Themed to Death
If modern photography had a theme it would be just that. Themes. We’ve themed ourselves to death. What was a goldmine 15 years ago has become an almost dry river bed, yet we’re still scraping at the bottom of the barrel. We’re now degraded to the point of surviving on what’s left under our finger nails while thousands more are pushing and shoving to scrape beside us in the same barrel.
It’s Time to Find a New Barrel
I’m just like you, a humble photographer trying to make a buck. I also like you have a themed portfolio, a themed blog, a themed shop. I may be one step ahead of some of you in that I paid for a “custom” theme, but I’m still probably only ahead of maybe 60% of the millions of you.
When are we going to wake up to the fact that this Great Valley has become the valley of death? We weren’t invaded by a T-Rex either, we were invaded by ourselves. This ain’t 1849 anymore guys. It’s a ghost town filled with a million shops that all look the same serving the same thing in the same way. The customers are all but gone and those that are left are very unlikely to purchase your stuff even if your last name is Adams, Bourne, or Ratcliff. They may like it, share it, tweet it, reblog it, and otherwise regurgitate it all over the internet but when it comes to buying it. Fat chance.
A New Type of Photographer
So what’s a body to do? How are we supposed to make any serious money in this profession anymore? It’s really not that complicated I don’t think. Just be a normal person with a normal job working hard doing what you love. You have to do more then just post your work. You have to work at marketing, you have to be an entrepreneur. You have to care about design, typography, and generally just care about things other then yourself. You don’t have to be good at it all but you will have to find people who are and make friends.. like real friends who can help you.
No one owes it to you to buy something just because it’s there, just because they see it. You owe it to us to introduce yourself, to prove your passion and get your work gracefully and beautifully before our eyes.
Is it tough? Yeah. Is it risk free? No way. Are you guaranteed success? Haha pfff! Stop treating photography like the magic password to the cave of wonders. Just hunker down, meet some good folks, work hard each day, take some risks and enjoy seeing what you can do. Don’t try and get rich quick, try and do your very best in everything. Do some people get lucky? Sure. However you can’t work at being lucky, but you can work at bettering your chances.
Be a Human Artist
The longer I try and succeed at photography the more I’m convinced it’s about being human. It’s why portrait related photography is more successful then landscape photography. Portrait photography is all about people, it revolves around voices, muscles, personalities and lifestyles. I’m more likely to buy something from someone I know, and when it comes to art and design, I’d go so far as to say I never buy from a stranger. Whether I meet them online or in person I always get to know a guy before I’ll spend my money on his work, regardless of how good it is.
Good is a relative term in art anyway. You can have a good pair of shoes, one that is superior then another pair of shoes but the same does not follow in art. Art by its very nature is an expression of an individual. If I don’t know the person behind the art, it looses its artistic appeal and must be judged by its material qualities.. and there will always be another product of superior material quality when it comes to photography.
The problem we get into is when we start thinking like a company trying to sell material goods rather then as what we are. Artists expressing emotion. Not everyone is going to buy your art when it is an expression of who you are, but I guarantee you no one will if you try and keep yourself out of your art and just try and please everyone. I hate the Beatles, I can’t stand their music, but think what would have happened if they had listened to me and hadn’t just been themselves and made people love them for who they were? People just don’t buy pictures for the material value. It’s a piece of paper for crying out loud. If it has no more value then the ink it was printed with and paper it was printed on. Please, stop what your doing and find another profession.
Art is energy, it’s solstice, it’s inspiration, encouragement, anger, joy, it’s anything you the creator create. Some people will want it and some people won’t, deal with it. Your not taking pictures primarily to please people, you hope they like it, but your first priority must be to please yourself. Do that first and if you can’t make money at it fine, call it a hobby and get another job.
The Point
So the point is ultimately not whether or not we use themes. It’s why are we posting anything anywhere in the first place. Make money at all costs, or make money doing what we love? I for one believe we can still make a living expressing ourselves through photography. I do not believe it will be as easy as posting all your work on tumblr or smugmug and then facebooking it to all your “friends”.
