Previous Page | Contents Page | Next Page

Photographers

Professional Photographers create permanent visual images. The subject matter is wide ranging, and most Photographers tend to specialise in one or several particular areas, such as:

• Social Photography - for recording events such as weddings or producing portraits
• Schools Photography - for large group or high-volume individual portraiture
• Advertising & Editorial - for describing products or ideas, or illustrating stories or reports
• Fashion - for illustrating or advertising clothes and accessories
• Corporate, Industrial & Commercial - for company brochures, annual reports, records or marketing
• Medical, Forensic & Scientific - for producing accurate and objective images that are recorded for measurement or analysis
• Press & Photojournalism - for recording events and the people involved
• Photographic Art - for galleries, communal spaces or fine art sales
• Aerial Photography - for mapping, commercial or public sector use

The relationship between photography, electronic imaging, image manipulation and communication technology has changed dramatically over the past few years, due as a result of converging technologies, and resultant advances in digital imaging. Traditional darkrooms are being replaced by computer systems, typically running industry-standard software, such as Adobe Photoshop. Commercial clients are increasingly requiring images to be supplied in digital format (usually on CD), which while having perceived cost savings by removing the need for prints, may involve extensive post-production work in Photoshop, and hence require more time (and different skills) of the Photographer. There is also anecdotal evidence of a backlash against purely digital supply, with reports that clients are now asking for both prints and digital format (the former being considered easier to browse and examine, compared to on-screen viewing)⁷ . In addition, the audio visual industry is increasingly using LCD and Plasma screens for the display of photo images.

Skillset estimates that around half of all professional Photographers in the UK are self-employed (although the figure is believed to be higher in some disciplines, such as advertising and commercial photography), and thus have to cope with all the problems of running a small business, which usually means that actually creating images accounts for only part of their time.

Anecdotal evidence⁸ suggests that a successful Photographer typically devotes around 30% of their working week to running their business and 70% to taking photographs; however, for less successful Photographers, this ratio is typically reversed. In addition, Photography is very much a 24/7 job, with no standard office hours - Photographers must be able to work at any time, on any day. Self-employed Photographers typically earn money from:

• Commissions and Assignments
• Sales to Picture Libraries
• Related Activities - e.g. teaching
• An alternative second career - e.g. in retail or web design

Commissions typically come from social or commercial clients where a Photographer might be hired to take wedding photographs or portraits, to set up a fashion or advertising shoot, or to produce images for marketing materials. In the advertising, commercial and corporate markets, commissions typically originate with advertising agencies, design groups and, increasingly, direct client contact. Assignments typically originate with newspapers and magazines or other publishers where a Photographer is hired to cover a particular event or region.

For many Photographers - especially those who focus on commercial, rather than social, photography - sales to Picture Libraries may form a large proportion of their income. However, this is often at the expense of commissions, as stock photography is now easier to use and manipulate, thus reducing the demand for completely original work.

Earning a living as a self-employed professional Photographer is not always easy, and many - especially those who prefer to focus on their own artistic, rather than commercial, work - undertake additional related activities to increase their income. Common examples are:

• Photographic Research - typically funded by universities
• Lecturing - typically in Further and Higher Education
• Public Art Photography - typically grant-funded
• Gallery Sales - an incredibly difficult area to get into
• Book Sales - often more of a loss leader to gain exposure than a way of making money
• Local Arts Sales - selling prints through local art fairs, markets, galleries, with the Internet as a popular way of starting out
• Community Arts Photography - typically funded by local authorities, hospitals and charities

New entrants to the industry frequently assume that freelancing is the only option, and overlook the numerous opportunities the industry provides for permanent employment. There is a wide range of sectors and organisations that employ significant numbers of - often specialist and highly skilled - Photographers (as well as freelancers in many cases); some broad examples are:

• Police Forces - forensic photography
• The Medical Sector, including hospitals, dentists and organisations such as the Wellcome Trust - medical imaging
• The Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces - a wide range including corporate communications, industrial and commercial, portraiture, police work and intelligence gathering
• The Creative and Cultural Sectors, including museums and organisations such as English Heritage and the National Trust - documenting the historical and cultural record
• Publishers (including newspapers and magazines) - illustrative and editorial photography, photojournalism and press photography
• Academic and Research Institutions - scientific imaging
• The Leisure Sector, such as cruise ships - social photography

Some Photographers, primarily those specialising in advertising or fashion, or who are studio-based, may employ an Assistant Photographer. The role of the Assistant is to do whatever is necessary to support the Photographer and ensure that a photographic shoot runs smoothly. This may involve

• Preparing sets and setting up lighting
• Checking that all equipment is functioning
• Ensuring all necessary consumables are available
• Downloading and optimising digital files
• Entertaining clients
• Shielding the Photographer from interference and interruptions

Working as an Assistant Photographer can be one of the best routes into the industry, offering the opportunity to learn on the job from a practising professional - it is effectively an informal Apprenticeship. While many Assistants see the role as a stepping-stone to becoming a professional Photographer in their own right, there are some who view it as a career vocation in itself and have no desire to set up as freelance Photographers themselves. However, full-time assisting jobs are getting harder to come by⁹ , so the role tends now to be a freelance one. This is partly because digital technology has made it easier for Photographers to do more of the Assistant's work themselves (for example, there tends to be less equipment to carry around) and partly because fewer Photographers can afford full-time Assistants.

Industry Issues

There is concern that the market is overcrowded¹⁰ , with too many Photographers coming into the industry, frequently lacking essential skills. Access to cheaper technology has lowered the barriers to entry, as has a perceived lowering of quality expectations - it has been suggested¹¹ that many end-users are happy to eschew top quality in favour of images that are simply 'good enough'. As a result, it is easier for less talented Photographers to survive and harder for others to differentiate themselves. Hence there is both increased competition amongst Photographers, and reduced recognition of - and hence willingness to pay for - experience, talent and quality.

On top of this, the widespread availability and ease of access to stock photography has reduced the demand for original commissions. The increasing use of more generic images from large online libraries has led to a lowering of Photographers' day rates¹² , further exacerbating their difficulties.

At the same time, the use of digital technology has hidden costs that are often not appreciated by clients (and sometimes not by the Photographers themselves either). High-end equipment typically costs upwards of £20,000 and the pace of technological change means that depreciation is rapid, at around 50% per annum. Hence Photographers are likely to need to factor into their charge-out rates an allowance of at least £10,000 per year for replacing equipment. Additionally, they must allow for the time required to process digital images after capture - typically around ten minutes per image - and the cost of archiving digital images and supplying them on optical media.

The Assistant role, which is a traditional route into the industry (although a continuing need for prior work experience creates something of a vicious circle), appears to be the stage at which many new entrants drop out. It has been suggested that this may be due to the highly demanding nature of the job, requiring hard work, heavy lifting and long, often family-unfriendly, hours¹³ .

---

7  Skillset Photographers Focus Group, July 2005

8  Correspondence with the British Institute of Professional Photography

9  Careers Info Pack 02 - Photography, Association of Photographers

10  Survival Of The Fittest, British Journal of Photography, 18th May 2005

11  Skillset Photographers Focus Group, July 2005

12  Getting Down To Business, British Journal of Photography, 6th April 2005

13  Skillset Photographers Focus Group, July 2005

Home |  Sector |  Nations & Regions |  About Us |  Search
Copyright 2007-08 Skillset |  Data Use Policy |  About This Site |  Accessibility

Skillset, Focus Point, 21 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9GB. Tel: 020 7713 9800