The reason trained photographers are no longer in demand began in the 1980’s when ‘great work’ was no longer a necessity as computers hit the streets and various creative jobs were farmed out to secretaries, salesmen, and nearly anybody who could turn on a PC. Quality standards fell and ‘great’ work was replaced with ‘good enough’ work. A secretary with a single course in Pagemaker graphics cannot create strong art day in and day out. Photoshop can’t make art great either. It is crap in, crap out.
On Jun 12, 2013, at 4:01 PM, Paladin wrote: It seems to me there are several reasons the paid photo biz is going down
the tubes.
1. The cash price of admission is certainly going down. But that's only
a small part.
2. The need for a blend of technical/visual balance to achieve a good
result has changed from say 50/50 to more like 5/95, or maybe even 1% tech
to 99% visual. People who feared cameras because the camera was too
technical no longer worry about that aspect. So visually-oriented folks
(most of the population) are now able to participate. Of course there are
still degrees of ability to create good pictures, but it still boils down to
fact that there are a lot more people that can create visually than there
are people who are good technically as well as visually.
3. Lowered expectations are, to my way of thinking, perhaps the most
significant change in the photo business. As folks share more and more
krappe on the various social sites, that krappe becomes the norm. Perhaps it
is even more than that, and krappe is what people expect and strive for! But
let's face it, there are a lot fewer really rotten photographs being
displayed now than in the film days simply because the cameras do most of
the work. So the standards are changing, and with time I expect them to
rise.
4. Also, a LOT of people are becoming visual technicians via Photoshop
and similar programs. They start with a mediocre photo, run a few filters or
suchlike on the image, and they wind up with a True Masterpiece. While this
may not be a good idea in photojournalism, the new breed of
citizen-photojournalists don't realize that "photojournalism" and "ethics"
can be used in the same sentence. It is simply not in their experience. That
is not a good thing.
5. More people are taking pride in their creation abilities and want to
do it themselves simply for the pride, the ego factor, and because they can.
Long story short, we are just now entering the golden age of photography
because the craft is now being handed over to the masses. Maybe it's good,
maybe it's not. But it is reality.
My $0.02 worth.
Peace,
rand
Art Faul
The Artist Formerly Known as Prints ------ Camera Works - The Washington Post .
|
