in photography with a passion. He knows how to charge for usage too and makes good money from advertising and corporate shoots. He shoots RAW and leaves JPEG to his wife’s point and shoot. He rents a large studio in the centre of town, in a cool industrial sector. There’s no frontage. Its pretty anonymous from the outside. He neither wants nor needs any Tom, Dick or Harry popping in and asking his portrait prices, perish the thought. He belongs to a select Photography Association.
4) Sally Stockshooter
Sally got into stock when the founders of Alamy were still in nappies. She’s been shooting for 25 years and has amassed one huge collection of material. She has 25,000 images placed across a number of libraries. She took to digital with reluctance but now loves the freedom it gives her. She still submits to online libraries on a regular basis. She makes a tidy sum each month from image sale royalties which fund her perpetual round the world trips. She knows what sells and she knows how to shoot it. She thinks people who sell their images for $1 are nuts.
5) Tuba (type five’s only have one name - its way cooler)
Tuba’s real name is Norbert, but nobody is going to call him the ‘king of cool’ if his uses that name. So his marketing team picks and moulds him a new identity. He is the next big thing. He is repped, exhibited, lauded and worshipped. To your average photographer, Tuba’s work is nothing special. Cries of “anyone could do that” abound. But Tuba’s team know its not the work itself that sells, it’s the mystique; the cachet that comes from hiring him.
He has Photo Editors wetting themselves in anticipation of being able to afford to use him. He commands ludicrous assignment fees. His special edition prints sell for five figure sums. He is hype over substance. He has studios in several major world cities. The bastard….
So there you go.
Bottom to top.
Who am I? Well…..if Nick Niche and Sally Stockshooter ever had a love child…….? ;)
PP
** please note: All characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**
Solid.
The only one I’d say you forgot was the guy that goes to all sorts of ‘events’ (football games, concerts, etc) and takes pictures with rediculously nice gear, gives his images away for a ‘photo credit’ (and maybe free entrance) under the impression that eventually his name will be big enough to become Tuba… THEN he will start charging. He continues to toil and bleed money for ‘credit’ until he decides to pack it in and just enjoy the show.
:)
Nice one Joe, how about we call him “Eric Event” or “Chris Creditline”…. ;)
PP