[Leica] Going Pro - not as grim as it sounds

[Jim Laurel <jplaurel@microsoft.com>]

My comments below relate to editorial/documentary photography...

Many of the LUGgers who responded to the "Going Pro" thread described how
difficult it is to make a living in photography today.  In the context of
straight still photography, I'd say they're correct.  It is an extremely
competitive profession in which you're not always shooting what you want,
and being proficient at the business aspect is key.

However, as Dirck Halstead points out in his "Platypus" manifesto, digital
future looks bright for imaging professionals.  I agree with him.  But to be
successful in this future, you will have to be proficient at more than just
still photography.  Yes, you must be able to create compelling stills.  You
must know how create immersive surrounds and photo spheres, you should be
able to shoot and edit simple video and audio clips to be posted on web
sites from the field.  You should be able to make Photoshop jump through
hoops.  You need to be prepared to conceive and develop story ideas, and be
able to pitch them effectively.  And, you need to have good business focus.
Less space than ever for photographers to publish serious work?  Hogwash.
The explosive growth of interactive Web properties is fueling tremendous
growth opps for imagers.

Classical Cartier-Bresson style photojournalism is certainly on the wane.  I
blame that on the way modern media saturates us with so much eye candy, that
serious work like Salgado's hardly gets noticed by the general public.

But classical photojournalism still has several inspiring practitioners,
such as David Alan Harvey, William Albert Allard, and of course, Sebastiao
Salgado.  If you have the talent and the means to subsist for, say, 5-10
years with no income, you could focus on self-assignments that would go a
long way to jump start your career.

The best advice my father ever gave me is to never listen to people who tell
you something is risky, can't be done, or is impossibly difficult.  If you
truly have the passion, nothing else matters abd you will succeed because
you will be the best.

When I came up with a way to mix HTML and VBA to create a script execution
environment for Web servers, people looked at me like I was crazy.  As
recently as 1994, I remember speaking auditoriums full of otherwise
intelligent IT executives who couldn't understand why it was interesting for
Web servers to access databases.  I didn't listen to them and so today we
have Active Server Pages!

- --Jim