A Photography Nightmare - Worst Year Since 2008
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- In this video, I'm sharing my worst year in professional photography since 2008. The year was filled with challenges and difficulties that I never thought I'd experience again. But through it all, I learned some valuable lessons that I can apply to my photography career moving forward.
So if you're feeling stuck or just need to hear someone's perspective on a bad year, watch this video and let me share my story with you. I hope you'll find it helpful.
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Between editing and uploading I just had a £150,000.00 shoot cancelled. The client has decided not to spend the budget and not to do the shoot. So a great example of what I am talking about here. We didn't lose the job, the job no longer exists. facebook.com/groups/1893064874281393
Thanks I needed this 🙏
That is harsh.
There will be others my friend. There’s always a chance of a lost but you are in control of your destiny
Another will come. You get what you think about n all that. Focus on more jobs coming in rather than ones you're not getting or losing.
Been debt free for 10 years (aside from mortgage) and can safely say it's the only reason I was able to take a gamble and quit my job and work for myself. Before all things, I can't recommend eliminating debt enough.
The secret is to hang on and keep going. I do mostly location shoots and as the number of photographers are dropping off, I find I'm getting jobs from farther and farther away. I'm in North Carolina and suddenly most of my work is coming from Memphis, Tennessee and Arkansas in general, and all across the Southeastern US. The reason for this is that as the number of working photographers decreases, the demand gets thrown on those photographers who stay the course. So, essentially, it's economic attrition and photographic services are becoming a premium product under the right conditions.
Hey there 👋I’m in TN. Would love to get your insta handle and connect. Love to network with like minded entrepreneurs
Hardly surprising with the state or our economy. Great advice. Good luck to all professional photographers.
It’s strange. The news and media all report record unemployment and strong “numbers” but everyone I talk to is very much struggling to get by right now.
@@kenmorrisproducer Yes. The mainstream media manufactures consent and excuses an incompetent and corrupt government. Record inflation; wages substantially reduced in real terms; high interest rates; high consumer debt. To those of us who understand economics and engage in critical thinking, it's hardly surprising that photographers are up against it, in providing what could be considered a luxury service.
Great video Scott, honestly times are so tough and can be extremely triggering for those suffering with poor mental health, playing on thoughts like "am I good enough?" or "Is it me? Am I doing something wrong here?" I think you're video really shines a light on that this is an industry wide problem, and that it's nothing personal.
This has personally made me feel so much better and less alone, thanks Scott. Gx
Writing's the same. It's the entrance of AI to the market. Creatives are getting a kicking. But my clients are starting to wise up and realize that AI work isn't any good and people won't read it. I reckon the same is true for good photographers.
@@piotr.czechowski Yes, you can. What have you been smoking today to come up with such utter nonsense?
I've had contracts get cut left and right here in the US. It's really been taking a toll on my self-confidence, and my confidence in my work. Glad to know I'm not alone.
It is not you.
It is everyone else.
They are forecasting money being tight.
Hope you get good work soon.
This is one of those topics that nobody is talking about, but you are 100% correct in what you are saying. I've noticed that this year has been horrible as well. It isn't just commercial work, the fine art end as well as portraiture end have suffered in the same ways. The first two quarters of the year I made pennies compared to even my slowest year. As you said, if things work out, you are lucky. I managed to land three major gigs this month which got me back on track for the year to date. It has been a manic couple of weeks, and I'm expecting that things will slow down again before they pick up. Everything you said here has applied to my situation, and the advice you are giving is perfect!
The people who ghosted you on tinder 5 years ago now have jobs and ghost you professionally.
It's not necessarily the economy, it's society.
Had the same thing happening to me, there was even a customer who ghosted me twice lol.
Great video Scott, I've been in business since leaving the army in 1999 and am a newbie to photography. But when times are bad the biggest mistake some companies and the self-employed make is to cut back on advertising, which can certainly be the death of you. 2008 was a fantastic year for me I diversified, and did well, and you're giving great advice It's always been better to save than spend, but I've got 2 things to say If you start to think I'm going to fail YOU WILL and the second thing is. THIS TOO SHALL PASS things undoubtedly will get better after darkness comes light, as sure as death and taxes.
