RIP Popular Photography

StarHalo

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Publisher CEO: "The rise of smartphone-camera technology and its increasing ability to capture quality photos and video and instantly share them socially has dealt the photo industry formidable challenges. For our brands, these industry challenges have left us with insurmountable losses in advertising and audience support. Despite the extraordinary efforts of our committed colleagues at Popular Photography and American Photo, as well as our best attempts corporately to find a sustainable path forward, we are simply unable to overcome these market forces."

The March/April 2017 issue pictured below will be the last issue.

eibuZG4.jpg
 

RedLED

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Publisher CEO: "The rise of smartphone-camera technology and its increasing ability to capture quality photos and video and instantly share them socially has dealt the photo industry formidable challenges. For our brands, these industry challenges have left us with insurmountable losses in advertising and audience support. Despite the extraordinary efforts of our committed colleagues at Popular Photography and American Photo, as well as our best attempts corporately to find a sustainable path forward, we are simply unable to overcome these market forces."

The March/April 2017 issue pictured below will be the last issue.

eibuZG4.jpg
I could not have said that better myself. I'm the last around here with a New York/LA grade studio. Really, I've gone back to being a photojournalist covering our nation's presidents. And I will author a book some day. Sad to see so many of my talented colleagues just disappear. We still hold som major corporate accounts with some of America's best companies who need things gone right, so I will make it through, as we have worked with all of all of them for over 20 years each. And have dates years out.

However, I have been in this tough business for 27 years, which is equal to General Motors being in business for 750 years, (So say economics professors), I have been to so many countries around the world many times on someone else's money, met my wife, and have houses all over the place, took my daughter with us around the country and works, put her through college, so it was a great run. I will retire In a few years at an early age...so that's that. Thing is I never wanted to retire, ever.

As long as they don't computerize cats, to spy on us I will be fine

Other industries beaten up:

Publishing
Journalism
Photography
Professional photo labs
Video Productionu
Motion Pictures
Recording industry
Music
Printing
Travel Agents
Retail sectors
Gaming industry with online betting
Taxi industry

Im sure there are more, many more.
 
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joelbnyc

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yes, well, technological progress... pretty soon the robots/AI will be doing everything they aren't already...

On the flip side, social media has caused a boom in consumers wanting to post professional wedding and family images.

We set my (talented and motivated) wife up with about 15K worth of gear, she broke even the first year and is now profitable.

Apples and Oranges to journalism/advertising of course, but industry and consumers both still have a demand for talented professionals. And the technology is mindblowing.
 

alpg88

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my friend is a "pro" photographer, he works in restaurants in Brooklyn, while he still has customers, their number drops all the time, back in the days people that had party at a restaurant, had photographer take their pics, than he would bring 8x10 printed pictures hour or so latter, now everyone has a smartphone, his services no longer needed as much, people take their own pics, and post it right away. however phones have not replaced wedding photographer, yet.
 

scs

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I can understand that arts that are actually more science than art are susceptible to replacement by technology, but photography? It takes more than a good camera or in this case a smart camera to take good photographs right?

Same goes for cinematography. Idiots on youtube are still holding their camera phone upright, and few people naturally know how to properly place the camera and frame the shots.

Perhaps the eyes of the consumer is to blame as well.

"I don't want soup. I can make my own soup."

 

SoCalTiger

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my friend is a "pro" photographer, he works in restaurants in Brooklyn, while he still has customers, their number drops all the time, back in the days people that had party at a restaurant, had photographer take their pics, than he would bring 8x10 printed pictures hour or so latter, now everyone has a smartphone, his services no longer needed as much, people take their own pics, and post it right away. however phones have not replaced wedding photographer, yet.

I do professional photography part-time. I don't think that phones will ever replace a wedding photographer. Even if a phone was able to take FF DSLR quality pictures, the problem is training first and supplemental gear (lighting primarily) second. Amateurs generally lack the skill set to be able to capture the same quality pictures or really deal with the wedding environment. A large part of being a wedding photographer is, quite frankly, Chaos Management. However, the primary force that is destroying the profession is the massive influx of amateur budget photographers now that DSLRs are so affordable. It's harder and harder for even established photographers to justify a $200-300 price tag on a standard family session (price not even including prints) when there are cut-rate photographers all over the place offering "mini-sessions" for $25-50. Same for all the cheap amateur wedding photographers.
 

NoNotAgain

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Photography magazines as a whole are on their way out.

Many YouTube channels do gear evaluation and lighting seminars.

The past 15 years, photo mags have been nothing but paid commercials. You won't find a bad review since the manufacturer is also paying for space.

