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Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should…

A few years ago I read a book called “The Bang Bang Club” (which was also later made into a movie). It was the story of four South African photographers during the early 90s who were documenting the transition from the apartheid regime to democracy. The thing that really resonated with me in this book was the sub-story about one of the photographers, Kevin Carter. He was the guy behind the camera of the famous Pulitzer prize-winning photo of the starving Sudanese girl being stalked by a vulture. While this photo was rightly acknowledged as one of the greatest ever, it also became somewhat of a burden on the photographer. He was criticised for taking the photo rather than helping the girl and this conflict is believed to have contributed to his untimely suicide.

Some argue that photos such as these do far more to highlight issues and subsequent action being taken than simply helping and not taking the photo. Whether you agree with this or not will come down to your personal opinion. But what this highlights for me is the notion that as a photographer, you have a responsibility. It also means that sometimes just because you can take a photo doesn’t mean you should.

Considerate_Photographer

Don’t be a selfish photographer

I recently got into a heated debate with another photographer (who shall remain anonymous) because of his disregard for not taking photos at a location. At this particular site, there were clear signs forbidding the use of drones. Yet this photographer blatantly disregarded this as they knew they could get away with it. When I asked them why they were choosing to ignore the rules the response I received was “you have to break the rules to capture good photos”. Yes, break the rule thirds, break the focusing and framing rules, but not the actual rules.

I did some investigating and discovered the reason for the drone ban at this location was distress drones caused to birds that nested with their young in the cliffs. This is just one example that I have encountered over the years. Other examples include people taking photos in places of worship that were considered sacred and photography not allowed, using flash photography in galleries and museums, even photographing people when they asked not to be photographed.

Considerate_Photographer

Photography is not allowed inside the Tiger’s Nest monastery even with a smartphone. Anyone found doing so will have their camera confiscated. Yet I saw people trying to sneakily take shots.

So what is the problem?

You may ask what the problem is if you can get away with it. Sometimes the rules are there to protect the environment and wildlife. For example, if an area is cordoned off, it could be because they are trying to protect the fragile landscape (like for example sand dunes on a coast). Or it could be that it is done for the safety and enjoyment of other people. Keep in mind how irritating it can be if you are in a museum or gallery and see flashes going off. It ruins that ambience and could damage the artwork.

If enough people continue to disregard the rules then eventually all photographers suffer. For example, it will only take a few irresponsible photographers with drones to cause a blanket ban for all drone photography. So don’t be one of the photographers who are responsible for this.

Considerate_Photographer

Should you always follow the rules?

Having said all this, that doesn’t mean that you should just accept all photography rules. There are times when they could be unfair and have no logic as to why there are restrictions. They could also be illegal in that you are perfectly entitled to take photos. Anyone can put up a sign saying no photos, it doesn’t mean it’s correct.

Recently, I was shooting on assignment at the famous Tower Bridge in London. As a UK photographer, I know what my rights are for photography in the UK and more importantly the law. On this particular day, I was shooting Tower Bridge from the banks of the River Thames (something that I have done many many times along with millions of others every year). I was approached by a local security guard from one of the office buildings next to the river who began to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to take photos of Tower Bridge and that I need to delete the photos or he would confiscate my camera.

Considerate_Photographer

The rules…

I usually keep calm and I’m very polite and courteous in these situations as a smile and friendliness go much further than getting angry. But I must confess that I was irritated. The reason being that I know the law in the UK when it comes to photography, however, someone else might not and would have been bullied into not taking photos and even deleting the ones that they had taken. I was certainly not going to do either of those things. For one, I explained to the security guard that regardless of the situation, in the UK only a police officer has the authority to confiscate a camera and even then there has to be a reason (i.e. security reason). So under no circumstances did this person have the authority to confiscate my camera or even ask me to delete photos.

Considerate_Photographer

Secondly, I asked him if I was standing on public or private land. He wasn’t sure. Again, I explained to him that my rights in the UK are that I am allowed to take photos of any person or place, including buildings if I am standing on public land. As you can imagine, he sharply made his way back into the office building when he realised that I knew more than him on this topic.

