The only thing we have to fear….

March 27, 2010 by pmelcher.

One morning you wake up, and it’s facing you.  Everything that you took for granted and made your life so comfortable is suddenly gone. Probably forever. Welcome to the economy of fear.

What use to be a cozy job, where every day brought you  a new batch of interesting challenges, has now become days of uncertainty and doubt. From photo editors who are not sure how long they will keep their jobs, to staff newspaper photojournalists who could be shooting their last images, everyone is living in fear.

In the last decade, the photo industry has pivoted from an economy of wealth and abundance to an economy of fear. It is not so much about talent, creativity or effectiveness anymore, as it is about who can scare the other into submission.

Pricing for example, is not based on usage, or talent, or even level of professionalism anymore. It is based on the fear that someone else could price it lower and thus take the sale.  Whether assignment or stock, images are priced on how high it can go before loosing the job to the competition . And these days, that is not high. Photo editors negotiate with the “I can get it cheaper” stick in one hand, forcing photographers, or agencies, into fearful submission. There is little conversation about quality anymore.

It is not just about pricing, however. The fear factor enters all level of conversations. Companies like Getty approach and retain photographers also on fear. If you do not work with Getty, they claim, your images will never be published. If you work for a competing agency, you will never work for Getty, and so on. A bit like Wal-Mart ” how to handle a supplier” handbook of  “we own the market, we own you”. Some suppliers of Wal Mart, by the way, have been forced into bankruptcy, because they were forced into unsustainable low pricing.

It’s the fear of the other. Stock shooters fear the ever growing crowd of microstockers, Photo agencies fear other photo agencies ,wedding photographer fear other low cost wedding photographers, Photo editors fear their bosses, and publishers fear the future.

On top of that, everyone ( well almost) fear the passing of the Orphan Works bill, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Government, new technology and in some cases, even their car.

Recently, an image matching company released a report saying that 8 out of 10 images appearing on commercial Web sites are being used “non-legitimately”, offering their service as a solution.  Fear as a selling strategy. If I scare you enough, will you buy my product ?

When the future is uncertain, like it currently is  in the photo world and elsewhere, it is natural  to be worried and scared. No one can seriously say today that they know for sure where will they will be in 5 years from now. However, for companies, or individuals, to capitalize on that fear, to use is as a primary bargaining tool is despicable. It is like pushing down on the head of a drowning person with the promise of saving them. A false promise.

Photography does not live well under fear. Creativity gets lost and conformity becomes the norm. Snake charmers invade the land with their make-believe magic potions, orators take to the podiums to agitate  more fear and offer their security blankets ( for a fee). Opportunists see opportunities to make deals that defy reason as they know how fear is a powerful logic sedative.

We are going to see a lot of decisions driven by fear this year and next, mostly creating poor results.  A lot of people jumping to the cliff in order to avoid the fire. But mostly, we will see a lot of fear smellers take advantage of the situation.

Posted in license, technology, commercial stock, E Reader, newspaper, prosumer, getty, transaction, finance, photojournalism, Microstock | Print | 2 Comments »