In the early part of my career, there seemed to be a very tight definition as what constituted a professional photographer. Most of the trade associations asserted that a photographer must generate at least 80-85% of their annual income from photography. But things have changed rapidly over the last couple of years, and the majority of the photographers I have spoken to regularly, openly admit they have had to seek alternative income streams so as to survive.
Usually this has been in the form of lecturing and teaching and I, for one, have been exited and challenged by this new career opportunity. Others have looked slightly further a field than this and now enjoy such activities as furniture restoration, gardening and decorating. I certainly don't take a negative view of this and realise that with hard economic times we need to protect our fragile existence and this can only be done by relying on additional income streams.
However the one thing all these photographers have in common is their attitude towards their trade craft and their creativity. They are not prepared to comprise the process by which they creatively produce their images or the way in which they serve their customers. So what constitutes the service of a professional photographer and why are we older practitioners so reluctant to compromise it:
- someone who is willing to invest time to understand a client's product and service and then interpret it to maximum effect through a carefully devised creative solution.
- to work in a courtesy, polite and professional manner and to make sure that all deadlines around the brief are met to an exacting standard.
- to work under pressure and react calmly and efficiently when things don't go to plan.
- making sure all the appropriate insurances are in place (public liability, indemnity and goods in trust) and that they comply and work within the health and safety guidelines of the industries they are employed by.
-willingness to invest in the latest technology and equipment so that he keeps abreast of the changes to industry and provide the creative solutions in the most appropriate format for the client. Also investing time through education and training to make the most of these advancements.
- customer after-care, storing the images securely which we have been produced for the client and making sure that they have ready access to them over many years. Also to act to protect the rights of the images so that client knows that his company images are not being 'used and abused' by others.
As you can see, these are not unreasonable things to aspire to but unfortunately these also have a heavy financial implication on the individuals that wish to meet these standards. Over the last few years, the 'dayrate' of photographers has inexorably been driven downwards and clients have sought to maximise their returns from their advertising spend. I totally sympathise with this and have implemented many changes in the way we now now market our business. However, there is a line that I now feel we are crossing where creativity and service is being sacrificed for short term gain.
Many of the new entrants to the photography industry, are ill-prepared for the requirements that are place upon them by clients (poor or no training). I am always staggered by the response when I ask at seminars how many of the individuals there, who are undertaking paid work, are insured. Very rarely do I encounter a respondent who says yes and the majority of the time I am asked by the delegates why insurance is required at all (we just taking some pics). On other occasions, I am confronted by prospective clients who are facing a major dilemma, they existing photographer who they had been paying £100-150 a day for the last year or so has 'gone bust' or disappeared and they no longer had access to their images or the photographer had sold them to a 'rights free' picture library in one last desperate attempt to raise money.
So I would suggest it's the attitude and approach which governs whether an individual can be classified as a 'professional' but this can only be met with the support and understanding of the client.
Richard
www.emphasis.biz
www.richardsouthall.co.uk
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