The result is that the $15,000 spent on conference photography has been replaced by free work done by in-house staff. A point and shoot will have to do. The marketing budget has been cut by 50% – two of three agencies have been fired. The $1.5 million marketing budget has been slashed to $500,000. Staff is being cut and those remaining are taking pay cuts.

It’s not about making cuts that aren’t required – it’s about survival. Sure – bean counters who know nothing about photography are making some of the decisions. But at the end of the day, the choice is cut staff or cut outside support even if it means quality is lower.

Photographers need to learn business and stop giving their work away.

Norfolk is dead on. I agree with him 100%, Photographers should have seen this coming years ago, I sure did.

Only us, who are in the industry can tell the difference between a quality image, and a ‘point n shoot image’…but we aren’t the market for the images, we are the producers. So it really doesn’t matter what we think.
So if an advertiser needs to cut cost……professional photography is where he’ll start.

I personally moved towards web development several years ago, having seen the declining economy earlier than most (I lived in Detroit). I also moved to better markets twice in one year. I’ll continue to do what is necessary to support myself. I’ll also continue to do what I love, which is photography. I now only shoot what I want, and I pick and choose from the assignments and commissions that come my way, not feeling the pressure to take each one.

Things are changing, and I may or may not be able to make 100% of my living from photography, as I did in the past. The future will be what ever it will be, and I’ll continue to adapt to meet what comes my way.

The plus side of all of this technology is that I get to shoot and write whatever I want, and if it’s at all compelling I’ll find an audience. And maybe one day, I’ll figure out how to benefit, either directly or indirectly, from it financially.

There is certainly a future and I for one have always adapted, as I know many others have. The medium is evolving and there is some great new work around.

I still believe that Simon is absolutely right; re-skill is essential, but becoming a plumber or a web designer is not necessarily the way forwards.

Perhaps a better interpretation is to re-evaluate your core interests and abilities and go out and enhance them?

The next year or two will certainly sort the wheat from the chaff, perhaps something that is much needed within the industry?

Nick.

Ideas, on the other hand, come from a different place all together and are not device driven.
They come from you, from your life experience, ethos, some you saw or read, whatever. The ability to convey those ideas clearly and eloquently is something that few are able to do well.

I am excited to see what the future brings .It has pushed me to strive to make work that has something unique to say and offer. Photo and Art buyers have more choices than ever, executing an image has never been easier. Achieving visual integrity has never been more difficult.

Time to sharpen those pencils!

So, I wonder if any cleaners, security guards, coffee boys/girls, junior editors have had their rate cut?

Doubtful, hell the photographer is just a person who pushes the button, they can afford to have the rate cut.

Finally, somebody with some balls! I get so damned tired of all this bitching, whining and moaning about how bad things are and will be. The world keeps turning, things change. We evolve. At least the strongest of species evolve. The rest die.

FDR said it best, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” No, things will never be the way the were 20, 10 or even 2 years ago. But I’d rather focus on finding new answers than whining about letting go of the good old days.

Grow some!!!

In the last two years, y income been split between magazine and advertising photo work, teaching and mostly, video or web oriented shoots.

I think what I have always found interesting is how many photographers think that being a photographer means they shouldn’t do more mundane photography work to pay the bills. That is an expensive way to sustain a photography career.

Many ADs believe that everything can be done in photoshop and have little comprehension of reality, let alone LIGHT…

The best advice I can give is cut out the ad agencies, go direct to client; they are often more reasonable to deal with.