For openers, the respondents to the new survey are from a group with a much higher level of education. Most are college graduates and most of those went to a photography school. Slightly more are self employed. The same number are primarily advertising photographers, but the number editorial photographers dropped from 41% to 25%. In the open ended questions portraiture and event photography are heavily mentioned.
The use of computers in general went up only slightly, but then it was already 93% in the first survey. Computer use in web, email and digital has gone up considerably. Platform choice remains the same with the Mac being the preferred operating system.
Self teaching still remains the primary means of learning computer skills.
The use of digital imaging, in-house, for client use went from 48% to 81%. 71% of that is for finished art. The 71% is exactly what the old survey found, but now it is a percentage of a much larger base number.
In the area of Business Operations and Relationships, the numbers for formality, amount of bidding and use of contracts remained the same or increased slightly. The number of assignments done per year has fallen over 55%. Photographers are trying to raise fees to compensate for this decline, but 41% say their take home pay has decreased.
In spite of changes and problems, 94% are planning on remaining in the field in which they currently operate. Most think they will be able to continue doing the kind of work they do, in the same location but with a restructured business operation and retraining in new technologies.
The open ended comments made at the end of the survey have a very different tone. It became necessary to review the statistical data again, after reading the text. The business environment has a more somber feel to it, and the responses about levels of work and income are much more negative in the open ended responses. The fact that fewer than half the respondents chose to identify themselves has been read as a desire to keep bad news private. The same care that was taken in the writing of the survey with an attempt not to lead respondents with predetermined conclusions was used in the assessment of their open ended responses.
To what extent has the advent of "Recyclable" or stock images affected your business?
The response to this question was two-fold. Most advertising photographers said that stock and royalty free images have cut deeply into their assignments. Many said that their response to this situation was to get more heavily involved in shooting stock themselves.
A large percentage of photographers feel that the growing stock field has given them a new source of income and has kept them busy.
Architectural and other specialized photographers are virtually unaffected as their subjects often have never been photographed before.
On the other hand, those already in the stock photography field are feeling pressure and loss of work from the growing royalty-free market. The feelings were almost unanimous concerning royalty-free images. It is ruining the business for everyone. Photographers who shoot for these companies are considered sell outs and are shooting themselves in the foot.
To what extent has the economic turndown affected your business?
In a word... devastation. Even most of the photographers who responded in the multiple choice section that their work level was stable said that the economy has had a serious impact upon their business. Clients are more cost conscious than ever. They are expecting more for less from suppliers. The negative responses about the economy overshadowed all other causes of business problems.
Question: What other events or situations have had a significant impact upon your business recently?
Not much contest here... 9/11. For many photographers worked just stopped cold that terrible day and has never fully recovered. The Gulf War was also listed as a major factor.
The government and the White House in particular are blamed for much of the current economic down turn. It would be politically incorrect to quote some of the more vitriolic comments... although I would love to!
It was in answer to this same question that the most comments about digital photography in general appear. It is not easy to quantify the responses. Negative and positive reactions are about equal. Including, at times, attitudes expressed by the same photographer.
Clearly digital imaging is here to stay and will only increase in use. Many find this a boon to business. They feel they can offer services to clients that were not easily accomplished in the past. Retouching, manipulation or enhancement of images and file preparation for clients and printers. But even those who feel positive about their use of DI find client attitudes and perceptions frustrating.
Clients seem to believe that a digital assignment will be easier to shoot, faster to output and cheaper overall. Experience has shown that none of these expectations are accurate. It takes the same conceptual and visual skills as traditional photography.
There is no film processing time, but there is a lot of image processing that now is done in house by the photographer and it is time intensive. Clients seem unaware or unconcerned for the amount of time photographers must spend in front of the computer and do not want to pay for it.
A lesser number of photographers see digital imaging as real threat to their careers. The costs of going digital and the learning curve to be as competent as they are in film are seen as insurmountable obstacles. It is clear that this group is being negatively affected by lacking personal solutions to this dilemma.
Surprisingly very few blame competition from other photographer as a serious problem. But a large number view their clients as growing competition. Clients have some one in the company go out with a digital camera and shoot. Then the art director / designer fixes it up in PhotoShop! This state of affairs was reported by many respondents. The resulting images are not great, but lead us directly to another observation. It is one that I have been hearing from professionals around the country. The resulting images are "good enough". That seems to be the hallmark of the imaging world today. The extras that a professional photographer can bring to an assignment are often irrelevant.
How are today's professionals dealing with major changes in the business environment?
The answer that appears most often is about downsizing. Most all the respondents are planning on remaining in the photographic field, and most believe they can do so without moving to a different market.
Photographers who had studio space separate from their living space are closing the studio and working out of their homes. Darkrooms are less and less of an issue, and there is a large amount of studio space available to rent when needed. With phones, faxes and the internet it is less critical to be located in a photo district. Unlike the "old days" it is not unusual for there to be no client at a shoot. Work in progress can be viewed electronically and direction done in that manner.
One issue that becomes a concern when reviewing the responses is how little respondents know about each otherĘs business environments. Individual photographers seem unaware of the problems facing other photographers in other fields. Many studio advertising photographers are talking of changing to editorial work. Many editorial photographers are talking of going primarily into stock, and stock photographers say their businesses are being devastated by royalty-free. It seems to be the old "grass is greener" syndrome at work.
Anyone planning a major change in his or her business must do serious research, market assessment and planning.
To review the entire 1997 Survey go to: people.rit.edu/halpph/survey.htm
The information contained on the web site is available for use in other publications or venues. Credit to Professor Howard LeVant of the Rochester Institute of Technology would be appreciated.