With over 40 years of experience in a number of fields of professional photography in Australia, Graham Monro looks at how the industry has changed dramatically in this time, what has been the impact and, consequently, what the future might hold.
Question – What’s the difference between a professional photographer and a photographer? Answer – a professional makes a living out of it by making a profit.
I often wonder how many real-life professional photographers there are in Australia today that are make a living 100% from their photography… let’s call them career photographers.
And how do you make a 100% living from photography? You’re either a commercial or a domestic shooter, taking photos and selling them. Otherwise, maybe you diversify and you teach photography, or sell photo-related products online, or you’re a DOP (director of photography) and you direct motion, or you’re a content creator, or you’re also a graphic designer… or possibly you’re all of the above.
Get the picture? If you are not taking photographs 100 percent of the time then you’re going to need to have other talents, which could be teaching, motion picture or graphic design… in other words, to make a living today, you need to be multi-skilled.
Making A Move
My background so far has been… I’ve worked in the wedding and portrait market for 25 years and, prior to that, I was a commercial photographer for 20 years, doing a little bit of advertising, lots of annual reports and a hell of a lot of editorial and sports work, plus direct client work that included airline and tourism assignments. But all stills, no film or video.
I gradually moved into the wedding and portrait market because I was heavily involved with the NSW branch of the ACMP (The Society Of Advertising, Commercial & Magazine Photographers) when the NSW branch of the AIPP (Australian Institute Of Professional Photography) wanted someone to come and talk to them about the world of commercial photography. I was the only one who put my hand up. After my talk and slideshow, David Oliver – who was running a very successful wedding/portrait business himself – said, “Hey, you’re really good, you should do weddings and I can recommend you and send you lots of work”.
