Today it is easier to become a professional photographer and even more difficult to remain one

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Trophy – something gained or given in victory or conquest especially when preserved or mounted as a memorial 
— Meriam-Webster

Creating a website or blog is so easy today.  You no longer need expensive software. Places like WordPress, Blogger and Godaddy all have templates which are super simple to very advanced allowing you within minutes to be up online self publishing content.
Years ago the cost to be published was so great that you had to go and work for a publisher like a newspaper to get published or be independently wealthy to have the resources to make it happen. 
Technology changed a lot of things in photography. Today’s cameras are excellent at getting good exposures in most situations. Auto focus in the cameras is superb and often does a better job than the human eye alone can do. Camera manufacturer hot shoe flashes with TTL deliver more consistent exposure than the older models. You can get instant feedback whereas we used to have to wait until the film was developed and then it was too late to correct for the mistake.

The process of taking the picture to having the public see the photo used to take several people, lots of different equipment and a long time. Today you can take a photo on your DSLR and instantly transmit it and have it posted on the web to see within seconds.

Technology has empowered more people to get their photos in front of the world.

Those who grew up with the internet are part of Generation Y.  I am reading Bruce Tulgan’s book Not Everyone Gets A Trophy: How to manage Generation Y. I am reading this to understand a little more about the young people coming to me wanting to become photographers.   
Bruce Tulgan starts his book with these quotes:
They kept telling me, “here’s what you get in five years, ten years, twenty years. . .” But they expect me to come back to work tomorrow. What do I get tomorrow?
Doesn’t every new generation of young workers irritate the older, more experienced ones?

This new Y generation is moving into the workforce and their presence is being felt.

The flattening of the world allows us today to be globally interconnected. Today you can connect to people in far away countries.

Moore’s law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The period often quoted as “18 months.” This phenominum of rate of growth and change of the computer has helped to speed up all areas in our society.

When the computer you just bought becomes irrelevant so quickly it is helping to drive the relevance as to what is happening now more than what did happen.

Today the instantaneous response is the only meaningful time frame is how Tulgan addresses the environment we live in today.

All this technology changes for the older generations may make them feel overwhelmed, but the new generation embraces it to the point they feel like experts on everything. They are impatient.  With ongoing change the only relevance for them is in the present.

The new generation was raised with “positive tolerance.” This plays out as “we are all winners” and “everyone gets a trophy.”

I am realizing studying the Generation Y is helping me understand what is happening to our economy, my photography industry and more.

I am getting more and more Generation Yers asking me how to be a photographer. Many more are just wanting a tip to customize into their thought process.

One of my good friend photographers called me up when a couple from his church were asking what would be a good camera for weddings?  They didn’t even own a professional camera and were buying one and launching their website that month to be wedding photographers.  What do you say to people like this?

I too am getting more and more Gen Y coming to me and asking how can I become a professional now.

Stages of your Career

Years ago your career path was more dictated because the access was controlled more. Today however, as long as you have access to the internet you can self publish yourself even if what you put up is terrible in quality and content.

While I am excited about how much easier it is to be published, I think in some ways legitimacy is lacking. Today someone can look very established and not have ever done work for anyone.

Consumer Protection

While it is great you have the ability to hang a shingle and call yourself a professional photographer the public now needs to do a little more research to establish your legitimacy.  Today it is more important than ever to have a network of people to help you navigate.

It is much wiser today to go to Facebook and ask your friends who they recommend for anything than to go to Google and just pick something. Your friends are references for these businesses.  They give people legitimacy.

Paying your dues

While today the access to the world is just a click away, this didn’t totally do away with you having to work and develop your skills to make a living.

In the case of music, the internet has helped people like Justin Bieber get discovered, but it didn’t speed up the time it takes to becomes a musician.  You still must practice to become a great musician. Today the access is improved.

Access to self publish for photographers through creation of websites, blogs and even eBooks has helped many people with talent speed up their success.

Today Generation Y has more opportunities than the generations before them, but they still must develop their skills to remain successful.  You may get that first job, but to get repeat business you must deliver quality.