• Skip to content

Main

  • Portfolio Overview
  • Selected photography projects
  • On Photography
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Back
  • City of London
  • Creative Londoners
  • Guangzhou, China
  • Henley Royal Regatta
  • Margate – English Seaside
  • Not My King Protest
  • Social Landscape of Contemporary Life
  • What is British?
  • Whitechapel Mission
  • Back
  • Your store for Photographic Prints, Photo Zines and Workshops.
  • My Account
  • Checkout
  • DxO Affiliate Links

Michael Wayne Plant

Main

  • Portfolio Overview
  • Selected photography projects
    • City of London
    • Creative Londoners
    • Guangzhou, China
    • Henley Royal Regatta
    • Margate – English Seaside
    • Not My King Protest
    • Social Landscape of Contemporary Life
    • What is British?
    • Whitechapel Mission
  • On Photography
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Store
    • Your store for Photographic Prints, Photo Zines and Workshops.
    • My Account
    • Checkout
    • DxO Affiliate Links
  • 0 items

Follow us

Connect with us on LinkedinFollow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookFollow us on FlickrFollow us on InstagramSubscribe to our Channel on YouTube

Header Widgets

Posted on November 25, 2013

Exploring how the Photography Industry works.

AuthorPostedbyMichael Wayne Plant

Making money as a photographer is going to take new ways of thinking.

This is a very interesting idea for the future of photography, more photographers (photography enthusiasts) than professionals, will change with the internet disrupt the dynamic of the photographic industry. This fact alone and the ideas expressed in the two mentioned articles will alter how photographers may do business in the future.

Dan Hellers post originally published on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 The future of photo sharing sites and agencies and this article published on as The Five Truisms of the Photography Buisness. These two articles should be compulsory reading for all photographers whether they are pro’s or semi amateurs who want to work as pro photographers.

1) More people practice photography as a hobby than as a profession.

This is impacting how many people can be providing images to an expanding marketplace.

2) Prices are Based on Market Factors, not Clients’ Pockets.

More images are avaliable causing market factors to change how prices now work for photographers.

3) It is not Anyone’s Responsibility to do Right by You.

We as photographers have to be careful for our rights but these will most likely have to change as the issue raised in point one is damaging our abilities to extract money from our potential clients.

4) Diversify your Business.

In addition to doing my photography, I am also teaching photography, it means that I am no longer worrying about my income from photography. This has freed me to rethink my own approach to photography and the subjects that I am interested in. Allowing me to start working on new work that explores areas of our society, that is not going to be so easy to make money from as a photographer. I am following this advice here and have been for sometime, without knowing it.

5) Not all Photographers are Equal.

“Many new photographers come into the scene by working for less (or for free) to get their foot in the door, sometimes displacing the previous shooter who used to do that job. I’ve displaced other photographers this way, and others have done it to me. Those that I’ve replaced should have moved on with their careers before I got there; and those who’ve replaced me usually did so with my blessing: It was time for me to move on. (Many times, I just recommend someone to take my place even though the client doesn’t want me to leave.) If your career develops properly, you won’t get displaced. Your name, reputation, portfolio and general experience will be justification enough for you to choose which jobs you want, and when you want them.” Dan Heller. Thinking this way will change your approach to generating clients and how hard you seek to hang onto existing clients. I was talking with my wife a few nights ago about a photographer we both know, about his main client that he has had for at least 10 years, which is a really long time for a photographer. If I was him, at this point I would be worried, as I would be seeking to build redundancy into my working profile for when they  find others to work with.

We have had a rapid reduction in the cost of becoming a photographer, learning the skills and practices of professional photographers has got easier with the barriers to entry as a photographer greatly reduced. At the same time, the internet has altered how clients work and their traditional markets. This photographers are aware of, but not thinking about, the way that more photographers have also affected existing professionals. Photographers ability to make money has also been exacerbated and hidden in plain site by the changes that our media clients have also been experiencing which is also been cause by the profound changes that the internet has enabled, so I think we have confused these issues when we think about the current state of the photography industry.

 

Dan Hellers webstie

 

 

 

0 Posted in PhotographyTagged Dan Heller

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Post navigation

Previous
Next

© 2025 All Images and text copyright of Michael Wayne Plant MINIMAL

Follow us

Connect with us on LinkedinFollow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookFollow us on FlickrFollow us on InstagramSubscribe to our Channel on YouTube
x
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
✕