Thank you for making another video that really highlights something I’ve been feeling and seeing. Definitely thought I was a conspiracy theorist some days.
Thanks for this. I needed to hear it. Been down about how much work I've been getting, so it's nice to hear it's not just me.
I've done enough wallowing... I can better use that time by creating new work, trying new techniques and exploring new avenues of photo.
I recently read a comment from an Ad Agency Exec that he too hasn't seen a photo market like this since '08. I specialize in Food and Lifestyle images but have been shooting other genre in this slow period.
Felt that! WGA strike definitely put a damper on production stills, been networking and looking to expand my portfolio into other genres
Correct...production crews are all finding it tough this year because of the strike.
great video about a topic we face every now and then , my advice would be save in gold and silver and book smaller jobs on contract bases with smaller clients to ride out the storm , not every shoot has to be big and expensive , cut GAS out of the equation and utilize every peice of equipment you have , and it wouldnt hurt to create new revnue streams through your photography such as prints , tshirt designs and products , its not easy but once done you will have more freedom on your hands
This is by far my best year but I consider myself lucky with a lot of my work! Totally agree with you Scott, diversify! This is why I do photo and video
Thanks for sharing! Would you say you have gotten more video, photos, or stop motion this year?
@@intentionalimagery888 definitely more video this year. But I have had a lot of clients asking for both too 👌
Good to know! What niche are you in? I do strictly product/commercial atm but am looking into other niches @@Fotofinura
Yer it's Bumpy at the moment, a stylist friend with 30yrs experience has had no work for 5 months, and a model friend has seen his income drop by 70% :S
Your giving out some great advice Scott 🙌🏻thank you.
I'm scraping along still, but plan to diversify also and tighten up where I can. Big love to everyone on here, I'm helping out any creatives I can at the moment, having a good network around you is always good. Make sure you keep talking to friends and family, being a freelancer can be a bit isolating at times, esp when it's like it is at the moment.
Thanks for saying this. It always erks me when I see young photographers rants about the cost of their gear and talk about day rates etc. A job is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. It has little to do with how much gear costs, or what your day rate is.
I use a specific local camera shop, that shop, 3 years ago was ticking over with regular customers, fast forward to present day and the shop is rammed with customers. My point is, do you think the market is becoming flooded with photographers who are possibly charging less and clients are using them to save money? I could be wrong but it seems in the 5 years since I took up photography, everyone I know seems to have too. UA-cam channels are popping up like zits on a teenager and within months of buying cameras people are setting up businesses. As I said I could be completely wrong but I know in my local area there are more wedding photographers than lamp posts all fighting for customers.
The shoots being pulled has been happening to me this year. Rather frustrating. Some of the shoots I’m still able to charge for time spent with pre production. Depends how far along the project is though.
Always get a lot out of hearing another working professional's perspective
I can’t understand why delivering VERY good “product” and service comparing to other people, I don’t get more jobs (not to say better paid)
It is sooo sad and frustrating being in this industry for over 30 years!!!! 😭😭😭😭
Love the videos, always makes me think.
I have sold my first lens ever this week! Up until now I never sold lenses just left them on a shelf but I really thought that this lens does not add anything to my kit, I do not use it for paid work because I have better options. However, I am likely to put the money towards a new lens when it is released/available next month, this lens will be used for paid work though (and after selling the 1 lens, the new lens will cost me just £125).
Just before lockdown I invested in new cameras, these are now over 3 years old but are almost new and I have no intention of replacing them, as they still produce professional results (I am not a wildlife/sports/action photographer, so new cameras with bird, plane and train detect are not needed).
The future is uncertain but diversifying to keep any money coming in is more and more important
It's not just the photography industry. I'm in the energy sector where budgets and time schedules are impossible to keep at the moment. I'm seeing project delays of up to about 3 years.
I ordered a large valve including an actuator last year for one of our projects. The valve was in stock and delivered on site in time, but the actuator is so far delayed by 9 months. We have never seen parts delays like this before.
