No kidding, I too ask Nancy Nally's question: where's the negs? As a photo lab owner I find it difficult to believe that there are NO negatives and NO digital files. I've had lots of experience with families spliting up valuable family archive images and it is rare that all negs/files are gone. More likely, somebody has them and isn't telling.
Perhaps we are forgetting the impact of the current recession on the number of photographers competing in the photo industry. It's not just the availability of fairly low cost DSLRs that make pro photography appear lucrative, it's also the lack of better employment opportunities. In every economic downturn since the 1980s I've noticed unemployed amateur photographers decide to become professional photographers. The great recession of 2008 is no different, with more photographers than ever competing against each other, disrupting the market for photography services as everyone here has been describing.
Sensing the competition, buyers of photography bargain hard, causing prices to drop. My observations from past spates of high unemployment are that once the recession is over and other easier and better paying jobs become plentiful, most wannabe photographers go back into other fields. This leaves fewer photographers; prices climb higher for work that requires a professional.
One example is in wedding photography where brides in 2010 may accept the Uncle Bob level of wedding photos (delivered on a cd) because that's what they can afford. But a few years from now as the economy bounces back, a bride & groom will be able to afford the personal attention of an experienced pro photographer with a fabulous portfolio, extensive references and a second shooter or two to capture their wedding beautifully from every conceivable angle, and all edited down into elegant handmade custom designed wedding albums that will last for generations.
Highly specialized human skill, I believe, will always be more highly valued than automated quantities of random quality. When the economy is good, we will see those who can afford to, prefer professional photographer’s work over searching tens of thousands of amateur images to find the perfect “free” photograph.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Andrea McLaughlin.
Where's the negatives?
No kidding, I too ask Nancy Nally's question: where's the negs? As a photo lab owner I find it difficult to believe that there are NO negatives and NO digital files. I've had lots of experience with families spliting up valuable family archive images and it is rare that all negs/files are gone. More likely, somebody has them and isn't telling.
High unemployment makes the pool of professional photographers larger
Perhaps we are forgetting the impact of the current recession on the number of photographers competing in the photo industry. It's not just the availability of fairly low cost DSLRs that make pro photography appear lucrative, it's also the lack of better employment opportunities. In every economic downturn since the 1980s I've noticed unemployed amateur photographers decide to become professional photographers. The great recession of 2008 is no different, with more photographers than ever competing against each other, disrupting the market for photography services as everyone here has been describing.
Sensing the competition, buyers of photography bargain hard, causing prices to drop. My observations from past spates of high unemployment are that once the recession is over and other easier and better paying jobs become plentiful, most wannabe photographers go back into other fields. This leaves fewer photographers; prices climb higher for work that requires a professional.
One example is in wedding photography where brides in 2010 may accept the Uncle Bob level of wedding photos (delivered on a cd) because that's what they can afford. But a few years from now as the economy bounces back, a bride & groom will be able to afford the personal attention of an experienced pro photographer with a fabulous portfolio, extensive references and a second shooter or two to capture their wedding beautifully from every conceivable angle, and all edited down into elegant handmade custom designed wedding albums that will last for generations.
Highly specialized human skill, I believe, will always be more highly valued than automated quantities of random quality. When the economy is good, we will see those who can afford to, prefer professional photographer’s work over searching tens of thousands of amateur images to find the perfect “free” photograph.