p.1 #1 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
Hi all.
Iīm writing a paper at university on the photography business. My research topic is: "New markets and chances in the photography business."
Fact: Internet and digital changed the business. The past 10 years brought us: flickr, microstocks, decline of prices, party-photo-pages, blogs, world-wide buying of stock material, etc.
So:
- What is coming the next 10 years?
- Where do you see new, emerging markets?
- What developements come next?
- How should we adapt to the new challenges?
- etc.
Please send any input (comment, opinion, link, etc.) If you have access to data (sales, price development, etc.), please send. My email is contact(at)larseberhart.com (you know....spambots).
p.1 #3 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
dan221081 wrote:
Or alternatively .... and heres an idea.... You could do the assignment yourself like everyone else is doing.
Seriously I could easily put down about 5,000 words regarding this subject without really thinking about it too much.
You have the resources of all these search engines , and I am sure your university has a huge library.
Do like what we all did when we were at university and go and do some research
- Iīm doing the assignment by myself. I didnīt ask anyone to do my work just for some ideas or comments. I could also put down 5000 words "without really thinking about it too much", but that would only be my own personal view. Therefore, I ask fellow pro photographers what their experiences are.
- search engine: I guess pro photographers give better info on the business than search engines.
- library: not one single book on the newest developments in photography. Iīve already included over 20 books on general marketing,, stragetic operations, blue ocean startegy, etc. BTW: research does not always mean staying in the library and replicate already written work, it also means going out into the real world and trying to get info from "out there".
p.1 #5 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
All the things you list are certainly having an impact on photography, but the one thing that is impacting the professional photographer more than anything else (IMHO)is the number of really good cameras that are available to the consumer. You don't need to spend $5000 to get a camera capable of producing great pictures. This means that more people have good cameras and as those numbers increase, so does the liklihood that an amateur will capture a great shot. This trend has lead news agencies, newspapers, and TV stations to solicit the amateur for their photos rather than buy from a professional or hire thier own photographer.
This means that fewer and fewer pros are able to make a living and that dramatically changes the landscape.
Now, before someone rants about how they continue to make money and don't feel threatened by the amateur, let me say this. Not every pro will be put out of business or even visibly impacted by this trend. But there is an impact. Every time a family decides to let Uncle Bob photograph the wedding (even if he does a bad job), or takes their own camera to the ball game, a few dollars come out of the economy. And in the long run, that impacts us all. And it happens day after day...thousands of times a day across the world.
p.1 #6 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
I supposed you're writing a paper that requires citations. Would you be citing opinions from the FM board to give proper credit, or would the ideas become yours? Are citations from an Internet board valid for your class? Also, assuming you're really in Austria, your society is really different from some of the people on this board. The experience of a sports photographer who does business with the Placentia/Yorba Linda AYSO would not be applicable in Austria.
Otherwise, you can scroll through this board, as well as wedding and sports, to get some ideas on the challenges in photography.
p.1 #8 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
Freerider72 wrote:
- library: not one single book on the newest developments in photography. Iīve already included over 20 books on general marketing,, stragetic operations, blue ocean startegy, etc. BTW: research does not always mean staying in the library and replicate already written work, it also means going out into the real world and trying to get info from "out there".
Perhaps no books, but plenty of trade magazine publications like PDN that feature monthly articles with art directors, art buyers, photographers, photo editors, agents, stock editors discussing exactly the topics you're bringing up.
p.1 #9 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
Wow...tough crowd!
I'm not a pro (oh noes) so I don't really have an opinion on the business aspect of photography yet, but I think it's worth noting that the lines of photography and videography are now becoming blurred with the introduction of HD video capabilities in the new 5D.
In 5 years will wedding photographers be expected to do both photography and videography?
With the advances in technology, will photographic technique be put on the back burner while these new cameras do the hard work for you?
Will University tutors and lecturers be phased out as anyone can be a pro?
No need to cite me, I'm sure I'll live. If you become rich and famous off of my thought-provoking questions though, I'll expect 10% of your yearly income over a 10 year period.
p.1 #11 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
dan221081 wrote:
Or alternatively .... and heres an idea.... You could do the assignment yourself like everyone else is doing.
Seriously I could easily put down about 5,000 words regarding this subject without really thinking about it too much.
You have the resources of all these search engines , and I am sure your university has a huge library.
Do like what we all did when we were at university and go and do some research
COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE RESPONSE. He is supposedly asking professionals for their opinions....a perfectly acceptable method of data gathering. Maybe he came to the wrong place.
p.1 #12 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
So:
- What is coming the next 10 years?
Lets see, ten years ago I was using a Kodak DC4800 3.1 mp P&S with 512k Lexar and I thought I was on top of the world. Less than a thousand dollars for a top of the line digital camera. Well, top of the line for a P&S.... the Canon SLR's were close to ten grand plus lens. Not even close to afordable.
- Where do you see new, emerging markets?
Well, FaceBook and YouTube will go the way of CompuServe and that quad-core Mac that everybody is so proud of will be like the Trash 80 I used to have (Tandy/RadioShack 80... TRS 80... Trash 80, because it was).
