‘Does Magnum Photos still make sense?’ A report

This report by Olivier Laurent in the BJP is interesting in the way that there seems to be a re-evaluation of what it now means to be a photographer. This section from part of the report makes me wonder how possible it now is to make a living as a photographer, if Magnum photographers have to consider whether it is food on the table or pursuing photography is there much left for the rest of us.

“If you want to pursue your personal projects, you have to give up other things,” says Majoli. “You have to reduce the cost of your life and dedicate a lot of time to what you want to do. It’s a compromise you have to find within yourself – the family you live with and within the market and the resources you can find in that market.” In his case, Majoli has to apply for grants and accept commercial jobs to put money aside for his personal projects. “I have to reinvent myself every day.”

When you take the economics out of the equation, though, things aren’t so bad, says Anderson. “This is going to sound strange, but speaking just as a photographer and not as someone who makes a living from photography, I feel happy because, in many ways, I feel more free from the chains of the press.”

He adds: “As a photographer making images, I feel less controlled by making images for a market. The other side, the professional side, is much more difficult to make a living in and make ends meet. But, purely from the point of making images, it’s somewhat liberating that there’s no market left.”

But however you juggle the money issue, the deeper question is what it means to be a photographer, says Meiselas. “How do you find the work that engages you and sustains you? What do you contribute? Because the landscape is so much broader now, we see a lot, but it doesn’t necessarily last long. For me, it’s those dialogues. It really is the relationship with the subject that sustains me.”

Wylie agrees. “I think one of the priorities today, especially for a young photographer, is really engaging with your own voice. How do you find your own voice? Photography has changed dramatically since its beginnings. [Now we have Google Earth and cameras everywhere], so we ask ourselves, ‘Why photograph?’ You photograph because you want to make work. It’s like writing a novel. You make work that has layers, that contributes to a collective history, a broader history. The challenge is to get to that point.”

Magnum celebrates its 65th Annual General Meeting in Arles. Image © Rene Burri / Magnum Photos.

Magnum Photos celebrated its 65 years by holding its annual general meeting at Rencontres d’Arles. It was an opportunity for photographers to come together to discuss Magnum’s future in an ever-changing market. Olivier Laurent reports from the conference….READ MORE HERE

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/report/2189345/-magnum-photos-sense-report#ixzz1zlePVdks
Subscribe to BJP and save money. Click here to save 29% today.

50 photography tips from jobbing pros to famous photographers

Advice. It’s a funny thing. If we applied all of photography’s apparent rules and dos and don’ts to our work, there would be little, if any, room for creativity and surely that’s the point. So you’ll find no textbook photography tips here; instead we asked 50 top pro and famous photographers to share the secrets they’ve gleaned from years of shooting day in day out.Expect to be inspired and challenged by the advice of famous photographers like David Bailey and Mary Ellen Mark, as well as up-and-coming names and photographers who make it their business to take amazing pictures for their clients each day…..READ MORE

Here is no 1 of 50

6 – Bob Aylott
To never miss a street picture, always have your camera set to 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400. When the clocks change for summer, change the aperture to f/8 instead.

Bob is an award-winning former Fleet Street photographer who has gone on to interview the world’s best shooters.

 

Here is number 13

13 – David Loftus
I remember being told at art college: ‘Always shoot with the sun behind you or to the sides to avoid flare.’ Some of my favourite shots have been taken when I’ve allowed flare to happen – fashion shots, portraits and interiors have all benefited on occasion… Keep some thick black paper and a roll of gaffer tape in your kit bag so you can extend your lens hood into more of a funnel shape, so that the flare isn’t too excessive, and shoot away.

David is one of the big names in food photography, having worked with the likes of Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver. He shot Jamie’s last six books.

How to get your photos published in magazines

Don’t assume that only professional photographers stand a chance of getting published in magazines. Editors are constantly looking for new, inventive and fresh photography, and it may just be that your particular vision coincides perfectly with theirs.

However, don’t go to the other extreme and assume that as soon as they see your work editors will be fighting to get to you first. There are any number of great photographers out there and you’re just one of them – no matter what you might think about the quality of your images (for more tips like these, check out our 50 photography tips from jobbing pros to famous photographers).

Brilliance and style are important, but patience, persistence and willingness to study the needs of the magazines you’re approaching are what really count. Don’t send editors a huge collection of images in the hope that there might be one or two that strike a chord……………

In the following pages we’ll take you through the best way to get your photos published in magazines. We’ll tell you how to make the right approach, offer tips to improve your chances, identify some common mistakes and, finally, answer the all-important question of ‘what will I be paid’?

PAGE 1: Practice Patience
PAGE 2: Making the right approach to editors
PAGE 3: Improve your chances of getting photos published
PAGE 4: Common mistakes when trying to get photos published
PAGE 5: What will you be paid?

READ MORE

Photography Tutorial: Travel Photography See the world

Canon have tutorials on their site and this month they turn their gaze towards travel photography, if you are about to go away or plan a trip in the future you might want to check out what they have to say

Travel photography has changed a lot over the last few years. Not so long ago you would take a few pictures and wouldn’t see the results until you got prints made when you returned home.

Today, you can shoot hundreds of images and upload the best to a personal blog or a photo-sharing site. This tutorial will help you make your photos stand out and give other people a real idea of the places you a visited.

         • Packing for your trip
         • What to photograph
         • Camera techniques
         • Back home

Read MORE HERE

Thailand ©Keith Barnes Canon 5D Mk2 24 – 105 f4L