Everyones a photographer now….

Digital photography is great,  it has revitalized photography.  It has lead to new technologies which have allowed us to push the boundaries forward,  and to produce material which we simply could not produce before.

Funny how at the same time that digital has brought a renaissance to photography,  it is killing off the livings of dozens of photographers and dramatically reducing the value of the pictures that we take.

This is the challenge that we are facing in 2008,  how do we as photographers bring new value to the work that we do,  and how do we ensure that we will be able to actually continue to make a living doing the thing that we love.

I was watching some posts on another website recently,  one that is totally unconnected with photography,  and the thing that struck me was how the average person now views photography as a technical hobby.  Virtually all of the discussion focused on how to use the latest camera,  and its various buttons and features. 

There was virtually no talk about photography or photographs per se.  And it is this technical fascination that amateurs have with photography that will be the saviour of the professional photographer.

We have to take the opportunity to raise our game.   We have to become experts not a “taking pictures”,  but at producing high quality photography.   

 We have to produce excellence in our photography,  and we have to back this up with the traditional values that underpin any successful business,  excellence in service and customer support.    It is through this combination that we will attract high quality well informed customers who value what we have to offer.

And that is our challenge for 2008.