The Photography Industry is Broken.
It's not just that the industry is broken—it's that the industry is built on a premise of brokenness.
When you go to an art gallery, you don't see pieces by artists who are trying to make a living from their craft. You see works from artists who have been successful enough to make a living from their craft. When you go to a concert, you don't see musicians who are trying to get their first gig; you see musicians who have already been successful in their field and are now performing out of what seems to be sheer love of their craft. When you go to a movie theatre, you don't see actors who are trying to get their big break; instead, they're already stars and now showing up for fun little roles in indie films.
In all of these cases, it's easy for us as consumers (or "audiences") of these products and services to forget that there was a time before these people were famous or rich or well-known—that there was a time when they were just like us: struggling artists with big dreams but no idea how they were going to make them reality.
In December 2021 - June 2022 I created a Facebook page with the alias “Camera Head,” harvesting 5000 random Facebook friends from around the world who were involved in the photography and modelling industries. Using this platform, I posted about shady industry practices that are either swept under the rug or regularly practiced within these industries.
However, the reaction was somewhat unexpected. Although many photographers and models confirmed that these were indeed problems, most of them did not try to address them because of backlash, hate mail, and being marked as a “drama starter.” This is exactly what happened.
Among the topics I discussed were:
The Expectation of Free
Exposure Excerpt by Created by Imrie from the comic Adventures of Camera Head
It's no secret that photographers and models are often expected to work for free. It's a common practice for artists and designers to give their work away for free, but when it comes to the photographer or model, the expectation is that they will be paid for their time.
Unfortunately, many people believe that photographers should be willing to give away their time for free because it's not as valuable as other professions like lawyers or doctors. However, when you look at it from the perspective of the photographer or model, they're often just trying to build up their portfolio in order to get more work and make more money over time.
A Fraudulent Photographer
The Lesa Hall incident
If you've been doing photography for a while, you've probably seen it: clients who want to pay 2k for photos that show off another photographer's style. They think they'll get what they want and get the images they need, and they're willing to pay more than they should because they're desperate to have their wedding day captured in a certain way.
But it's not just the wrong price that makes this a problem—it's also the fact that many of these clients don't realize their photographer doesn't know how to take those photos themselves. It's not just that they're charging too much—it's that they're charging too much for something they can't deliver.
Claiming Rights To Models And Photographers
Jenny Bridges by Bryan Wark
It's a common misconception for photographers to believe that models should only be allowed to work with them and no one else.
This belief is so widely held, in fact, that there are numerous cases of photographers claiming rights over models and fighting with any photographer who dares to take pictures of that model.
Photographers Getting Black Listed For Their Beliefs
Topher “Free the Patriot Tour” poster, Photo By Bryan Wark of Silent Portraits
If you're a photographer who wants to stay in business, it's not enough to just take pictures—you have to be willing to photograph all sorts of events. That's how I've been doing it for years, and it's worked out pretty well so far.
But lately, some photographers are getting backlash from people who don't want them to work with certain clients. They'll call you racist or homophobic if you work with a couple that doesn't share their beliefs on religious matters.
This isn't about politics or religion—it's about artistry and expression.
Stalking
Jordan Vanstry by Bryan Wark
The topic of stalking has been a hot button issue in the photography industry for quite some time. Some photographers and models believe that it's completely legitimate to stalk people and follow them around, while others consider it completely unacceptable.
One model even went as far as making an entire exit speech about how other creatives need to get off their high horse because stalking is a completely legitimate way of showing you care about those you want to work with.
In Conclusion
In the course of seven months, I raised a number of topics. Some were cut and dry. “Don't stalk people” and “Pay people you want to work for you” seemed like straightforward requests, but they weren't. The photography industry is broken, and it looks like people want it to stay that way. My inbox was flooded with messages from photographers who thought I was addressing them personally when I said not to harass customers or take bad pictures.
At the end of the day, the toxic behaviour of my colleagues toward my aliases account was so out of hand that I decided to pull the plug. And that is the sad truth of why people will never actually stand up to try and put an end to shady business practices and the photography industry will stay broken.
I could go on and on, but I'll cut to the chase. I was once like you—wondering why my style differed from that of so many other photographers. The main point is that you are not alone, and this can be your chance to break out of the mold.
