Exposure vs. Compensation

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markesc
Posts: 1530
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Exposure vs. Compensation

Post by markesc » January 22nd, 2018, 10:22 am

I thought the comment section here offers a great "debate" on the hobby, I'll stick with my day job :lol:

https://www.dpreview.com/opinion/931283 ... or-4-years

From the author:

"Uploading to 500px = being seen by other photographers
Uploading to Flickr = being seen by other photographers
Uploading to Instagram = drown in the mass
Uploading to Facebook = drown in the mass
Uploading to Unsplash = ensuring your images end up in the hands of designers and agencies"


and a rebuttal here:

https://blog.photoshelter.com/2017/08/u ... otography/



Questions the article poses and other commenters and my own scattered thoughts:

Is "exposure + giving away work" simply a race to the bottom if it's the case you wish to make money from photography?

Should pro's dislike or be upset with those that give work away for free, which in some cases continues to dilute the value of photography?

Is the majority of photography done today so similar in style that it's contributed to it's own demise because of commonality? (and is it even "art" if it's simply a technical pursuit at that point, which the bar has been lowered because of technological improvements and ease of post processing?)

Can one make a living at photography short of winning the lottery or having other "resources" to live off of?

What do you all think?

pcg
Posts: 372
Joined: May 31st, 2011, 7:46 pm
Location: Chehalem Mountain

Re: Exposure vs. Compensation

Post by pcg » January 22nd, 2018, 10:56 am

markesc wrote: Is "exposure + giving away work" simply a race to the bottom if it's the case you wish to make money from photography?
Yes
markesc wrote: Should pro's dislike or be upset with those that give work away for free, which in some cases continues to dilute the value of photography?
No
markesc wrote: Is the majority of photography done today so similar in style that it's contributed to it's own demise because of commonality? (and is it even "art" if it's simply a technical pursuit at that point, which the bar has been lowered because of technological improvements and ease of post processing?)
Yes. You can also look at this as the bar has been raised, in that now you must do exceptional work to get above all the common stuff that's out there.
markesc wrote: Can one make a living at photography short of winning the lottery or having other "resources" to live off of?
Yes, but very difficult. The ones I know that "make a living" either do it through extreme marketing (Peter Lik), finding a niche and going on the art fair tour (brutal lifestyle), take advantage of years of building a client base and sell mainly to travel agencies and calendar companies (friend of mine), or market their work in conjunction with selling photography workshops. I have a Photoshelter site and have found that the only way to sell photos is to put them in front of people where they will be seen. I do three to four one month shows a year (wineries, resorts, etc.) and 90% of my sales are framed photos from the shows. I sell maybe four prints a year from the website and those are either repeat customers or people who have seen my work at a show. No way do I make a living. I barely pay for my hobby.

Steve20050
Posts: 395
Joined: November 12th, 2009, 8:06 pm

Re: Exposure vs. Compensation

Post by Steve20050 » January 23rd, 2018, 2:30 pm

I would add that most photography done as a professional is taking photos others want. Not what you want. That is what I ran up against years ago working as a photographer. I could shoot weddings all day. I worked for a hospital for a couple years. They were always photos that others were paying me to do. What they wanted. Once you decide to print and sell "your" photos, it becomes another ball game. It requires a LOT of work to sell your own stuff. You more than not run into. I really like that, but they won't lay down the cash for it. The internet gives you a much bigger audience, but you need other considerations like are they safe, will someone copy my ideas etc.

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