I subscribed to Shutterbug which was the largest trade mag and District News. Shutterbug was published 3 times a month. Toward the end for me, it became bird cage liner, as by the time I received my copy, the classified items were weeks old.

Sorry to see Popular Photography go, but like most publications, they were slow to adapt.
 

StarHalo

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I can understand that arts that are actually more science than art are susceptible to replacement by technology, but photography? It takes more than a good camera or in this case a smart camera to take good photographs right?

The photography world is going through a sea change right now; more people than ever are doing it, but they all want to get the picture with one tap and share it with the next, something the standard camera still cannot do. If you put all the cell phones and cameras produced in the year 2016 into one big pile, the cameras would make up 1.3% of the pile. The camera is now a fringe niche device..
 

RedLED

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yes, well, technological progress... pretty soon the robots/AI will be doing everything they aren't already...

On the flip side, social media has caused a boom in consumers wanting to post professional wedding and family images.

We set my (talented and motivated) wife up with about 15K worth of gear, she broke even the first year and is now profitable.

Apples and Oranges to journalism/advertising of course, but industry and consumers both still have a demand for talented professionals. And the technology is mindblowing.
$15,000?... My 600f4 cost that, try having a million dollar investment over 27 years In top level studio with the latest gear, and software. Plus the talent to assist. Not easy anymore.

I wanted to come back and say, I think it is great your wife did so well out of the gate, and if she keeps it up, you could do very well down the road. Nice to hear a success in the business these days, congratulations.

Best,

NR
 
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joelbnyc

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but the pro and prosumer gear is mindblowingly more powerful than point and shoot phone cameras. Full frame Nikon/Canon DSLR (and the mirrorless Sonys) bodies with the right lenses in the right hands produce staggeringly awesome images... even the consumer crop frame cameras are in a different league than a cellphone camera.

As for magazines, well, it's all online now, and I think the demise of a photography magazine says more about the state of magazines than it does about the state of photography. Dpreview, dxomark, and a few YouTube gear reviewers do enough to rate gear, and there are endless images to peruse and appreciate on Flickr or elsewhere.
 

RedLED

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The photography world is going through a sea change right now; more people than ever are doing it, but they all want to get the picture with one tap and share it with the next, something the standard camera still cannot do. If you put all the cell phones and cameras produced in the year 2016 into one big pile, the cameras would make up 1.3% of the pile. The camera is now a fringe niche device..
No cell phone can do what our range of glass can do. I can spot a cell photo a mile away.

ADD:
You are right, it bugs me in 2017, I can't transmit photos as I shoot them to my agent, or a live slide show at a corporate event, and many other uses.
 
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StarHalo

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No cell phone can do what our range of glass can do. I can spot a call photo a mile away.

Right there with you, but the catch is can you spot it at ~500 pixels; analytics has revealed that for any given portfolio, less than 10% of viewers ever view more than the first page. Instagram and Snapchat are essentially all thumbnails, the whole point of photography now is to get attention using a small image.

And the mobile version of Lightroom is nicely featured, so now you can post-process your cell snaps and make it that much harder to tell..

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RedLED

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And the flow that goes across the Internet every day, if there is a bad photo it is forgotten right away. Not like newspapers that stayed a few days, or magazines that would remain around a few months.

I miss the the old days of photography where you had to know what you were doing, not like togay.
 

RedLED

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Star,

Why not buy my studio, with a name like "Star Halo Photography," you would make big mega bucks. I wish I had thought of that name when I started. Il'll get you going and you can waltz around the globe like a celebrity. You would be mobbed by celebrities, presidents, and CEO's craving for your artistic touch and excellent eye to, produce the photograph of a lifetime for the elite of the globe.

Imagine riding in motorcades, Air Force One, private 747's like the Sultan of Brunei's, photographing the Queen of England, the Pontiff, Jeff Bezos It is all yours for the asking price...which we need to discuss. Oh, and the hotels...a car and driver, suits cut in London, gold Rolexes, even a gold tooth if you like?

If if not I would like to, buy Star Halo from you. What does that mean anyway?

My General Councel will contact your people. You could travel like me with an entourage with your Trip director lawyer, MD, financial advisor, a team of phycarist's from Vienna, therapist, Indian Guru, body guards, a press corps., driver, secure communications specialist, personal photographer just for you, publicist, agent, manager, chef, video crew, valet, wife and kids, and hangers on, your road crew of grips and assistants, your pilot, and hand selected flight attendants, with uniforms you favor. (Mine wear 70's hot pants and higher than high platforms)! But that is just me. My wife isn't too thrilled about that!

let me know.

