I want to address the struggles that we have spoken about previously in lectures and seminars; the struggles of keeping your status in the photographic and creative industry. There have been many times where the photographic world has come under strains from companies like Apple, creating iPhones with cameras just as good a pixel as your typical DSLR camera.

I have been reading articles around the issue, there are many conflicting thoughts on the matter. Many people fight for the industry and say that it could never be a dying working environment whereas some people say that there are too many people with access to good cameras that there isn’t really any need for professional photographers. Reading some of these articles has made me rethink the whole photographic industry. Are they right? Do we still have a place in the industry?

I guess it is something that has been at the back of my mind for a while now and ever since starting the photography course at uni, I have been thinking about it more and more since we have also been discussing the facts a lot more. I would love to be able to look at the industry and say I will definitely have a job by the end of my university degree but thats not always the case…

There is an article on Reddit discussing “Is Professional Photography Dying?”. After reading through it, I have a few points that I would like to address… I think the person asking this question has the same sort of worries that I do with the industry:

He has addressed his concern within the photographic industry and is asking for other thoughts on the matter. Some of the people replying to it got a bit hot headed and worked up about the situation. There was near enough an equal divide between the two sides of this discussion. Many people thought that it might be an industry that needed a rethink whereas some people thought that we needed to carry on as we are.

As shown here, there are many conflicting opinions and people outing them in very different ways. Reading through this, it is easy to pick out the areas that people are finding concerning in the industry. Many people have commented on the fact that the industry is getting more and more expensive which primarily ends with people no longer being able to afford the equipment and expense of it all. This is something that is worrying professional photographers, but also something that could be overcome if you are a photographer already in the industry or know a way in that is going to get you enough £££. I think the underlaying answer to it all is: if you’re hard working and passionate about photography enough then you will make it. If you go into the industry half-heartedly then there is no way that you are going to be able to make a living from it.

References:

• https://fstoppers.com/news/professional-photographer-shares-uncomfortable-truths-about-industry-68077