Comments on: Making Images For Others

By: Kaushik Balakumar

Kaushik Balakumar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:53:12 +0000

Dear Ganesh,
A nice article indeed. I remember reading your thoughts on a forum/your blog that the winning images in prestigious awards like BBC etc look for either – rare natural history moment OR usual events but clicked differently (or creatively). AND I totally agree with that view of yours. We photographers browse through tons of photography-forums and articles everyday.
Not all people do that !
For us, BOS is too common; a sea-scape with rich coloured sky and water crashing on rocks is common; BUT for a non-photographer, getting/seeing (in a photograph) a well-lit bird filling up the frame is ‘wow’. And, getting two birds is ‘rare’. He would think that ‘How much the photographer would have had to patiently wait to get the rare moment of two birds on a branch’. If they too browse photography forums regularly, they would understand our perspective (as to why we call such images too common & ‘nothing different’).
A non-photographer is usually used to seeing images of family&friends on picnic/party etc. The birds, dreamy ocean-scapes are something ‘different’ !
From where I stand, I can totally understand (& appreciate) a person preferring the 2-bee-eater image above.
Reading this article, I am also reminded of my professor in IISc whom I respect a lot. He always used to say that hobbies have a special place in one’s life because you do what you ‘like’ to do; what gives you joy. When u turn the same thing into profession, u r forced to do what others ‘like’. He used to sight the example of a pro musician against a hobby musician. Pro musician has to sing what the audience wish to hear (or say the popular numbers).
Finally, as u rightly said, it is a definite challenge to make images which you as a photographer like to make + make it likable by customers.

Regards,
Kaushik

By: ganesh

ganesh — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:20:13 +0000

Oh, yes Adnan, if your are talking about 600/500mm f4s. Not all professional nature photographers afford them unfortunately..Thanks for your views. Have a nice next week end

By: adnan

adnan — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:18:48 +0000

Dear Ganesh, yes, on average photography is certainly not a great paymaster.
I have a deep respect for Pro photographers. Not just the Nature and the Glamour kind. Take even the humble event photographers to be found scurrying around halls and patios, crouching, leaning, their faces stoic, their eyes darting… eternally clicking away. Ironically, they try their best to stay out of the \’picture\’ even as they attempt to immortalize the event for everyone else. I think it takes a mighty character to pursue such endeavors.
No, my point is not that these folks are uncaring about their daughters school fees.

I was just thinking that a Pro birding lens costs a few years worth of school fees atleast here in Pune. that\’s all.

have a great week ahead,
adnan

By: Ganesh H. Shankar

Ganesh H. Shankar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:31:59 +0000

Adnan, I think we don’t realize it when our day job finances our passion (nature photograhy). A professional nature photographer will think twice before buying a quality filter which we may not. I know this from a few friends who live on nature photography and a very few of them have several 100K investments.

As far as school fee is concernd it depends on where the nature photographer lives in this world ! Darwin Wiggett in one of his blog mentioned average income of a US professional photographer being $34,000 (in 2007, accoring US department of labor). I have several of my friends living in Bay Area in US earning tripple of that amount atleast and complaining about school fees. Even in Bangalore, India I can’t think of paying my son’s school fee from nature photography alone (if I take that up as a profession) and he goes to a decent old school (offering CBSC) and not to a hi-fi modern international school. Professional nature photography does not necessarily mean lots of money !!

I suggest you read Darwin’s Blog “The Starving Artist – Painful Reality ?” here – http://darwinwiggett.wordpress.com/category/marketing/

I’m sure school fee is a component which a professional nature photographer can’t afford to ignore !!

By: adnan

adnan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:59:27 +0000

I am not sure i follow the argument….
A ‘professional nature photographer’ will have several 100K of equipment. School fees cost few K.
Are we talking of an individual who deems it fit to spend several hundred times his daughter’s school fees on equipment and then ponders how to pay fees?

By: Pramod Viswanath

Pramod Viswanath — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:06:35 +0000

My thoughts are inline with yours Ganesh! Also, one has to decide, as a photographer do you what to shoot for others or for your own satisfcation. It’s easier said than done for a professional photographer as their photography is the question of their bread and butter! I feel we are at an inflection point!

By: Arjun Narayan

Arjun Narayan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:50:54 +0000

Brilliantly written article Ganesh. I agree with you, people may end up dancing to the customer\’s tune though their heart may not agree to it.

By: Sharath

Sharath — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:02:09 +0000

Yes, especially the last point about “low” cost images.
Its hard enough to convince people that one’s images are good, but when they have more alternatives to look at (and lesser price ones), it gets all the more harder.