photographers: the next endangered species

Here I am in the middle of another sleepless night.  I’m listening to the constant pouring rain outside and scrolling through random crap on the internet.  Its been this way for the last two weeks.  The rain has come and gone, but the rambling sleepless nights remain unchanged.

Two weeks ago I found out that I had lost my job.  At least that’s the simplified version of how things went, the reality is more complicated.  

For the last 2 years I had been freelancing for one of the community papers in the Vancouver area.  I was the only photographer they used, and though under the freelance title worked there every week.  Staff photographer positions have gone for most places now, so instead regular freelancers are contracted for a lot of papers.  It wasn’t my dream job, but I learned a lot there, it paid the bills, and I got along well with the editor.  And I was really good at it.

The editor went on vacation in April, and for 3 weeks in a row I was told that it was really slow and they didn’t need me.  There’s usually a lull in spring, so I didn’t think much of it.  On the 4th week when I didn’t get my weekly assignment email I knew something was up.  So I decided to do a little internet sleuthing.  It only took me about 20 minutes to find the kid who had been doing my job.  

A 20 year old journalism student who listed photography as a hobby.  Reading through his twitter account I could read all the little snippets from his days on the job.  His tweets about being confused using his own equipment, not knowing how to shoot certain events, and how hard it is being a photojournalist.

I did what any professional would do at 4 a.m. while reading the happy tweets of the kid who stole your job despite having zero experience.  I cried.  Got angry.  And then cried some more.

The next morning I confronted the editor, asking him why I hadn’t been getting work and if he’d decided to go another way.  He told me that he had fought with his boss to keep me on.  It wasn’t anything that I had done, and he even recommended other papers in the chain hire me.  It was simply that this kid was willing to work for free.  So the Publisher decided that if he could get someone to work for free, why bother having a paid position.

The irony of it is that this kid wants to be a photojournalist and has just eliminated a job in the industry.  Once a paper (or any business) eliminates their budget for photography it’s gone for good.  Those of us who’ve studied photography and the industry understand this.  Unfortunately digital photography has created a lot of hobbyists who get excited at the possibility of getting hired & published, and will gladly give away their work for free.  

It’s been happening all over the industry.  Clients sourcing amateur work on flickr or tumblr knowing that they can get them to work for free and give up their copyright without a second thought.  I watch as more and more “photographers” offer to do work for free, or severely undercutting the market.  Most of these just do it for fun, never understanding that it’s killing jobs for full time photographers.  

I love that there are so many people interested in photography these days.  I enjoy sharing my knowledge about my craft.  But I beg all amateur photographers to have some respect for us professionals.  

I understand how tempting it can be to want to see your photos published, but so many of you are being taken advantage of.  Clients aren’t stupid, they know they need to budget for photography.  That doesn’t mean they’ll still try and get someone inexperienced to do it for free.  Knowing how to put a value on your work, especially when you don’t think you’re good yet, is very hard.  If you want to do some work on the side take some classes, talk to professionals in your area, do your research and charge the going rates.  If you don’t think you’re ready for that, don’t take the job.

There is so much more to being a pro than taking a good picture.  We spend tens of thousands of dollars on equipment.  We have business costs like insurance, legal fees, accountants, assistants, cars, loans, etc.  Not to mention we also have to pay ourselves to live in our daily lives.  Most of us go to school to learn the business & ethics sides to photography.  We know how to deal with clients and produce the photo an art director wants perfectly.  We know how to properly handle dangerous and very expensive lighting equipment.  Photography is not just our art, it is our business.  

Getting paid to do what I’m truly passionate about is amazing.  It makes even the worst days at work completely worth it.  It is also the hardest thing a person can do.  Most people go to work keeping in mind that it allows them to do the things they are passionate about.  If they lose that job, they struggle and (hopefully) find a new one, but they don’t lose what they love.  When your passion and your income come from the same source, and your job is gone, it feels like someone ripped your heart out.

So to all those out there like Mitch, the kid who took my job, please think about what you’re doing.  To you it might be a fun new thing to try, or a good experience.  For us photographers it’s another sleepless night wondering how to pay our bills.