I haven't posted anything here in a while and I apologize for that. In fact, I haven't posted at the rate that I wanted to so far this year. I've been preoccupied with finding jobs. And it's kind of tough to come up with creative thoughts when you are wondering where your next payday is going to come from. Photography has always been a tough business to make a buck in but what we have today is just a down right brutal market.I had to come here today and write something after looking at a request for proposal to shot children's furniture and trying to figure out how I was going to bid on the job. The highest bidder is bidding $20/hr and the lowest bidder $13/hr. And when I started digging into my competition I found that two of the bidders have significant amount of studio space (10,000 sq ft) in New York City! Yes, New York City! Where $20/hr can't get you a prepubescence teen to sweep up if you provide the broom! And these guys are doing advertisements for all the big accounts out there. And here they are bidding on jobs not worth peanuts. Times are tough!
So what are we to do? It seems this economy isn't what it used to be and there are no indications things are going to get any better. Many people would say that is a good thing. More would say that it isn't. This much I know, we have it better than my Grandparents could have ever imagined (my Grandfather refused to believe we put a man on the moon when he watched it on TV). Yet most of us are wondering when its all going to come tumbling down.
For over the last year I have had the distinct feeling that all the advertising work I was getting was from people trying to slow or stop the decline in sales and not neccessarily from growing, thriving business. Now I can't get a job to save my life. So the question comes to mind; how much longer can I survive?
Fortunately, sales of my fine art prints are picking up but right now it's just enough to tread water. I do need to purchase a least one new camera and one new computer this year but the thought of making any of the lens purchases this year is out of the question.
I'm glad they no longer have debter prisons!
So if you're wondering what to do, please don't feel alone. And put a note in the comment section about what you're going through and maybe we can get through this together. I don't have the answers to making things better but I do know something has to change. I also know that means I (and many others) my be desperate enough to reach out for what appears to be a safe vine only to fall into the abyss. Trying times to say the least.
