Forum Post: Photography Profession

I was looking at flanegan's photo forum Borneo Shutter and reading some post thread that he made and made a comment on one his topic.

Photography is not an easy field to venture mainly because of the high cost of the equipments you need to invest. People who want to change his steady job to not so stable photography career need to think twice before doing that. My venture to photography was a coincident because i started my work holding a video camera and graphic design. Photography comes in as equipments for a company that i work that at last not really work out for me.

The influx of beginner photographers in wedding field pushes the market price to its lowest. Dslr cameras become cheaper to most people to own. Thanks to the marketing strategies and the competition among the camera brand to make dslr affordable to everyone. Still, never do they know that the cheaper dslr camera does not really meant professional as it to be. During the old days, what really divided the point shot camera and slr is the ability to control the camera mechanism such as aperture, shutter speed, iso sensitivity and flash level. Point and shoot camera setting is controlled by the on board chips that did everything that needed to set in slr camera. digital point and shoot are even better in term in creating an image with all the setting can be preset and the touch up can even done by the on board camera chip without we even realized it. Cheaper range dslr is a hybrid of point and shoot technology and professional advance and setting in dslr. Just imagine a point and shoot camera can use all the pro dslr equipments such as the flash and lenses. Not all really, just lens that designed for digital slr camera.

i don't have any problem with people who want to venture into wedding photography as a career change or part time. The problem is when they offering a dirt cheap price for their services. This will give a general impression to the people that they don't need to spend such as this amount to a wedding photographer. Just let your cousin or friend to do your wedding function and save your money to go to honey moon or wedding dinner expenses. If they lucky, they will get some great shot of bad composition and exposure of photos of their most important day and then no one to blame after that. I don't think a cousin or friend of yours who do a living full time in wedding or other field of photography would agree that their services should be dirt cheap. One general aspect is the equipments that they use. One has to know that professional photography equipments not just fall down for the sky. One need to spent or borrow money to have a full spec of equipments to create a good and commercial standard of photos to the customers and let the customers know that photography no mean all cheap. Money needed to spent not to the time itself but to the equiptment and the artistic skills and experience of the photographer. This is how a photography field will get back its old time of glory and respect.

Yes, some does argue that it doesn't need a great or expensive camera to create an amazing photo. Yes, but half true. Photo was taken via point shoot and hand phone camera doesn't have its technical artistic content. Indeed that I admits to saw lots of good photo taken by point shoot camera in internet. thou, those amazing and technically artistic photo mostly taken by high end photography equipments that require whoever is the person to use it, must has an adequate knowledge and experience in photography itself. All nice photos taken via point and shoot can be categorized as lucky shot for me. i took lots of lucky and unlucky shot photos using a point and shoot camera. Then it turns to be all the way unlucky shot for me when i started to use a dslr 2 years ago. I realized the technical knowhow and experience make great different between the hobbyist, armature and professional photographer.

I realized that some might not agree with all what i wrote above. I understand. Still, to whoever wants to change his day job and venturing photography as a main income need to think thoroughly. The cheap equipments sold in camera shop are not adequate to be use in a commercialized setting because of the lack of accessories that cost many times that the camera itself. The photography skills and the professional work etiquette is important to create a overall good work and impression to the photography field. Letting those ahbeng and ahlian who charge less RM100 per day for a wedding services, how are the professional or full time photographer going to earn a living then? No matter in whatever field in photography, new waves of cheaper range photographer is coming to town. So, for all who dedicated full his heart and equipments in photography, hold tight and brace yourself for the impact. In another way of speaking, learn more skills to get your distance away from those who offering dirt cheap price of photography services.

So, what do you think?