Did digital camera kill the professional photographer?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 7:35PM I recently had this strange discussion with another pro wedding photographer about the business these days. His advice for me as I am starting out my wedding photography business was: "Please STOP, THINK and look for something else".
Let's look at the data first:
- According to a market research company Research and Markets, digital cameras were enjoying 48% penetration in USA in 2009 (up from 40% in 2004). This includes point-and-shoot cameras, as well as SLRs.
- Camera phone penetration reached 50% (106 million) market penetration among mobile phone users already back in 2007.
- Professional Photographers of America (PPA) estimated that the average wedding photography business needs to earn about $5000 per wedding in order for the business owner to make a reasonable living.
It does seem like these days everyone has a friend, uncle, or cousin who owns a DSLR. Therefore everyone can ask someone they know to take free pictures of them. Ooookaaaaay.... This does sound like a nightmare for the pro photographers. Is it really that bad?
Stop, think, and look for something else
What the other photographer said really intrigued me. Stop. Think. Look for something else. Is this business really that bad or is he simply afraid of new competition? So I asked him to explain his thinking behind this. He went on describing that the business got a lot worse since the digital cameras flooded the market, especially in the past five years. He pointed out that there are thousands of cousins and uncle photographers out there, who are willing to shoot weddings for free or close to nothing... which in turn kills the business for the pro photographers.
I think I can see where he's coming from. It's true that the business got more competitive as a result of the technology advancements and the lower cost of entry. You do not need much skill to shoot a photo that is properly exposed. You do not need to learn how to work with film. You do not need to develop films before you can see whether you screwed up.
The business will survive only if the professionals differentiate themselves from the hobbyists.
So what is the key to staying on top?
Talent and hustling.
If you are only talented, your photos will be admired by everyone but you won't be able to make your ends meet. Every uncle and cousin photographer will stand in front of your photos in awe. But your wallet will be empty. You need to do one other thing, that is just as important as your talent: hustling. There is no safety bareer (high cost of entry) to protect pro photographers now. The game is open to all. Game on!
Reader Comments (5)
That's why Jasmine Star is so popular - she's great photographer with great personality and marketing - I'm used to look at beautiful photos and talented photographers' work all the time, however when I stumbled upon J*'s page and I started to google her I was immediately hooked, there's something about her that's extremely appealing and it's not just her skills - she seems genuinely friendly, makes time to answer questions (even answered some of mine) and makes sure all her supporters know she appreciates their support (which is really an exception - there are lots of talented photographers who don't bother to 'mess with little people', and just seem overly arrogant,and full of themselves - it's so uncool), so personal interaction is also very very very important. The great pictures are of course important, but there are LOTS of people who take greate (or even greater) pictures and I wouldn't even consider to contact them. I would get her anytime as my wedding photographer (with additional resources and if I wasn't already married, of course :-)). So that's my opinion, what do you think about all of this?
Very true. It is important to bring your personality and an excellent customer service to the game. And Jasmine does that. Plus, she is cute too which never hurts. :) Brides make emotional decisions, they want to know that they hired someone who understands their needs, someone who can laugh with them, and someone who will make them feel comfortable.
Must confess!!!
Because I knew that every single one of my guests would have digital cameras, I decided to get the cheapest photographer.
(I basically hired a photographer because the wedding planer told me I definitely should have one)
I got awesome pictures from both my 'very affordable' photographer and guest alike.
I have seen many posts similar to this one on internet but all other have filler content and are not up-to-the mark. This post especially made me to post my comments as its credible, it’s very good!
I consider myself an advanced amateur photographer and have 2 years of formal photography training. I would not and have turned down requests to photograph weddings over the years.
1. I have certain standards when it comes to my photography.
2. I don't consider myself a people photographer, so I think the results might not reflect my best work. See #1.
3. It's not only about great photography skill. You need to manage a wedding party as well as family members. People management skills are equally as important.
I've seen the end results of "my cousin who takes really good pictures" scenario. In every case there were some good photo's but no consistency.
You get what you pay for.