And of course, our salaries are decreasing in value due to inflation.
My best advice is to be mindful about how you use resources. I'm saving up a lot every month myself, and this years vacation was spent at home.
I've noticed that this year is quite a bad year for many in photography even the creative space as a whole, unless you have a rather niche role/skill set
know a handful of photographers who are in a state of disillusionment or have quit entirely; it's been brutal and sad give up something they love doing.
I think we all need to do more than weather the storm; I think we should be "fighting the storm" - I've been promoting myself more this month on social media and sending out more emails than I can count! thankfully i'm getting responses for both music and documentary work from current cilents & very unexpected contacts too. To my benefit, it helps that I have a full-time job where I can split my time in a controlled manner, albeit limited from its original capacity.
What i'm saying seems easy and rather contrived but it's that endless battle to make things work as much as you possibly can, even in desperation.
This year came at me hard and I've attacked even harder.
Rare I say I am proud of myself, but I'm genuinely proud of what I've been able to do
Thanks for sharing! Good for you for fighting the storm with more outreach. I personally hate the outreach but I realize it’s the lifeblood of the business! How are you able to work a full time job and have the business? Do outsource the actual projects? I’m going to be going back to my job asap due to uncertainty… with AI, and economic uncertainty I think that an additional job makes sense in this current landscape.
Last year was by far the worst year for me. I lost the drive to do it but thankfully found the fire again esp as I parted was from toxic business partners.
Stressfulk watching this having just moved to London and opening a new studio ahaha
I'm wondering if its not several reasons why this is happening at a lot of areas? 1. I agree with some of the commenters here about people tightening up on finances as we are being told by CEOs everywhere that we are headed for a recession. 2.With social media being so aggressive now, I don't think families are as interested in nice photos to hang on their walls like they used to be. It seems to be the norm to just use your phone and instantly post on Facebook instead. 3. In my area (Arizona), we have so many people moving in as housing has exploded here, everyone is looking for side money. Ive seen more Facebook Moms who are starting up a photo biz, its insane. Problem is, they are all competing for price only. So I think its training the public that its not worth very much and they expect it to be CHEAP. Its nothing for someone to bail on an appt, if they find someone else cheaper.
I realize, we probably shouldn't worry about getting cheap customers to book as its not worth many of you's time. But I think its still having an impact on the rest of us who have experience, because of economy. Just my 2 cents.
So much sense in one video. Great stuff.
Always grateful to get some advice from Tin House. I am fortunate enough to have a full time job that requires me to shoot photos for a company year round. But recently, they've been cutting costs and I surmise that the staff photographer position may be next on their hitlist. Making preparations accordingly.
I am considering shuttering my LLC, the industry has been pretty rough for the last two years. Even my loyal clients have been silent.
In times like this large companies step down. I was working for a very small graphic design company in 2008+, we hit a lot of bigbrands like Master Card, Telus (Virgin equivalent) , large government, ets. To the smaller guys, reach out to large brands, this is your time.
Thank for always being real.
Not just the photo market. I work in experiential design (product launches, trade shows, corporate gatherings, etc) between budgets being slashed up to 50% from last year (post covid numbers not pre covid which is bad in of itself) and the cost of everything going up by hundreds of percents, there are some scary times ahead.
It is a general level of uncertainty. Nobody is sure if there is a storm coming or not. Peoples spending budgets are being squeezed so they are cutting back on non essential items. This leads to companies questioning future investment/marketing plans. Does one batten down the hatches and be possibly caught lagging behind in an upturn or push through and trust that the upturn is close by and risk overexposure.
I’m down 30% this quarter and sold off some gear. This hurts.
Think like is stated below this all started with Covid and now we have a cost of living crisis due to the situation in Ukraine it's made this a 3 year slog already, brands and individuals have spent alot of their savings and now with the repayment of covid loans and increased costs there just isn't the money available, it's really tough and I think more businesses will go bust this year than the last 2 years. As you say Scott this won't last forever and if you can tough it out then there will be less competition on the other side.
