The Dark Side of Photography

By Thomas Roth

I love photography. I really do. I love everything about the craft. I love reading about photographers, and their work. I love sorting out the days shots. I love writing about the photos I make. I really get excited and love making a sale. I love the preparation that it takes to have a great day shooting images. I love sitting at the computer and key wording those shots. There really isn't anything that I don’t enjoy about the photography craft and business.
My love of the photography business started some forty years ago. Things were much different in the pre-digital days. The thrill of receiving a stack of boxes with slides in them for me to edit, and label was always one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. Nothing could beat the excitement of going to the lab and getting the first sight of a well printed 16x20 print. I could go on about film and digital and their differences, but that’s only a very small change that the digital word has created. The real change, the one that has made the biggest difference is the speed in which the world can now communicate.
The United States post office has been and still does a very good job of getting documents and products to my clients. Sometimes I just have to have an actual physical product to the client for their approval, but today, most of my work can be done through the internet. The speed in which I can receive feedback or even a payment is now minutes instead of days. This speed has provided a new thrill, and creates great excitement. My love of photography has now been given a new drug, a very addictive one, and I thoroughly enjoy it.
There is a dark side of photography that nobody seems to want to discuss. This dark side of photography can push your love of the craft to its’ very limits. There is a negative side of photography that can stop a photographer dead in their tracks, and destroy any hopes of being creative.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Roth
• Release date: Sep 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310869785

Thomas Roth

At the age of thirteen in the year 1971 I was given a darkroom kit to develop and print my own photos. Ever since that evening I witnessed a black and white contact print emerge from the developing tray I have been hooked. A lot has changed in the past several decades. There has been many new cameras developed through the years, and technology has made them simpler to use. Computers and modern day printers have eliminated the need for wet darkrooms. None of this has changed my love for photography, and in fact I still feel like that teenager watching my first print as it develops. I try to keep this fascination alive every day in my photography career today. I was fortunate enough to grow up, work, and later on own a wholesale floral distribution business. I never grew tired of the color and beauty of the day’s new arrivals to be distributed. Attracted to colors that only nature can mix together, and the texture of the flowers, I began to try to capture what I was seeing. Forty years of practice and I am still working on the perfect floral photograph. The journey to support a family in this business can be a difficult one. I found that most of the time I am my own worst enemy. These realizations lead me to write my first short book called the Dark Side of Photography. The book is about how to recognize what the dark side is and ways to avoid letting it ruin your creative image making. I have since published three more books, two of which are picture books of floral photography. These books are available in print and as e-books. Floral Treasures is out of print but Floral Treasures II, and Floral Treasures III is available. My fourth book is called Memorabilia Madness. This book is about how I created, produced, and sold many types of products, such as postcards, greeting cards, calendars, and prints. It is my hope and desire that my experiences can help others in their photography endeavors. Thanks for reading and enjoy your photographic life.

Book preview

Introduction

I love photography. I really do. I love everything about the craft. I love reading about photographers, and their work. I love sorting out the days shots. I love writing about the photos I make. I really get excited and love making a sale. I love the preparation that it takes to have a great day shooting images. I love sitting at the computer and key wording those shots. There really isn’t anything that I don’t enjoy about the photography craft and business.

My love of the photography business started some forty years ago. Things were much different in the pre digital days. The thrill of receiving a stack of boxes with slides in them for me to edit, and label was always one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. Nothing could beat the excitement of going to the lab and getting the first sight of a well printed 16x20 print. I could go on about film and digital and their differences, but that’s only a very small change that the digital word has created. The real change, the one that has made the biggest difference is the speed in which the world can now communicate.

The United States post office has been and still does a very good job of getting documents and products to my clients. Sometimes I just have to have an actual physical product to the client for their approval, but today, most of my work can be done through the internet. The speed in which I can receive feedback or even a payment is now