- What developements come next?
Digital Cameras are basicly computers. What is that processor law??... computing power doubles every couple of years and the price drops by half? Or something like that. It is the same with cameras.
- How should we adapt to the new challenges?
We won't. Changes will happen just like they always have... Forced upon us for good or bad. Do you remember when the conversation was along the lines of ... "I'll never give up my 12x12 box glass plate for something as trivial as a 35mm!! They can never be as good because they're so small." Same conversation a few years ago when it was film vs digital.... "You'll need at least a thousand mega pixels to equal the quality of film!" Yea, Right.
- etc.
Indeed.
But I agree with Simon. All of these topics are covered in much more detail in the mags he referenced.
p.1 #13 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
nathanlake wrote:
COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE RESPONSE. He is supposedly asking professionals for their opinions....a perfectly acceptable method of data gathering. Maybe he came to the wrong place.
p.1 #14 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
EltonTeng wrote:
....Also, assuming you're really in Austria, your society is really different from some of the people on this board. The experience of a sports photographer who does business with the Placentia/Yorba Linda AYSO would not be applicable in Austria. ....
Not? I guess there are certain aspects that can be applied to both locatinons. Shooting for the AYSO is a niche market, so you donīt face much competition there. Thatīs a strategy that works everywhere. But how do you protect you niche?
Or: a publication/store near you looking for a picture for a small ad, are they going to contract you/buy an image from you or are they going to search in Flickr for an image? Or buy at a microstock agency for USD1? We in Europe are facing the same challenges. nathanlake wrote:
....He is supposedly asking professionals for their opinions....a perfectly acceptable method of data gathering. Maybe he came to the wrong place.
Iīm getting the feeling, that thereīs the fear that even talking about the change of business wil hurt the business.
Replacement of photography by videography has been mentioned. Personally, I also thing, that "photo"-capable video cameras will hurt the business in the next 10 years. Certainly not in portrait photography but i.e. news.
p.1 #15 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
I would go to sportsshooter.com's message board and do some reading in the threads there. There are threads nearly daily about the state of the industry, changes, and job cuts. Also look at this: http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/2014
p.1 #16 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
Freerider72 wrote:
BTW: research does not always mean staying in the library and replicate already written work, it also means going out into the real world and trying to get info from "out there".
Research also doesn't really mean getting opinions from message boards on the trends in photography. You could potentially lift quotes from users here to provide some sort of interesting anecdotal evidence, but because the pool of responses is so small, you wouldn't be able to make a realistic generalization about any of it extending to the overall market.
Your best bet would be to find information from journals and trade magazines. I'm sure your university has a searchable online database at the library.
p.1 #18 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
mdude85 wrote:
....Your best bet would be to find information from journals and trade magazines. I'm sure your university has a searchable online database at the library.
And why do you assume I didnīt do that?
In addition to reading/quoting Kim&Mauborgne, Prahalad&Hamel, Ahn, Bettis&Thomas, Bain, Arthur, Drucker, Hargadon, Foster&Kaplan, Mintzberg&Ahlstrand&Lampel, Moore, Lester, Pascale, even Schumpeter and Ohmae (just to name a few of my 2-page bibliography), Iīm also asking photographers on their opinions.
Searched databases of course included, along the universityīs own DB, EBSCO and ProQuest.
And guess what? While the automobile or air travel business is widely covered in dozens of books and thousands of articles, photography isnīt.
Or can you name me some titles which cover photography from an operations strategy perspective?
p.1 #19 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
Why doesnt everyone chill out? Im at university as well, and getting help from anywhere is always welcome. Im sure the OP doesnt necessarily intend to use the posts here as citations, but more as a point of reference for research.
p.1 #20 · Photography - where is it heading to? Need inputs.
Freerider72 wrote:
And why do you assume I didnīt do that?
In addition to reading/quoting Kim&Mauborgne, Prahalad&Hamel, Ahn, Bettis&Thomas, Bain, Arthur, Drucker, Hargadon, Foster&Kaplan, Mintzberg&Ahlstrand&Lampel, Moore, Lester, Pascale, even Schumpeter and Ohmae (just to name a few of my 2-page bibliography), Iīm also asking photographers on their opinions.
Searched databases of course included, along the universityīs own DB, EBSCO and ProQuest.
And guess what? While the automobile or air travel business is widely covered in dozens of books and thousands of articles, photography isnīt.
Or can you name me some titles which cover photography from an operations strategy perspective?
What is the reason to try to impress me with a listing of consumer theorists and your "two page bibliography"? If you're looking for "titles which cover photography from an operations strategy perspective", then how do you intend to find your answers on a forum which covers such topics as "Do Most Pros Shoot RAW?", "Slideshow making..." and "Problems with Smugmug"? I understand this forum could be a "jumping off point" for your research but it's very very far from authoritative. It's almost detrimental to some degree.
If you're looking for a forum where a lot of people complain about their business model without even stopping to think that it could be obsolete, then this would be the place to hang out.
?
Too true.