The cost of living crisis has more to do with the post-covid shortages than with the war in Ukraine.
@@labalia30 Not sure I agree, the price of fuel, gas and grain products have been directly effected by the war in Ukraine. The price of gas especially has a direct impact on manufacturing and food production as both use electricity produced in a large part by gas, expensive gas = expensive electricity = expensive products and food stuffs.
@@nickhill3868 yes but it went down since - that's why inflation is plateauing - but inflation still remains.
@@labalia30 so it is to blame aswell then?????
@@nickhill3868 The war in Ukraine has no real effect on inflation anymore. In the UK it really is post-covid plus Brexit that are to blame.
thank you!
I have a request. I have your channel playing in the background as I work, and I'm currently watching some of your image reviews. There is a lot of commentary on file naming. I think that it would be interesting if you explained how your filenames apply to your work flow. Apology if I missed you already going over this subject.
Yikes, all the best Scott🤞
I'm buying some good looking cabins that I can lock, will rent studio for a day on low days in future. At this time am most busy I have ever been but I feel like I need to diversify. It's so strange to hear it from you cos I thought I'm going mad, trying to create new ways to get an income. Portraits for Christmas might be a thing but I thought I might get a female friend photographer to help me out with human interaction part. I'm also making my Garage as small , all-you-need photography studio, was thinking about making it a bit UA-cam vibe.
the same applies to the music industry and a lot more
What you are describing happened to people photographers starting with covid...
My advice is not to worry. It it's pointless. Things may get better or worse for you but that's not down to you. Just size up where you stand. Free time can be useful to learn a new skill, take a low cost trip, hang out with friends and reset your expectations. Life always changes and what you worry about today won't be what you worry about in the future. Don't make your life more miserable than it is. The only thing that is in your control is worry, all else assume that you will make the right choice. Look back and see, luck and opportunities come unexpectedly so assume this will continue
Funnt that u mention this... I've been ghosted this year by 3 companies as well. So so frustrating !! What I did now was I wrote in my city Facebook group that I'm willing to work for free and if that company likes what they see, they can buy it off me. Im talking right now to one company owner and next week were supposed to start shooting.
I agree.
Working on logistics.
Clients are asking for lower rates.
Truckers are raising their rates.
Lufthansa just upped their fuel surcharge 5 USD cents.
Indeed, it feels like the first rain of a big storm.
I kinda have no choice but to buy new gear after mine was stolen. But im looking inexpensive mostly second hand.
Check your bank balance every day is possibly the best piece of advice I would give to anyone. It tunes you in,
I think AI imaging has everyone fundamentally questioning everything.
You could take the most spectacular shot, but the audience will question whether it is real or not.
Do we have ourselves to blame with overly photoshopped images (20 stops of dynamic range in landscape shots for example) that already looked like AI ? I don't know. I am in video production where tone, humanity, sound and real people insulate us somewhat from AI credibility questioning.
Weird times - I am just about to state big ad campaign - so the advertising tip may be good advise.
Add to all of that the mother of all financial melt downs just around the corner and it is going to get rough- good luck every body!
Having experienced financial squeezes in my life, my advice is set a budget for your minimum acceptable life: this is "your number". Then cut your spending/sell your stuff to get to that level.
Then work out what you are about professionally, really consider it, what you are good at, what people are buying now. Then take the money you saved and use it to get that work: cups of coffee with clients, Facebook ads, reaching out to folks in your network, whatever it takes.
Recipe for a happy financial life, this is. Throw in supportive pals, and it's the true path. Good luck everyone!
look for cheaper internet. the deals customer retention can giv you are SIGNIFICANTLY better than regular rate. like a quarter what the regular rate is usually
I think I have done ok - I have no overheads, landed a massive pharmaceutical deal - 5 agencies ignored my several emails, which I am now glad of, as their cut would have been over £200k for this 1 client. I got my leads from Linked -in. Also I have an aerospace contract in the pipeline. Along with a potential deal with a group who is part of the Aerospace supply chain. An ex-commercial solicitor has helped greatly with contracts and finance. So flowers, fine wine a few items of wall art was all it cost me. Up until now, I am glad photography was not my only source of income. However it is tight out there, everyone has to be prudent.