With all best wishes,

Most sincerely yours, with warm regards,

Red LED





OK mods this is in fun, just a joke.
 
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StarHalo

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If if not I would like to, buy Star Halo from you. What does that mean anyway?

It's what sounds good when you're 16 and you need a cool name for AOL chat rooms. But I need a Nikon D810 and you need a salable brand name, we can work something out..

I was prepared to parry with the figures of what average photographers make, but the guy who did our wedding did indeed wear a mother-of-pearl faced Rolex and drove a Porsche, so there's average and then there's above..
 

RedLED

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Of course I was joking around with most of that post, all is true except the entroage part.

As far as, changing my name, however, I do think your screen name is very cool but, I think it best to use your oun name in the photo business, as it shows you stand behind your work, which many of the flakes don't. Most of them are long gone anyhow. You need to put your name on it.

From the things I put in that post, I have photographed your boss, years ago, and photographed and spoke with the Sultan, search my name and so if you play your cards right you can work magic in this industry. Never in my wildest dreams could I imaging everything doing what I have.

The problem for people now, is I started decades ago, with so many things different mostly shooting on film stock, and now I would find it almost impossible to duplicate my efforts, with all the post 9-11 security in place, and all the people who get a camera and think they are professionals, plus I started in a small town with big people in it and they helped me out so I was just lucky, to tell the truth. Had I started in a big town I would have had a lot more to deal with on a daily basis.

Now, I would recommend people not to invest in their photo business like I did, I own everything outright, because I never wanted to rent unreliable gear, so I put some of my profits back in the company, still do as we bill pretty high and owe it to out trusted clients to always show up with the latest gear, with plenty of spares and backups, so if something was to go wrong, they never know it. which paid off as we can shoot anything involving people and events of any type, along with architecture, and fashion. you have to specialize like any other professional does, you can't do everything, and should not even attempt it.

For instance, I can't do what Don McGizmo does, and he may not be able to have a photo op pool spray of 30 seconds to shoot the president, before you are cut off even happen to get off one shot, or that one second you have disembarking Air Force One. Mostly I can direct my subjects, he can't and there are moving. Two of the most interesting areas you can specialize are underwater and surfing. Surfing is one event I have never tried but I love good surfing photos. That takes real skill, however everyone with a waterproof cell case is a surf photographer now.

Photography for a career has always been tough and will be, I went for over twenty years without a day off. But, I loved every second of it because I owned the company, and was not like really working as everything we did was fun, and no two days are alike.

I could in no way have got to the level I am without my wife, she is a mathematical genius, and holds masters degrees in the computer sciences, and is an award winning photographer, herself, and my second camera. Post production photoshop manager and takes care of all pre print and printing.

I met her in my early days, and she knew nothing, I trained her, like I trained myself. And the most amazing part was that all photographers who went from film to digital are pioneers in a new medium, and that happens very, very infrequently. It was an amazing time, and it is what made us most of our money. Mostly because a gigantic amount of photographers did not believe in digital, did not want to bother to learn it properly, and were flat out scared to death of it. Quit over it, and could not grasp the computers and software. Thought it was not as good, and so fourth. We not only saw digital coming but embraced it, thus were pioneers in something, an amazing feeling. I loved it from the first day. We did extremely well in the period of the switch, for corporations you could name any price, and they did not care, and the ones we have kept the same is true. We did mid six figures for years until it settled in and leveled off, but what a run.

You can do very, very well it is Just trickier now for local shooters, with what we call GWC's, translation: Guy/Girl, with camera, and they are clueless, and have run a lot of very good photographers out of business because they charge little or nothing and when the Great Recession hit, they wiped out a lot of Professionals. Who worked in local markets. They could not do to much to us at all as we work on the national and global level.

The GWC just wants to play professional with all settings on auto, and I had one GWC tell me he stays away from the cameras manual. How can you not read your cameras manual, I don't know? Mostly they crave the glamour and want to get into things for free. Publicists have caught on to them to some degree, however they still hurt local and regional Pro's. Again giving the photos away unedited, because photoshop scares the hell out of them. But free is free if they can be fixed in post production (I dislike the term 'Workflow,' sounds like a radio station term).

Normally, don't post here in the photo area it should not be a place for working professionals. It started as a joke with Mr. Halo, and it Now is a semi manifesto for people looking to maybe work at taking photos for a living, and maybe it helped? I don't know?

I'll cut now Star but, I always thought your work looks cool.

Carry on, and a always best wishes,

NR
 
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ven

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RedLED :rock:'S

One day if your lucky , I may let you take my pic.......................as long as you can shop my gray hairs out!
;)
Cool read/post
 
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