I keep feeling like I should have learned this lesson in kindergarten. We were not taught to share toys back then? Billy would be hogging the firetruck and Tommy wanted to play with it. Billy needs to share the firetruck. We can all agree on that.
Share.
Because it matters. It matters at that point, in the lives of both Billy and Tommy to share and learn to get along. We are essentially teaching the most important lesson of being human, are we not?
So, why as an adult should I be learning to share all over again. I was pretty good at it in kindergarten. I remember sharing toys with my little sister even.
I am learning to share again for a variety of reasons and, for me, it is time to put a voice to it.
I prefer to let the seed of an idea germinate somewhere in my brain before opening my mouth and although I can not remember the exact details I remember vaguely a variety of conversations over the past four years with friends about Internet and information freedom, sharing, net neutrality and Creative Commons type of stuff (ahem BM and KS), and inevitably this post is that seed blossoming.
Woah, right. Did I lose you there with the Creative Commons bit. If you’re a photographer I just rang your bell. I agree, don’t get me wrong, we don’t have to offer Creative Commons on images, rights managed is still acceptable and OK. And I for one fully support rights managed work, especially my own. I even copyright it.
Feel better now. Good.
Sharing. That word. The idea of that word. It perplexes me. It is driving me nuts and ultimately I’ve been faced with it more since the downfall of my chosen profession – photojournalism or just journalism in general.
What I couldn’t put into words however, was put into words and it should be required reading for every American citizen (the US America or any other for that matter). I am talking about The Death and Life of American Journalism by Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols. It is essentially a critique to the corporate/commercial model to journalism, and lets just make it easier and change journalism to photojournalism – same beast, different delivery. Not to be completely pessimistic however they offer a vision, solutions if you will, to the ‘death’ of American journalism.
It is a good book – full of facts even, if you’re concerned about that type of thing.
Essentially, I live and work and produce in a culture concerned with a corporate/commercial business model. I think this is fine if you’re producing those little snow globes that you feel compelled to buy on every vacation, but in the news business? Photojournalism? Does it have to be a business concerned with gains and quarter results? Can’t we just all get along? Can’t we share?
Yes and no. Nothing is as easy as giving Tommy the firetruck.
However, I have at some level made up my mind and this is what I’ve decided:
1. I believe firmly, whole-heartedly, perhaps even fatalistically in the power of photography and photojournalism to impact and change this planet – your town, my city, our lives. For the better.
2. That said, I am not inherently opposed to giving away (ie, not charging for) my work when I feel that the value of it contributing to fabric of my culture, society, global awareness and as the authors McChesney and Nichols point out, allows people to better govern themselves, is of paramount importance.
3. That does not mean I am okay with you stealing my rights managed and copyrighted work. In. Any. Way. Shape. Or. Form.
4. Which means that I get to decide with whom I share my work on a case by case basis.
5. We, as photographers, photojournalist, documentary photographers, etc… (I’ll exclude commercial photographers here for obvious reasons, and wedding folks too… not really a public service type of job) need to let go of the strict adherence to the corporate/commercial model. You’re not Rupert Murdoch. You are allowed, if not encouraged, to make allowances.
Ultimately, I want to stop hearing about how photographers who give away images for the ‘byline’ are hurting the profession. Get a grip. That is the least of the problem. The problem is that the Murdochs of the world want stuff for free, cheap and the quality is of no concern. What matters is the return on investment. Is photojournalism an ‘investment’? It has been traded as so for years along with all other journalism.
Stop playing the game. If you’re a photojournalist, a documentary photographer, why are you in the profession? Answer it truthfully because if you tell me to make great images and sell them then I want you to shoot commercial. I want you to thrive. But, I also want you out of photojournalism.
I want you to stop ranting at me that there are photographers out there doing the ‘byline’ thing. The corporate/commercial model is dead. Six feet under. And I am tired of hearing about it.
I want photojournalism that shocks, that makes me think, that gets me angry, that makes me cry, that makes me want to hug a stranger, that makes me feel. Pieces like ‘The Confession’ by Donald Weber who spent four months shooting inside a police interrogation room in the Ukraine and was recently featured in the British Journal of Photography. Perhaps there no immediate money in it. We do it because it is important to do. A story calls us. That is not a corporate/commercial model. It is the antithesis.
I am not a photojournalist for a quarterly return. I did not enter journalism for this. I want to be able to make a living, to travel, to hopefully support a child one day, but the fight isn’t about the ‘byline’ photographers, it is about the business of photojournalism, journalism and news reporting in general. It is the word business, not the word share we should be concerned about.
So, that’s it. That is the pesky little reason I am learning to share all over again. Was it this traumatic the first time?
2 Comments
Why do I shoot photojournalism? Simple answer is that I love telling stories. I have come at this path from the other end. I wanted people to use my photographs and Creative Commons + Flickr enable them to be found and used and to reach a wider audience. I gladly gave up exclusivity for exposure. Giving my photos away for credit has led to contracts that I never would have obtained without the internet as I don’t have industry contacts and am only now slowly building them up.
We are all figuring out the ‘new’ business model and I feel like this is either the worst time or the best time to get into photography. The barrier to entry has been largely removed and there are so many people willing to share their expertise and experience that you can learn heck of a lot. Each photographer needs to figure out their own business model and you know I am just starting to stretch those muscles. But, we can learn from each other and take advantage of the resources available to us all.
While I might agree that business models will differentiate between photographers those models are only within the limits set by the model being used in general. Photojournalism needs and should return to first being a public service model and not as an money-generating model for investors. I would like to see individuals be able to make a living at the profession, but that also depends heavily on a journalism industry commitment to supporting good work. And you can’t tell me that they do that now. I could begin a list of good photojournalists I know who are now shooting weddings and babies. Lastly, the lack of a barrier has meant a plethora of photography, you are correct. Not all of it good, not all of it worthy, but all of it within the visual spectrum. Photojournalism has the opportunity and the charge to separate out that is worth looking at and that is best left on Facebook or your buddies blog. It has failed to be both a cutting edge discipline for many years (published that is, photographers are still producing some amazing work) and a good filter for the visual crap. We need to do better if we want photojournalism, along with journalism to thrive. We need to do better if we want our images to have an impact on this world. Ultimately, the purpose of the post wasn’t to support or vilify the photographers that do give away work on occasion. I certainly do on a case by case basis as I mentioned. I wrote the post because I think we’ve latched onto the wrong fight. We’re ignoring the elephant in the room, but kvetching about poop on the floor.