Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/05/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It's really pretty awful when the likes of Eugene Richards has to do Nike and Levi ads to be able to do documentary work - and MEM has to do the same kind of thing. What is interesting though, about 10 years ago, when I was Director of Communications at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, I needed to select a photographer for a big project. The art director we were using brought in a pile of photographers books for me to look at. One was Mary Ellen Marks's, and it was really mundane commercial work. And then there was Gene Richards' stuff - he didn't submit a traditional ' book' of commercial work, but instead had sent copies of The Knife and Gun Club, and "Cocaine Blue..." I'd never heard of Richards before, but told the AD then and there to hire him for the job. On 5/31/05 8:30 PM, "Tina Manley" <images@InfoAve.Net> wrote: > At 08:23 PM 5/31/2005, you wrote: >> I wonder if it was ever possible to make a living as an independent >> documentary photographer - my guess is that it was not. It was one thing >> to >> be a Life or Look staffer - but as an independent? > > True. And it's even worse now. Not only is there a dearth of documentary > magazines but if you do any work for them they make you sign contracts > giving up all rights to your photos. At least in the old days if you were > a staffer, you got benefits. > > Tina > > Tina Manley, ASMP > www.tinamanley.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information