How is your market doing?

[patrick_f]

Hello all,

This question is more for the commercial photographers, but any professional (you make 100% of your living from) photographers responses are

welcome. Quite simply, this summer sucked in my market (Florida) and was extremely slow. Many of the photographers I know said that it was the

slowest they had ever seen it. How are other markets doing? Have you experienced the same? Also, would like to know what your thoughts are

with the coming economic collapse and how it might affect the industry altogether.

[brian.]

Hey Patrick,

For every photographer who says their business has been slow, I think you'll find the same number who say it's been great. Over the past decade there have been slow times and very busy times and there never seems to be a good reason why. I'm busier than ever here in Dallas. Will it slow down? Can't worry about it, too busy right now.

[qtluong]

We operate a <a href = "http://www.tgartworks.com/">Santa Monica art gallery</a> in the Bergamot Station, a well-established art gallery complex. Everyone there said that this summer has been the slowest that they remember.

[sarah_fox]

It's the subprime crisis / credit crisis / recession. The global economy is sliding downhill, and people are getting scared. Rather than hire professional photographers, they either get friends/relatives to do it for free or buy cheap cameras like the D40 and do it themselves. Either that, or they hire the kid down the street who bought a D40 and will work for gas money. I think it will only get worse.

 

My outlook is a bit more grim than most. I don't see the Paulson Plan pulling us out of much, and I think our markets will continue to decline after a short rally. Credit will continue to dry up, jobs will continue to disappear, and we'll slide into another depression, perhaps not as serious as the last. The only thing I see breaking this cycle will be another WPA-type program, but I don't hear anyone talking about it. Lord knows we need to work on infrastructure anyway, so we might as well start now by creating new jobs for homeowners who are in default on their mortgages because of unemployment.

 

In my estimation, the field of pro photography will get a whole lot smaller really fast. For the sake of our survival, I think we should all ask ourselves what else we can do for a living, at least to supplement our income as photographers.

[karen_lippowiths]

Sarah . . . what a future you see. I also think things are down on the whole, but I'm also looking at the situation

optimistically. I'm a fairly new business (in my 4th year) and have seen only upward growth with this year far exceeding my

projected gross sales, so I don't have anything to compare to. I'm thinking that the recession / depression will weed out

those non-competitors (for whatever reason) and allow me to emerge stronger and in a good position in about 5 years or

whenever the market turns upward. I'm based in metro Detroit, one of the markets hardest hit (with the automotive) and the area with

second highest foreclosure rate in the country, but I feel like there's really no other way to look at it but just to hang in there and keep your

head up. Good luck to everyone :)

 

- Karen Lippowiths

[JohnWebster]

Professional photography took a major change with digital imaging opening the gates to hoards of new imagemakers. An explosion of new photographers, new album companies, new lab websites, new and greatly expanded educational schools and professional organizations and photo magazines and new seminars and new products and new marketing programs telling you how to separate and elevate your photography and business from the competition---------but what happened? Where are the customers? What happened to the interest in and value that the client used to place in professional photography? I have had a significant increase in the number of clients who pay $3500 in advance for a wedding album plan but can't get it together to select their photos or make time to set an appointment to design their album layout. Or seniors who contract for an extended session only to phone in to me the image they want for the yearbook---and they don't come back to make use of their remaining credit. Even some of my best repeat customers have to be reminded many times to place their order. It use to be easy to get orders in the '80s and 90's (I’ve been in business 27 years) but today there are too many distractions and other things that compete for the clients time and interest. Maybe a major recession will slow down everyone's thought processes and consumption priorities so that, when the economy improves, professional photography will regain the attention and respect that it once had. Professional photography needs to regain or reinvent its glory and appeal if it is to be commercially relevant and produce inspired products by respectfully compensated professionals for appreciative clients.