That recent New York Times article caused a kerfuffle by highlighting the impact of digital imaging, photo sharing, stock photography etc. In a nutshell, how does a professional photographer survive and thrive when imagery is everywhere, and generally free or nearly so? Or as Seth Godin put it, how are "average photographers" going to make a living shooting weddings "when the guests can do almost as well and all the photos are going on flickr anyway"? Case in point... Our own Danny married Natalie recently. Needless to say they hired a photographer ... but if they hadn't? They have heaps of photos To View More >>

(Warning: contains references to blue-grass and rock music) Johannes introduced me to his friends, Lyttelton band The Eastern. That’s OK, nobody else has heard of them either, and that's the point of this post. A while ago The Eastern opened in Auckland for Steve Earle, and more recently for Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow who? Heather and I bought tickets anyway, probably the only people in the audience who didn’t know anything about the main act. But then they came out and played. I was hooked after the first few bars Ketch looked wry, ironic and after your girlfriend. Willie wore a Neil To View More >>

This post won't mean much to those of you who's knowledge of social media is limited to, "You know, Facebook and Twitter etc". But the rest of us are trying to get good at it without feeling like it consumes all our time. Anyway, I've just been asked my opinions about automation and social media. It's something I feel strongly about, and my advice is to "approach with caution". Here's why. 1. We're in the 'intimacy business', and automation is usually the the enemy of intimacy. If I skype my wife, "Hi darling – love you!", we both feel good about it. It was impulsive and heartfelt. Automate it To View More >>

I don't like long posts, and I'm always at Ian and Nigel to keep 'em brief so I apologize. This recent post prompted Ken to comment and me to respond with this, my longest ever... Ken asked whether our industry's main challenge wasn't "crap photography" but competitors with stupid pricing, for example, "2 photographers, hi-res images and Queensberry with 60 images for £1500." Ken suggested that people like that shouldn't last in business but they keep coming back... So I presume that if in fact they're surviving, they're probably a high volume, low margin outfit - possibly with healthy post-event To View More >>

The trouble with Seth Godin (I linked to him yesterday) is that once you start reading him it's hard to stop. Next day he's talking about how, when you're starting out ... or you're struggling ... or the economy isn't hot, it's very tempting to "take what you can get". And that has consequences. As if that's not enough, his very next post says: "If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can't say, 'but I need to make a fortune instead,' because that's not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, 'I love doing this.' To View More >>

Photography by David Jay Seth Godin said recently , 'If you want to build a brand for the ages, you need to stand for something today, and tomorrow, and every day.' Among other things, we stand for quality, which is why the prints on our digital pages are split at the centreline, leaving a gap of about 2mm (about 1/16”). Some people might not like the look, but we can't compromise products designed to last for generations. Actually, there are two reasons for this: more flexibility as to what equipment you can print on, and because the fold in the print almost invariably discolours and/or cracks. To View More >>

Those who know me know I think Seth Godin is the bee's knees. He's just been interviewed on the DWF Blog talking about wedding photography. Plenty to think about - do read it! "When everyone has a camera, and everyone thinks they are a photographic artist, it’s clear that access to the device is not a scarce resource. If that’s all you’ve got, I’m not going to pay you. The art isn’t in the taking of the picture." Cheers, Ian To View More >>

You've probably got it that I'm a Seth Godin fanboy. Every day I get my daily dose of something to think about. Posting about the digital revolution in our industry reminded me of this quote. It's from a very long post about the music industry, but it'll bounce ideas round your head: "The new thing is never as good as the old thing, at least right now. "Soon, the new thing will be better than the old thing will be. But if you wait until then, it’s going to be too late.  Feel free to wax nostalgic about the old thing, but don’t fool yourself into believing it’s going to be here forever. It To View More >>