The point here is that you shouldn’t always accept the rules but it pays to understand the reasons why they may be there. You can then make a decision of whether you want to break them or not. Obviously, if the rules are valid and legal you will also have to potentially pay the fine or other punishment that you may receive.

Considerate_Photographer

So to go back to my original statement, just because you can get away with taking a photo, doesn’t mean that you should. Because it could be wrong to do so morally or even detrimental to the environment, wildlife or even other people. Be a considerate photographer rather than a selfish one.

Photo credits: Kav Dadfar – All rights reserved. No usage without permission.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Photography debate, Photography rules

Debate – Is Professional Photography A Dying Art?

A simple look back through the years shows the importance of photography and the influence it has had not only on culture but also history. Would we know and understand about different cultures or the fragility of our planet without photos? Or the atrocities of wars? But as we boldly head deeper into the technological world, a question that has been around for a few years needs to be examined again, is professional photography a dying art?

What Is Professional Photography?

I recently met a colleague of mine who is also a travel photographer. The conversation soon moved onto this topic. What is a professional photographer these days? In the traditional sense, a professional in any profession is someone who earns the majority of their income from their chosen field, in this case, photography. But is that still true today? Sure, the majority of people out there still earn their income from their sole profession but there is also an increasing number of photographers who are now venturing into other fields. So, does this mean that the whole notion of professional photography is changing?

Many professional photographers are now increasingly finding themselves in a situation where they have to venture into other areas of photography. For example, a travel photographer I know has started to venture more into short films and writing. Many have taken to teaching and are running workshops or even guiding photo tours as their primary income. So, the question remains, are these still professional photographers?

What’s the Issue?

The big issue for photographers started with the introduction of giant stock libraries like Getty and Alamy. These photography stock sites allowed clients to purchase photos at a cost that is far less than having to commission photographers. Suddenly an art director could purchase exactly the images that he or she needed quickly and efficiently.

But the game really changed when the microstock libraries such as Shutterstock were launched. These websites sold images for cents rather than dollars. At first, the quality of the images was not great and so good photographers still had that edge. But as the photographs that these sites sold became better, it eroded that edge that traditional stock photo sites had. Clients soon realised that they could get good photos for a lot less than on the likes of Getty and Alamy. Now, this issue of stock photography has moved to an even more extreme example. There are now sites that offer completely free stock shots.

The bigger picture

The bigger impact on the whole industry of the availability of cheaper stock photos (and free ones) meant falling of prices. This meant even traditional rights-managed stock sites began to have to compete with the microstock sites. Their only solution was to reduces their prices. This has got to an extent where most stock photographers could not now only rely on income from stock sales.

Add to this mix the fact that digital cameras became more affordable and also the rise in the quality of smartphones. All of which meant there was an oversaturated market (i.e. too many photos) and not enough demand. So, whereas a photographer might receive $400 twenty-five years ago for a prominent photo like a front cover, now they might receive $100.

But it isn’t just stock photography that has been affected. More affordable cameras have meant more people deciding to take up photography either as a hobby or as a profession. This has meant far more competition and also a rise in people agreeing to do “free work” for exposure which in the long term is bad news for the industry.

One genre of photography that has seen a big impact of this is wedding photography. A former wedding photographer recently told me “that it was no longer viable for him to shoot weddings because prices had fallen so much”. So he either has to reduce his prices so much that he can compete with other photographers, or change his area of work.

This doesn’t seem to have a happy ending for any photographer. Prices will continue to fall as more and more agencies are having to cut their prices to compete with each other (and the free sites). More people will offer to work for free, which in turn means clients expect it more often. Better and cheaper smartphones mean anyone can take photos and sell them or give them away for free.

Conclusion

So, is professional photography a dying art? At the moment all of the evidence points to a world where there will be no professional photographer in the traditional sense. Anyone who was classed as a professional photographer will now have to juggle that with other means of income. In other words, ultimately photographers will become content creators who have to also be able to write, make videos and movies and become marketing and social media experts. Whether this is where the industry ends up, only time will tell…

Photo credits: Kav Dadfar – All rights reserved. No usage without permission. Dreamstime.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Photography debate

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