I just don’t understand.
I just don’t understand why it is so difficult for society to respect the working music photographer. We provide a skill, just like any other profession.
Sure, in typing out this post, the words “clicking a button on a camera,” doesn’t appear too difficult. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve been doing since I was about 3 (I consider a ViewMaster a “pre-camera” tool) so really, how hard could it be, right?
Well, if it were so easy, then how did the photographers that came well before my generation, Jim Marshall, Annie Leibovitz, Michael Ochs, etc make a living? I feel as though they see music and photography the same way I do. They see those moments that may pass the rest by, and they capture it, almost as if by magic.
That magic, at one time, was valued.
Bands appreciated that magic, allowing those photographers to capture and expose their most personal and professional moments, and cherish them almost as much as their own melodies and bridges.
Publications appreciated that magic, utilizing these photographers not to simply fill their page quota, but to publish images that were of a quality that complimented, and perhaps exceeded the importance of the content within the writing itself.
Those were the days.
Now? I feel the magic is gone.
Anyone is a music photographer.
Anyone can bring a camera to a show, be it a cellphone, an Instax, or a DSLR and as long as they keep clicking, they’ll get that shot. I mean, statistically, someone has to.
And as crazy as it sounds, suddenly anyone clicking away is in contention for a spot in mainstream publication.
If everyone is taking that photo, it is not unique, it’s a mass distribution of lowered standards. It is not magic anymore; the magic is dead.
The band doesn’t care— their Facebook is flooded with images from the back of the venue.
Publications don’t care— they’re willing to offer up a name in their mainstream magazine for a cellphone picture to fill a quarter page article, so long as it doesn’t cost them a single penny.
What happened to content? What happened to standard? What happened to value?
What happened to the magic?
If bands and publications don’t care about the magic and its value, then why should the music photographer?
Some music photographers now resort to selling their images to wires or an agency just to seek compensation for their talent.
Bands suddenly begin to despise the photographer who sells the images to the wire, and so they produce unfair contracts that ultimately hinder the performance of the photographer.
The photographer who once loved photographing bands, suddenly hates the bands that throw a contract in their face, devaluing their worth.
The magic is not only gone, it’s destroyed.
How did we, as a society, go from loving and appreciating the magic associated with music photography to destroying the entire profession?
