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The Good - The Bad - The Ugly

STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY:

THE STATE OF THE BUSINESS

After spending a week at home without the rigors of traveling that sometimes muddle my brain, I've done some thinking about the state of business among studio photographers. These reflections were prompted by the fact that I'm nearing the end of my teaching schedule this year . . . a year in which I've taught more classes to more students than in any other period of my career. For years you couldn't give away a business class; today there are waiting lists for marketing and management workshops and seminars, and the classrooms are filled to overflowing. This shift should come as no surprise, given the huge numbers of new photographers in the industry, the prevalence of automatic prosumer cameras, and the ongoing challenges of still-evolving digital technology. Nonetheless, I suspect that some of the things I've observed this year might be of interest, given the fairly chaotic nature of our industry today. So here goes:

The Good

The quality of photography today is better than I've ever seen it. Photoshop allows photographers to achieve artistry and style far faster than during the film years. I can only marvel at the skills of those younger photographers who have studied Photoshop and graphic design in high school. But it's not just the new guys who are reaching these heights: Those veteran photographers who were highly skilled in traditional photography and who have embraced digital technology are really soaring! And yes, Photoshop can make even a mediocre photographer look good; but Photoshop cannot correct bad business practices.
More and more photographers are recognizing that unless you wish to do mass-production photography, today's business climate requires a business concept that is designed to appeal to a specific target market instead of trying to be all things to all people. They understand that the new breed of consumer appreciates a specialist rather than a generalist, and they are learning that this type of business is much easier to run. Note that I did NOT say "easy to run" :-).
It's great to see how some industry veterans are reinventing their businesses, using the strong technical skills and the business knowledge they've acquired over time to re-brand their studios. I just wish there were more of them.
In contrast to their predecessors, younger photographers generally are more interested in learning about how to run a business. Perhaps this is because digital cameras have shortened the technical learning curve for a generation that was brought up around visual media, or it is a function of their more material upbringing. Frankly, I don't care: It's exciting to see a really talented photographer who is as concerned about Cost of Sales as he or she is about f/stops.
The "Entitlement Generation," God bless them, are now our clients. Sociologists and marketers are all over this fascinating new consumer group that is well educated, well financed, and will deny themselves nothing when the marketplace offers them something appealing. Understanding how they think and act is central to attracting these upscale clients. The good news is that all you have to do is Google "The Entitlement Generation," and you'll find lots of fascinating information.
The style of today's home décor lends itself to using portraits as decorative focal points throughout the house. There literally are no limits on photography as customized, personalized art for multiples rooms, making it more valuable than "just a photo."
I'm enthralled by some of the newer breed of photographers who find so much creativity in marketing that they put as much energy into this aspect of the business as they do in creating exciting images; it's a great formula for success.
Photographers who are paying attention to their numbers are making substantially more money than their predecessors. Until the publication of PPA's Benchmark Survey in 2006, we had only anecdotal evidence of an emerging prosperity in segments of the photography industry: The survey showed that the top 15% of participants were keeping more of every dollar spent with them than any other groups for which we have records. If you are a PPA member, you can download the survey by clicking here.

So I've talked about the Good. What about the Bad and the Ugly? To read more, click here to access my full blog entry on Ann Monteith Means Business Blog.