Contemporary social photography
Introduction
The aim of this report is to investigate contemporary social photography in depth using a number of primary and secondary sources. I am going to try to show the positive and negative aspects within this field of photography, this would illustrate whether working in the area would be the correct career plan for me. To help me write this report I am going to choose ten images that I believe show a range of what this industry is about and interview photographers who work within this genre.
I have chosen to explore in depth the social photography industry because I feel this is an area of photography that I have a strong interest in and believe that I could have a potential career in; I also wanted to learn more about this very diverse industry and to educate myself on what is out there and what it takes to make a successful business. I aim to give myself a realistic view of the creative and business knowledge needed to will help me in the future.
What is Contemporary social photography?
Contemporary social photography covers a number of photographic based industries; these include wedding photography, portraiture and social event photography, such as christenings and shows.
As this industry is so diverse and ever changing, portraits are not just held in the studio anymore but in their familiar environments such as home or work places. Prices range differ from times and areas, for example, a normal price for an hour studio in a highly populated areas would start from around £50 for one hour not including prints or the disc of images.
Weddings are also held at a wide range of places nowadays; prices hugely differ for wedding photography depending on how long you are photographing for, the amount images of the day and any extras that are wanted, such as albums, images stored on USB pens, prints, extra books and much more. For example, through my research, I found a photographer based in London who charges £2000 just for the full coverage of the day not including the album or the images on a disc. I also found a small business photographer from Chorley who charges £500 for up to nine hours coverage of the day with the option to then pay for the album.
Nowadays brides wish to have a pre-wedding/engagement shoot, this is a good way to get to know the bride before her big day. The photographers spend of the most time with the bride so being comfortable with each other is important. Prices range from each photographer but I found a good percentage of photographers will include this shoot complementary if you go for biggest wedding package.
Other social events would include christenings, shows, parties etc. These would be held at their venue and the prices range for each social event and how long you would be photographing for. The benefit of photographing these events is that they would be held all year round where as weddings have their quiet months.
What skills are needed?
Like every industry out there skills are always needed. The most obvious skill is being able to work DSLR you to have the technical ability to use your camera. What lenses are to be used in each shoot is important, for instance using a lens with a wide aperture could be used for portraits as this gives a shallow depth of field and focuses on the subject, not the surroundings, this is also needed in low light venues such as churches when flash is prohibited. Wide angle lenses are needed for large group shots and zoom lenses would be used when you are not able to get close to the subject that you need to photograph. Composition within your images has to accurate; trying to get the right composition takes time and the key is to be patience. Knowledge about lighting is important because the lighting of an image is crucial; if the lightening isn’t correct the images will come out over or under exposed. This is where post processing skills are needed but too much post processing to correct the exposure could result in the image going grainy and reducing image quality so using your technical skills and making the choices in-camera are very important.
Awareness of the different types of digital software and to have at least a basic understanding of them is a key factor, as not all photographers use the same software. Being able to print images with the correct colour toning is something that takes time but is skill that is fundamental within in this business.
As the industry changes quite frequently clients are expecting more creative images than in past years especially for their weddings pictures. Originality is what is expected not just for a social photographer but every photographic genre out there.
Working as a social photographer requires you to be good with people and to be good at listening, without these skills there is a chance of not understanding what a client is asking of you and understandably this could cause great issues. Not all customers are the same so being able to talk to customers to suit their needs is a necessary skill. Manners and speaking and acting appropriately is essential, word of mouth is the greatest form of advertising but if don't behave politely and professionally this will give customers something bad to say about you, which will ultimately affect business.
Positives and negatives of working within this industry
Positives
Working within this industry gives you the opportunity to be your own boss by working as a freelance photographer. In social photography working in lively environments and in different scenes daily makes the job more enjoyable and less monotonous. Getting the chance to work with different kinds of people at different age groups and even animals is something you can’t do in most types of work. Each shoot tends to differ from which keeps it fresh and enjoyable. Photography is about capturing the moment, knowing that you have caught a moment that will last forever for someone, for me, makes the job rewarding.
Negatives
Like every other job it has its negative aspects. Being a highly competitive industry, getting a name for yourself and contacts is probably the biggest issue that is held. The problem lies with every mobile phone now having an integrated camera and digital camera's being so cheap and accessible that a lot of people think they can do the same job to the same standard as a professional photographer just because the own a camera when usually this is not the case. When researching the industry I found a lot repetition throughout this field, creativity is lacking, maybe this is because it is what clients are requesting but it seems to be classical styles that are being repeated and over done. Being able to inject creativity and flare into your work seems to be the best way to make a good name for your business and it makes you stand out from the crowd.