I have not been getting any bookings at all. It's wierd. I started with getting some jobs. Now for months none
I am going better than last year. I shoot weddings in Canada.
Best advice is to never rely on credit in the creative business. You can easily fall victim to spending on a vision too big for reality.
This all just happened to me!
Interesting. I'm looking at my best year ever. I did, however, just get an email from a client saying they are tightening their money belts.
I’ve been ghosted like 6 times driving me crazy
Wanting to go in to commercial work for clients look down on photographers that work with other things to. Asking since my main income is as a consultant software developer, and I’m interested in trying to learn to be able to do commercial jobs to
Interesting
some great advice particularly getting rid of unused equipment, but at the same time it may be a buying opportunity too, because similar people are dumping their equipment too, but don't buy things you won't use. Keep up the marketing. Maybe their are portions of your business that other need? Like maybe a truck to carry gear, or you own or have expertise in something that others will hire you for? I'm an engineer and when things got tough I did CAD work for other companies in my office so I could continue doing my own work. Lastly like I said I'm an engineer, but I look at your channel and others, for business ideas - how are you doing this or that I can use or adapt to building stuff.
It’s fine in other countries where the people didn’t vote to destroy their own economy. Brexit the gift that keeps giving.
As all the big multinational companies move offshore to the EU zone, the work will go with them.
I'm thinking there is a huge demand for Photography education. I have completed a couple of courses and have just started an HND (online); many of the amateur photographers I meet have an insatiable appetite to improve......I'm sure you are already active in that area, but for me there is a huge market out there. I have paid £ 600 for a days 1-2-1 tuition in the past.......the likes of Rory Lewis (whose work I really love) can demand £ 600 from 10 photographers for one session. 6 grand as a day rate can't be that bad :-) Your work is superb, but perhaps niche? You may not want to teach amateurs how to take a good landscape or take a good portrait, but I'm struggling to believe there is not a market for that? Feel free to disagree.
Saving a buck is worth far more than earning a buck because of taxes, overhead, etc. I figure I have to earn about 1.75 to be able to spend 1.
Im in the wedding industry, so not so effected (for now) but with ai it will get worse in my opinion. And not only photography,…
I doubt AI will take over wedding photography and videography. I feel like you are in a safe niche!
So is this a bad time to be starting up my photography business? Lol!!
Imagine this scenario...the marketing director for WPP (they handle Coke's marketing) is told that the annual marketing budget for Coke's line of beverages is going to be cut next year. Of course, he is still expected to produce the same quality and quantity of work. Not being a dummy, he calls up one of the photographers he routinely uses for those campaigns and tells him this, "I need you to create 500 photos of our entire beverage line using as many different lighting setups as you can imagine. I don't care about the background at all. In fact, shoot them chromakey." The photographer goes back to his studio and fairly quickly is done. After all, if the background is not a concern, then the lighting and touchup work becomes much easier. The marketing director takes the images, says thank you, and tells the photographer we won't need you again unless we add new products or make changes to our labeling or containers. He gives those images to his top Photoshop expert and describes the next big Coke campaign. The PS guru opens the latest version of Photoshop (with its new and very impressive AI capabilities) and says the following, "Photoshop, please take these images of Coke products and create 20 versions of a photorealistic image showing an inter-racial couple sitting on a sunny beach in Thailand, watching the sunset, while enjoying a Coke."
Sixty seconds later, he has those 20 images and a number of photographers just went out of business.
Totally feeling this… makes me wonder where else can I focus my efforts to stay in business? Lifestyle video?? What is truly AI proof in this industry that there is a market for?? That’s I’m trying to find out. Photography defiantly seems like it’s going to take a HUGE hit with photoshop generative fill…. On top of economic storm
@@intentionalimagery888 There are several areas that may be more or less immune to domination by AI at least in the near term: news, live events, portraits, real estate, and new architecture.
