Photographers business
I found a great excuse to take off to Paris last week – Paris Photo, art worlds’s finest photo fair is taking place at the Grand Palais – I couldn’t wait to indulge. Since work for me isn’t really work as most people understand it – I am lucky enough to call this research – I decided not to miss out on it this year. I couldn’t wait to see this beautiful city again and my dear friend Greg Finck, who is one of the most talented photographers I know.Likewise photographing on film and has been doing so since early age, he’s not just an artist to look up to, he also brings in a vital business sense.
Making art can be a daunting experience in many aspects, but it can be even more terrifying if you are broke all the time. Although always eager to understand how every cent I earn seems to become a cent more spent, I admit to shortcomings in what I’d like to call “strategic financial planning”. Shooting on film can make it easy to blame material costs for a lack of earnings and hashtags like #shootfilmstaybroke make me believe that I am not the only one to flirt with this excuse at times. But blaming the art we make, instead of a lacking business-sense can be a dangerous trap – too often leading to less art, instead of ever better one.
Many photographer’s these days are autodidacts like me and role models play a very important part – be it to learn certain photographic techniques, understanding light better or how to direct your subjects. And leaving out the business side in this list of skills to be mastered is too easy an excuse for failure. Greg has been a huge inspiration in these terms: Besides his being such a talented Greg Finck he is proofing that success isn’t something mystical that comes to those who are lucky. It actually is something that comes to those who have grit and work hard for it. And take it from me – Greg surely deserves every bit of it!
Reminding myself today, of the priceless value in the most painful lessons and that we’re better off embracing our mistakes and learning from them. To freshen up on motivation spend a vital few minutes listening in to Neil Gaiman on the topic of making good art or just go and make some – no more excuses.
xoxo Pia
Making art can be a daunting experience in many aspects, but it can be even more terrifying if you are broke all the time. Although always eager to understand how every cent I earn seems to become a cent more spent, I admit to shortcomings in what I’d like to call “strategic financial planning”. Shooting on film can make it easy to blame material costs for a lack of earnings and hashtags like #shootfilmstaybroke make me believe that I am not the only one to flirt with this excuse at times. But blaming the art we make, instead of a lacking business-sense can be a dangerous trap – too often leading to less art, instead of ever better one.
Many photographer’s these days are autodidacts like me and role models play a very important part – be it to learn certain photographic techniques, understanding light better or how to direct your subjects. And leaving out the business side in this list of skills to be mastered is too easy an excuse for failure. Greg has been a huge inspiration in these terms: Besides his being such a talented Greg Finck he is proofing that success isn’t something mystical that comes to those who are lucky. It actually is something that comes to those who have grit and work hard for it. And take it from me – Greg surely deserves every bit of it!
Reminding myself today, of the priceless value in the most painful lessons and that we’re better off embracing our mistakes and learning from them. To freshen up on motivation spend a vital few minutes listening in to Neil Gaiman on the topic of making good art or just go and make some – no more excuses.
xoxo Pia
Wow… Thank you so much for the oh so kind words Pia! Love you xoxo
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