The only reason I asked was that I couldn't be sure if you were taking the **** or not. If you believe in it then I take my hat off to you.
OK, dont take me as someone whos trying to rant here, im trying to throw my perspective out here, i appreciate the fact you asking and i will try and articulate what i am thinking, my english isnt great though so be patient
I've broken your comments down into manageable pieces so we can have a discussion about what you've just said. I appreciate that this is normally the tactic of someone trying to rip the previous post to shreds, so thought I'd set the record straight from the off.
A lot of the photographers working on the publications you listed will have served their time as apprentices and assistants to the photographers who came before them. I really wouldn't have thought that they would have been able to do a degree like yours and then jump straight into a job from the off.
Ok i have to study hundreds of photographers per piece of work i make to justify how i was inspired. Regardless of how good my photos are if they dont have back up research to explain them then they dont achieve as good a grade. I know this sounds harsh but it has broaden my skill and varity.
I appreciate some of the best photographers in the world can be assistants without qualifications but many study in arts school around the world, before they did this.
What's the success rate (for want of a better term) for your course/uni? Have many students gone straight into their dream jobs?
To be fair i dont know my exact uni/course rate, we do however have guest speakers like the assistance you mention and the professionals in questions, all of which have told us there background including where they study and how they became an artist/pro, sorry i dont have more to back up this.
Can you explain it then? I'd be interested to hear what you've got to say.
I see your point but I don't understand why you
have to develop meaning in your work. Why does there have to be meaning, why can't the picture just speak for itself?
Developing a meaning clearly sets your qork apart from other peoples, this forum has a very high standard of work, and i enjoy seeing peoples shots, but photography consist of more than just composition. Thats the simplest form of photography. Have you ever used a medium format camera (6x7) or a 5x4 camera.
Meaning develops your work, someone ive recently just finished using as inspiration is annie liebovitz, a highly regarded portrait photographer. As an example here she photographs lance armstrong, BUT this is what makes her work worthy of credit, she doesnt just take a picture of him next to his bike, she emphasises what makes lance armstrong who he is, by being naked, his structure, core, muscles, energy, bike, determination.
Is this something that is specific to a certain type of photography or are you saying that every picture should have meaning behind it?
Not necessarily, but that depends, i could go many ways with my qualification and not be stuck with one option, thats why i want to finish my course. Freedom of choice, with the skills ive gained.
Fair enough but you're missing out an important part of the puzzle - the buyer.
Your average punter doesn't care about quality or meaning or how much effort you put into the image. For the most part they want something that looks nice and will go with the decor of their house/room. As photography becomes more and more mainstream and in reach of the general public it's going to get harder for your professional who makes a living selling prints to continue making that living.
True, true, but thats why unfortunately your average photograph of a lnadscape doesnt sell for large sums of money (ok with some exceptions seing as the most expesive picture was of light through trees sold recently, but previously. Subsequently very few landscape photographers get remembered, with exception of course, im not tryign to generalise here)
Again, are you talking about a specific branch of photography or are you generalising?
Its does have some generalization mostly portraits but it can be seen throught sport, or any photography. Imagine you capture the look on the face of micheal owen if he scored a world cup winner, it has something more to it than just a picture of micheal own with the ball or him standing on a pitch. Now obviously its harder to get that everytime but it still applies and defines a better photographer. If you see what i mean
And what is your dream job, ChroniC? Do you have your sights set on a particular company or agency or are you aspiring to be a fashion photographer, etc?
Personally i want to couple my love of travelling with photography and hope it takes me places, but i will go with the flow and what i encounter, i love all aspects, and believe i have the skill to be good enough in all areas. With this skill behind me i would consider myself a better photographer.
Where do you think these skills will come in handy? Personally I would have thought that if every student coming through had the same skills, assuming that this is taught across the board, that you would need something extra to attract the eyes of a potential employer.
Of course, but if you believe that then thats sets me apart from your average digital photographer straight away, its a dieing skill which i think is more rewarding and i hope that a photographer thinks my work is excellent, and i have a skill that many dont. I know digital better than most men, but i also know film.
Also, can we see some of your work? Do you have anything from your course that we could take a look at? Might be a nice idea if you can expain the meaning behind your work while you're at it, I'm sure it will help some of us (or most likely, me!) to understand where you are coming from
Yes not a problem, but in due time, all of it is on photographic glossy paper and hard to transfer to web. But i will when i have time in the next few days do so for you
Ive written this fairly quickly and probably will edit it at some points. I hope you dont htink im dribbling crap
and sorry this is so huge
*ahem*