Also, keep your eyes open for buyers who might develop AI-ism and specifically exclude AI-generated images from consideration. There will be some anti-AI backlash and it could create some opportunities.
@@intentionalimagery888 There are a few types of photography that should be somewhat less impacted by AI: news, events, real estate, and new architecture to name few. A new company's products or new products for an existing company will still require some photographers.
In any case, the world gets much harder for new photographers since the more experienced photographers will be less busy and hustling to keep working.
I think you are seeing two things. First, AI is beginning to be a real competitor. Not a replacement, but a competitor in some situations. Second, stock photography has reached a point where it is hard to come up with an idea for a photo that does not already exist in stock inventory. Add to both of those things the fact that budgets are becoming increasingly tight...you have a near perfect storm.
I am not sure it will get better this time. This might finally be the dramatic change that some people have been predicting will come to the business of photography.
AI is awesome.
But it does not give me a picture of myself.
Stock photo does not either.
I mean, every other kind of photo has a competitor in those sources you mention.
But some will never be replaced by AI or stock.
Also, contrast with how cellphone sales are also on a decline.
I believe it is a larger trend.
@@lesath7883 We are not talking about using AI or stock to take your selfies. We are talking about the larger business of commercial photography. As I said, not a replacement, but a competitor in certain circumstances. As AI gets better and more capable, and stock continues to grow, a potential consumer of photos will more and more often be presented with the possibility of using images from those sources instead of hiring a photographer. Every now and then, the consumer will choose the AI/stock route to meet their needs. Every time AI or stock meets the need, the more likely that consumer is to use them the next time they have a need. And each time they do that, a photographer somewhere is not getting a job.
The top commercial photographers such as Scott are the last to feel the crunch, but as you can see, it has started. The beginner...the low level commercial photographers are going out of business already.
@@lesath7883 AI can quite easily create pictures of yourself and really anyone whom you already have a couple of pictures of. You train it with like 10 pics from your phone (doesn't matter if those aren't professional photos) and then prompt it to generate a professional photograph of yourself.
In fact, one website already uses this technique to make professional looking headshots for people.
I do agree though that the capturing of some special moments probably cannot be replaced by AI.
Don't save all your money, spend! Everyday it's in your bank it's losing value so save some strategically. Make your money work for you with investments. Diversify with Multiple Incomes. If you want to expand your biz expand now. If you see studios closing and you wanted to open one, do it! Right now is the best time to start if you haven't. Many will fall in the coming months/ years. But all that's doing is making room for you. We're going through a season in history that repeats, we're currently in a long "winter" that will last around another 7 years or so until things get better and it's "spring" again. The last time the world was like this was during the war.
What’s your take on AI generative fill in photoshop? It will definitely replace A LOT of photographers…
@@intentionalimagery888 HAHAHA Not a chance. Maybe a lot of terrible photographers. But it's only going to make the good ones better.
...and AI, Levi's launching their AI-generated models in their website ads "to create more inclusivity" - strange words, when the result is NO photographers needed, NO light techs, NO make up artists aso. What is your take on this, will AI destroy the industry/industries? There are a lot of opinions on this - but some feels a bit like what people said back in the days of IBM. The idea that all of us would one day be connected online worldwide while sitting at home, hahaha, will never happen! And here we are. And for photography, it's getting harder day by day (or even hour by hour) to distinguish REAL photos from AI generated ones. What will stop big corporations, brands etc (and of course, private customers) from spending 1/10th of their (today) budget on AI instead of dealing with time- and money consuming pro togs? They should, in my opinion (the latter), but in reality, what do you think?
If you need to tap into benefits make sure you have less than £16k in your bank account otherwise you'll get jack-crap.
learn to grow your ownfood.
Ooh you really don’t need more photography you to channel. Photography is a very very very very tiny segment on UA-cam. The biggest is 1.5mn. That’s nothing for the biggest in a segment.
Even more glad to have my military retirement pension. Picked up shooting headshots again to make ends meet.
bring a sandwich for lunch
Learn to cook your own food.
Please we have enough people trying for fame making UA-cam videos. How about get a job and do photography as a hobby instead?