A friend and I had a conversation today about how fads influence culture. There are fads in all facets of life including music, fashion, visual arts, politics, and religion. In regards to photography and even more specifically, wedding photography there are a lot of fads that have come and gone. The discussion my friend and I were having was about running our businesses in reaction to fads. We agreed there are 3 ways to react to them.
1) We can follow and produce the latest fads in our work to make sure we are always seen as relevant, popular and 'with it'. This requires us to constantly follow what others say is 'in' and make sure we promote trendy products and aesthetics as much as possible to maximize profit, since that's what is considered most acceptable at the given time.
2) We can express our own unique vision whether it's seen as a fad or not. This requires courage and faith to be true to how we see the world even if the latest fad is completely opposite of our perspective on life.
3) We can refuse to be trendy and refuse to fight against the constant stream of popularity. We would then find another field of interest to make money and express ourselves artistically. Basically give up and do something else.
Specifically in wedding photography there have been a lot of fads over the years, mostly dealing with post production work on images. The current fads deal with vintage looking images, so photographers have created actions that make photos look like old polaroids, faded or vintage photographs. Also a lot of popular images are shot with a tilt shift lens or all the details are shot at f1.4 for razor thin depth of field. The shallow depth of field is extremely popular for detail shots, which most wedding blogs can't get enough of. Some other previous trends have been textures, over-sharpening, over-saturation and brightness.
So if I'm not shooting with a tilt shift lens, a 50mm lens at 1.4 and not putting the 'vintage' action on my photographs, am I being a stubborn business person because I'm not selling what most people are wanting to buy?
Now think of a musician or band that's had a long, successful career, say 25 + years. Do artists that have such amazing careers sustain their reputation based on following whatever is popular at the time or do they stay true to their own vision as it matures during the passing years? I would argue the later. So as a photographer, should I be concerned because I'm not producing work that's built on the back of the aesthetics for 2009 photography trends? Maybe, but I feel that the only way to have a long, successful career and to be proud of your work is to stay true to yourself. My advice to all aspiring photographers out there is to not emulate what's being praised by wedding blogs and magazines, but to express the unique voice you've been given regardless of popularity. If everyone's work looks the same then the only bargaining chip is who has the lower price. On the other hand, if you can communicate your personal vision effectively, then no one else can offer what you have and your prices will reflect your individual creativity.
(Let me add that I'm not claiming to be original in my work, but that I need to have the mindset of finding my own voice. I'm talking to myself probably more than anyone else. What I'm interested in is 'why' we do things, what are our motivations for shooting at 1.4 or using 'X' action set for example?'
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"Newbie" 'Tog Personally, I think you just have to worry about your own photographs and ignore the rest. The people who appreciate your vision of their wedding photographs will come to you and those that appreciate the others, will go to them. I think there are enough clients with enough variance of taste to go around.
I prefer a timeless look that will last a lifetime. I like the vintage look that I see on photos, but it's not something that I would personally produce for a wedding. Maybe for a portrait session, but not a wedding. Wedding photos are once in a lifetime moments that will be looked at by generations of family members. I want my photographs to reflect that timelessness. I want the granddaughter to look at my picture and marvel at how young and beautiful her grandparents once were -- not laugh at the funny colors and tints on the photo that obviously date it to a certain decade.
I was always a bit disappointed when when I'd find an awesome old family photograph that had faded with time and had such a strong color cast that white shirts were now red or greenish-blue (and skin, too!) I think these vintage trends, while beautiful to look at now, will also cause some disappointment years from now when people wonder exactly what the scene really did look like in real life.
Maybe I'm wrong -- nothing is universal -- but that's just my personal view on it. Of course, there are so many different personal tastes that there will always be some people who love and prefer that certain look, so for those clients - I'm glad there are so many photographers out there now to choose from.
(01.19.10, 1:44pm)
Gray Photography - Zach & Jody Great post Michael!
It is really important to remember that your images that you take, especially for a wedding, are images that are going to be looked at for decades, so being trendy is not your best bet for longevity. We want our image capture technique to be in style longer than the brides hairdo (which is why we used techniques that have been around for years).
Have a great new year my friend!! (12.30.09, 7:48pm)
Greg Phipps I agree Michael. There are those of us that got into doing photography because it's what we love. Granted we make a living at this as well, but thats not the primary motivation for shooting. If I wanted to just make money I would have stuck with working as a designer for the rest of my life (which I was before I started photographing professionally). What I did want to do instead was to make a difference in peoples lives, to capture special moments at weddings, and to help people remember the type of person they are through my vision for their portraits. What's frustrating to me is that new photographers (young as you call them) with a few years experience or less are coming into the industry thinking it's a popularity contest. They are being taught that to be a successful photographer you have to use the coolest action sets and that rad vintage filter (which just looks like a washed out brown photo in some cases). They are learning from folks who don't even know who Edward Weston was, but could quote you _____ (fill in your rockstar photographers name here) verbatim. I'm sorry if this is offensive to some photographers who may be reading this, but if you are offended, you are probably who I'm referring to. I'm not talking about being well liked and doing consistent good work. That is great to strive for. I'm talking about slapping a movie about yourself and you you you all over your photo website and talking about how awesometacular you are and throwing out work that looks just like everyone elses. I know...there WILL be some overlap in the types of shots we all take given the nature of weddings and portraits... there are only so many poses you can do... but what happened to being creative? What happened to doing what you envision even if it's not popular and letting the clients that like that hire you? When I was getting my degree in photography I was taught to know where you came from (history of photo), how to find your vision, how to critique work and push yourself to be an individual, etc. Now it seems its all about the cult of personality and making a quick buck. Don't get me wrong. I do think there is a certain amount of irony here. We have to please clients and we do make money at this. But we also should be wanting to give our clients work that is unique, excellent, and true to them and our vision of capturing their moments. If we are slapping a diffusion filter on an image, we better be able to explain why we did that. "Oh, I just thought it looked cool" doesn't cut it in my opinion. If we want something to have an old film look, why not do like some are doing (Jon Canlas for one) and shoot film! The sad thing I see is photographers that care and do this as an art, being pushed out by folks who just do what the latest fad is and try to make a lot of money. They've been to the marketing workshops of Mr. Rad-cool-ular and learned how to "upsell your clients", get a great website, etc etc. But have they learned how to find their vision, why they are doing this to start with, the reasoning for using filters and effects, and how to take criticism well? Keep in mind, I'm not saying this to piss people off. And I don't think trying to make a living as a photographer is wrong. I'm not even saying using filters and effects is wrong. It's how we go about it that matters. And for now I'm going to continue trying my best and fighting against the fads and keep a vision and style I can call my own. This life is a journey and so is perfecting our art. I'm not perfect and neither is anyone else. I just hope that there is room left for those of us that give a rip. (12.05.09, 9:12am)
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