Will women save the photo industry?
- September 27th, 2010
The digiflat age opened the door for the most winsome brands to finally be seen and… well… win.
As our world was shifting in the pro photo world, there were a few ahead of the curve photographers who’s public portfolios really stood out. The ones that did, usually had images that left one’s jaw on the floor. In my particular nitch of wedding photography, I remember David Beckstead‘s original “Dark and Light” website (circa 2004) as one in particular that induced envy on demand. The message: make gorgeous images and you’ll stand out.
The much talked about challenge, however, came when everyone figured out that it was important to put their images out for all to see. The volume of what our clients were exposed to dulled their collective senses. As Kevin Maney has observed, the ease of delivery trumped the fidelity of the product. With so many new photographers showing off pretty good images so conveniently, something new needed to emerge to make a difference.
It just so happened that for pro photographers, the culturally held belief at the time (and still held by many) is that if you spend a disproportionate time making great images, they (the clients) will reward you for it. At the time, there was enough clients who validated that belief to keep believing it. But, what seems to have proven itself since then is that strategy “well” is running dry. Like global climate change, it’s just taking a little while for all to see it.
Everyone knows that the double edged opportunity of the new age is that (1) our gear is getting cheaper and more powerful while (2) those committed to dramatically differentiating can actually be discovered. This dynamic empowered all of us (new and established alike) to do things that simply weren’t possible before. In particular, a bunch more of us now get to play. It also revealed that the single dimensional strategy of being good (even really good) with photo making exclusively, doesn’t work anymore.
This idea of single dimensionality got me thinking… what large group of people in our world are notoriously single dimensional and tend to be especially gifted at to having one thing on their mind at any one time? In contrast, who among us, are stereotypically labeled at being multi-talented (and are willing to even ask for directions when lost). That’s right… enter the dawn of the golden age for female pro photographers.
In a sea of good ol’ boys fixated on technique and spec heavy gear, women finally had the chance play and be seen too. It’s like a mini-women’s suffrage movement right before our eyes. Or, at least, it could be.
Of course, with opportunity, there is the predictably opposition to a movement like this and sometimes even a lack of willingness on those being empowered to take their rightful place as full fledged and uniquely designed citizens.
Some of this is completely acceptable by the way. If those being given opportunity don’t want it they should enjoy that liberty. But for those that want the choice to compete, the things that women often do better than men (grace, beauty, aesthetic, detail, etc., etc.) can now – finally – be seen by the world and smart ladies everywhere are wasting no time putting these things on display.
The cloud around this silver lining though is the problem our industry will have if women who say they want to be in the game don’t step up to the plate uniquely. If instead, they decide to mimic what their male colleagues have done in the past, I think they’ll lose or at least make the fight a lot harder for themselves. One look at what the women of the WNBA reveals how tragic that strategy can be (a league I suspect is being led by men). Even Hillary Clinton made it nearly impossible for her to win the White House by playing like the boys, at least a particular boy as skilled as Barack Obama.
But, what if she (and you) took a different tact. With so many skills to pull from that most men struggle to find or simply ignore, why not take the risk and differentiate by putting those things on display along with your skills at the craft?
As a woman reading this article, imagine if you acknowledged your talents and strengths for what they are and did something with them in a stand out way! Not only would it give you a massive competitive advantage but you would inspire our whole industry (even us men) to see professional photography in an expansive new light… with brand new possibilities.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the same old strategy that doesn’t work like it used to. I say let’s expand the breadth and depth of skills still uninvented to reach our targets, and create on a level that has yet to be seen. And, I say, let’s be colleagial and gracious with the courageous women willing to step up. Witness the success and endless (ad noseum) debate over the credibility of friends like Jasmine Star to see what I mean. Credible? Are you kidding?? She’s killing it and opening doors for all us in the process… or we could lob cowardly bombs from the safety of our online forum of choice (I’ll refrain from a hyperlink here), while the Jasmine’s of the world continue to take risks, putting all of themselves on the line, working their tails off, improving at every turn and raising the bar for all of us.
At the end of the day, as a father of three girls, my money’s on the women. In a moment of transition and opportunity, it will be the women who differentiate, add new value to our industry, take their birthright to the bank and LEAD. And, man o’ man, does our industry need it… pardon the pun.
