BackdoorArts
Senior Member
My brother has been a professional newspaper photographer for 25 years. I haven't once heard him put down the reporter asked by the paper to just "grab a shot with your iPhone". His beef, if you can call it that, is with an industry that has laid aside quality in the name of cost-effectiveness. How many people buy papers anymore anyway, right? So if someone's on the scene why not just get them to fire off a JPEG that can get thrown up on the website? Heck, TV stations will display "photos" (snapshots really - but they don't bother to differentiate) from just about anyone who fires them an email.
I am a musician, and have friends who are heavily invested in recording studios - some small, some massive, all commercial. They've watched as business has all but dried up as anyone with a computer can download a free copy of Pro Tools , Audacity, Garage Band, you name it, and "record an album" in their bedroom. Can you hear the difference? Absolutely!! Sure, there are some who can come close enough that it doesn't matter. And when you can't get a record company to even return an email let alone sign you then a friend with a couple microphones and a MacBook Pro quickly becomes an "engineer" or, gasp, a "producer".
DSLR + PhotoShop = Mac + ProTools. But knowing exactly how to get the most out of either of them comes only with time and experience. And time is money, no?
It's the way of the world, really. How many people would rather pay a lot less for a shirt at Walmart (or any discount box store) that they will wear out and replace 3 times before a quality shirt that cost 2-3x as much? How many people will complain about the cost of a local sourced, seasonally designed meal at a local restaurant because they "can get practically the same thing at Applebee's on the '2 for $20' menu"? We, as a world, have largely moved from connoisseurs to consumers in just about every aspect of our lives. Bang for the buck is the zeitgeist.
Those who have specialized in just about anything have to differentiate themselves purely by the quality of their work, their work ethic, and (cough, cough) their attitude and professionalism. Competition is stiff as there are just as many people going after a smaller market. But the market is there. And as in all markets, word of mouth is often the best advertising. So don't think that, "Oh my God, don't hire your cousin to do your pictures. We did that and it was a nightmare!!" isn't as effective advertising as a professionally done website. You just have to wait out the societal learning curve and keep your eyes open for where a professional is still the only reasonable solution.
I am a musician, and have friends who are heavily invested in recording studios - some small, some massive, all commercial. They've watched as business has all but dried up as anyone with a computer can download a free copy of Pro Tools , Audacity, Garage Band, you name it, and "record an album" in their bedroom. Can you hear the difference? Absolutely!! Sure, there are some who can come close enough that it doesn't matter. And when you can't get a record company to even return an email let alone sign you then a friend with a couple microphones and a MacBook Pro quickly becomes an "engineer" or, gasp, a "producer".
DSLR + PhotoShop = Mac + ProTools. But knowing exactly how to get the most out of either of them comes only with time and experience. And time is money, no?
It's the way of the world, really. How many people would rather pay a lot less for a shirt at Walmart (or any discount box store) that they will wear out and replace 3 times before a quality shirt that cost 2-3x as much? How many people will complain about the cost of a local sourced, seasonally designed meal at a local restaurant because they "can get practically the same thing at Applebee's on the '2 for $20' menu"? We, as a world, have largely moved from connoisseurs to consumers in just about every aspect of our lives. Bang for the buck is the zeitgeist.
Those who have specialized in just about anything have to differentiate themselves purely by the quality of their work, their work ethic, and (cough, cough) their attitude and professionalism. Competition is stiff as there are just as many people going after a smaller market. But the market is there. And as in all markets, word of mouth is often the best advertising. So don't think that, "Oh my God, don't hire your cousin to do your pictures. We did that and it was a nightmare!!" isn't as effective advertising as a professionally done website. You just have to wait out the societal learning curve and keep your eyes open for where a professional is still the only reasonable solution.
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