The Great Debate
This weekend I had the pleasure of spending an evening with husband and wife photographers Nigal Perry and Melanie Dunea. Both accomplished and skilled artists.
Our conversation meandered through various ins-and-outs of the photographic industry, landing on one important debate: is the internet and the pervasiveness of camera phones lowering the standards and will this new breed of photo-makers erode or degrade the professional sphere?
You can’t walk the street of any major city without being overrun by trigger-happy snap-shooters. Their captions flood every corner of the internet and often emerge as stock. Newswires and editors lured in by nominal fees push their sup-par photographs before the eyes of the consuming public.
Is it eating away at professional assignments? Is it filling a gap in which professionals never really wanted to play? Or, worst of all, is it damaging the publics ability to distinguish good photographs from bad?
Throughout this debate I can’t hep but return to one important truth: like many industries, photography is fed by advertising. Advertising is aspirational. Period. Aspirational photography requires a level of skill and thought that will never be supplied by the snap-shooter. They may get lucky now and again, but in my opinion there will always be a market for someone with an exceptional mastery of their craft.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the state of the industry…
(Check out the work of Nigal Perry and Melanie Dunea )In that same evening I gave my dear friend Georgette Farkas a gift of a photograph I had recently made. Her rave review inspired me to share it with you here.
Photography
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Georgette Farkas, Melanie Dunea, Nigal Perry, Photography Industry, Photography Trends
Themocracy
Andrea
i am so delighted that the evening inspired you. Personally, i felt privileged to be surrounded by so much creative talent. While i certainly can not call it an art or equate it with the artistry of talents like you and Nigel and Melanie, the form of self expression i find most rewarding is cooking for my friends and entertaining them in my home. I’m not a photography pro, but yes, i suspect the art is being dumbed down by the online proliferation of lousy images. That said, there is an upside. The internet also gives so many people access to great quality images, even if they are only being viewed on a computer screen. This is true of all aspects of our culture. The more something is popularized, the greater the proliferation towards the lowest common denominator. Fortunately, i don’t think this means good photography or art disappear, the field is simply cluttered with lots of substandard fare. Does this mean great talents have to make a greater effort to be noticed? Perhaps. But I am always hopeful and believe talent finds a way to shine. What an honor it has been to be photographed by you. My mother will be so thrilled to see the photo… and not just because it depicts her daughter. Many, many thanks, G