A degree in photography- is it really worth it?
How indeed.
I regard this as an art more than a science, which occupies an increasing amount of my own day.
I was mulling over what answer to give when my friend then inquired if going back to university would increase their chances?
Education is a good thing, but not at any price, and not when it is seen a passport to a job in the photographic industry.
Knowledge of photography, being a good photographer, and getting a job as a photographer are three very different and distinct things.
Having lots of photographic knowledge, and being a good photographer in no way guarantee you a place in the photographic industry.
Likewise I know some very, very successful photographers whose photographic knowledge is patchy at best, and sometimes their photographic eye is not the best either.
If you are going to university to gain further knowledge, fine.
If you are going to university to put you in a better position to get a job, I believe you could spend your time and money much more effectively.
Let me try to unravel this photographic knowledge/good photographer/working photographer knot.
The photographic industry is an industry like any other, subject to the rules of supply and demand.
There is much, much more supply than demand, which in turn drives the price of photography down.
Another working photographer friend of mine told me a statistic which put all this into perspective.
In Greater London he said there are more than 60,000 people offering their services as professional photographers.
A number which is roughly equal to the number of employees of General Motors in the whole of Europe.
How has this happened?
Going to university to learn something that was very complex and where you had to be precise, exposing medium format transparency to an accuracy of 1/3 of a stop, and creating effects in camera made a great deal of sense, something I wish I had done.
But quantum leaps in technology has led to a widespread democratisation of photography.
You no longer NEED to know about F-Stop's and shutter speeds to take a beautiful photograph, reaching into your pocket for a smart phone will put your hand on a remarkable device capable of great results.
I know of more than one pro photographer who has work shot on their iPhone in their portfolio to show clients (they sure as anything don't tell them this!)
Let me be clear, I'm not actually saying this is a bad thing, nor a good thing but it is the world we live in and better start getting used to it, smart phones are going to get better all the time.
Consider this scenario, which I know for a fact has happened repeatedly.
40 something person fed up of the day job in a high paying career, is quite handy with a DSLR and sees a career in photography as the way out. Only yesterday I overheard a conversation at a cafe where someone was telling their mate they had given up their day job to become a pro photographer 'you know portraits, landscapes that sort of thing'
These were the actually words used too.
Some people who leave their day job do very well, who are they and why do they do well?
The winners are the shooters who are connected, who know people in positions of power to commission.
Some real illustrations of this.
A call to me out of the blue which paraphrased was 'I have just landed a major job for a major multinational but I don't know how to do it, what do you suggest?'
Owners of a London studio sometimes have to light massive budget shoots for photographers who have landed the job of their life and don't know to light at all.
An enquiry to shoot an annual report for a very successful company NOT to shoot an annual report but to oversee employees who are 'excellent photographers' whom the company has bought the latest and greatest camera gear for. I kid you not.
All of this in 2013 too.
I am in no way rubbishing University degrees, I just feel that the money spent on a photography degree over 3 years, (up to £9000 a year plus living costs) could in-fact be money much better spent if you do want to be a full time pro photographer.
There is the moral issue too of churning out more photographic graduates that the industry can feasibly employ.
The best one can do to break in is to shoot something you know and love, or at the very least have a strong interest in and build on that.
It will take time, possibly years but you will build a cohesive body of work and crucially it will start to put you in touch with people who may actually commission, you will be learning as you go too.
We live in an age of dazzling digital possibilities, with endless and free ways of promotion, all you need to do is to apply this to something where there is actually a market which will sustain you financially.
This may or may not be in photography.