Another follower on Instagram today. A dude from India with 21 selfies and 72 followers. Another 8 followers on Twitter today. I sold no prints this past month but I was published in an online boudoir magazine and a fashion/art print magazine. Zero income and apart from time, zero expenditure. Why do I do this?
The online boudoir magazine was a test for me. I submitted my very first model/boudoir shoot ever and got it published. It was from a few years ago. Now to be honest, I was surprised, as was the model, how well the pictures turned out being as it was my first shoot with a paid model. It showed me I was reaching my own expectations for how well I could use my camera. It made me happy.
The other magazine I submitted black and white art nude in nature where I used the landscape as a strong backdrop. I knew they were good enough for publication in a reputable printed magazine. To see that work on the page was gratifying because we had worked very hard that day. Unfortunately they had cropped 2 images that should have been double page landscape format into single page portrait format but that’s their prerogative. I probably won’t submit to them again.
I also did a shoot with a friend and I always love working with friends. It feels good to be asked by a good friend if I can shoot them. They like my work and I like sharing. It’s a mutual win-win.
I love seeing an image I took come to life in an edit and become how I see it in my minds-eye. I love the serendipity of finding an image in a crop or an edit that I had not perceived. I enjoy when others like my work or find something helpful in the description when it’s part of my psych-image work. I really just like sharing myself whether it’s through music, words or imagery. This is the reason I enjoy producing photographic images. Purely for the self-expression it allows me. To be a part of the world and contributing something to it.
I have a friend who is frustrated with his photographic journey. He explains that he doesn’t feel he is getting anywhere with it. He is frustrated that models he employs don’t share his work or feature it in their portfolios. He is frustrated that he spends a lot of money for gear and models and sees no return on his investment. This ROI causes him to feel taken for granted. He is not the only one I have talked with who feels this way. This ‘hobby’ is expensive and trying to make a living at it is difficult unless you want to do weddings, portraits, family shoots, or commercial photography. Artistic photography in a world awash with imagery is appreciated but earning money to cover your investment is not easy to do.
I was taught to play music because I loved it and because I had to play and not because I wanted to make a living out of it. It was possible to eek a living but it came with sacrifices I wasn’t willing to make. I know many incredible musicians who just get by but they do it because they love it. An artist (in my opinion) creates because they have to not because they want to be a celebrity or rich.
My friend is contemplating giving it up and has sold some gear because he isn’t happy with what he is getting back from his photography. He isn’t doing exactly what he wants to do but feels if he did, he would be limited in other areas of his life. I realize the limitations regarding a relationship. Photographing models can make it harder to find a supportive partner who understands why we do what we do. My personal choice is I would rather be single than give up what I love doing for the relationship. In this case, this is my choice of sacrifice. We can’t have it all in life and we must choose what is important to us and what we will sacrifice.
So, what’s in it for me? Self-actualization, pleasure, creativity and a never-ending quest for that perfect image. To be able to stop the world for 1/125th of a second and have that moment last hopefully forever. To be able to bring immortality to someone in that moment. To make someone think or make them stop their world for a moment and contemplate an image. To make them feel something. To appreciate the world around me so to not take it for granted. To see how light changes everything around us and to wonder and bathe in it’s ethereal beauty. And to acknowledge the tragedy and hopelessness in our human existence that must contradict all I say above. For to reflect through imagery we must reflect through ourselves, our experiences and our feelings. That is why we are but a medium; between the subject and the viewer.
Thanks for reading and the images here are of reflections. Follow me on Instagram or Twitter.
Yes. Photography is an art. So is: painting, drawing, writing, singing, playing an instrument, acting and making movies. If a person gets into an art form for anything other than personal artistic pleasure, that person will be disappointed.
Some good musings on what many of us in the part-time artistic field feel. I think it varies a lot by people's personalities as to whether or not external validation is needed, or helpful, or perhaps even a negative. Certainly I'm sure many of us wouldn't mind if we were able to sell enough prints (or videos, or donations, whatever works) to be able to pay for some reasonable portion of the cost of models, studio time, and/or props. But going down that line certainly can lead to stress and distractions from the original artistic joy.