Being a photography student clients don’t seem to take us seriously enough to pay the correct amount, most expect work for free or at an unrealistic rate. This is usually the case with being an amateur too; customers are expecting them to work for free or not wanting to pay the suitable prices that the job deserves. This is degrading your work and making the industry a harder place for other amateurs too, if you let a customer have low rates once they then expect this every time, they also expect other amateurs to do the same. This in turn goes on to affect professional photographers as people expect them to work for lower rates or they turn to amateurs to do the job. This brings down the standard of work in the photography industry.
From research I have found that working as a social photographer weddings have months where they are very much in demand, such as the summer time and Christmas time but other months can be a lot quieter. Having a studio that is used for portraits and family pictures could be a solution to filling in the quiet months as this would attract many different people and age groups. A problem with this would be having to close the studio when you had a photo shoot that was out of the studio resulting in unreliable opening times or you would have to employ another person to cover the times that you aren't able to be there. Also working as a social photographer consists of working many weekends.
Ethics
Ethics is basically what is expected of you as a photographer; it is all about the standards of your images and the way you work. Following the standards and principles from the Aop (association of photographers) is a rough guide of what is expected from not just this genre but all types of photography.
Working with a positive attitude, confidently and have complete confidentiality between you and your customer is essential. Clients want to know that they are in safe hands and want to be treated with respect.
In recent years photo-shopping has become the “norm”, especially in magazines, and this is what is usually expected by people when they are having a photo shoot, you should ask the client if they want this to be done because a customer could be highly offended by this and could result in loss of work and you being discriminated against for your actions.
Weddings
I have chosen this image because I believe that when photographing someone’s special day even the simplest of detail is essential to the clients. The use of black and white, which is very classical, is also used in a lot of contemporary work. In my own opinion I am unsure of the use of black and white in this image as I think that the colours of the flowers against the white wedding dress would have been nice but I still think it is a lovely image. The shallow depth of field isolates the flowers drawing you eye to them.
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I have chosen this image by Denise Winters because I like the way she has made the made the main subject of the image silhouetted. The image looks almost black and white if it wasn’t for the back ground and I think that gives it a creative edge.
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I have chosen this image by Kenny Kim because it shows variety rather than just the bride and groom. There is so much more that goes on at a wedding that the bride and groom don't get to see, so images like this are important. The very shallow depth of field works really well in this image, I like the way that the little girl who is looking into the camera is in focus but her flowers aren't and vice versa for the other girl. Even though he has used black and white it doesn’t make the image look old fashioned but gives it that contemporary feel.
Portraits
I found this image by Dandelion Wishes Photography, they has a wide portfolio of creative children's portraits. Using the White Balance to warm the image and then de-saturating it gives this image a contemporary feel. The photographer has used matching props in the image which works well.
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I like the way the photographer has used a variety of props and creativity to create a contemporary and unique baby portrait.
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I like the way that Dandelion Wishes Photography has used their creativity for this maternity image. After researching many different types of maternity images Dandelion Wishes work so well because they use originality and imagination. Using bright colour and props has given the image a contemporary feel and the bright blocks draw you into the foreground.
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This image from Light and Day Studio shows the contemporary side to photography with its brightly coloured scene and the use of natural environment. The girl in the image stands out from the background due to the shallow depth of field drawing you to her eyes and quirky hat. Lifestyle image like these are becoming more popular as opposed to white background studio images that have been very popular for the last decade, this style of photography gives an insight into the subject and makes the image more personal to the client.
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Family portraits are a huge part of social photography, trying to capture the moment whilst making sure that it looks un-staged and natural is quite a difficult task. Although the family in the image by Jem’s Photography is completely out of focus, I do like the concept and I think that they have captured the moment well. The use of black and white fits the image well without making the image look old fashioned and out dated. The use of the brick window frames the family and adds texture to the image.
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Creative newborn photography is growing to be ever more popular and is a field that I am really interested in branching into. Capturing natural images of babies is a lovely way of capturing a time that very quickly passes and is something that people are keen to have and are looked back on fondly. There is a wide range of creative props that are used, such as hanging baskets, plant pots, old suitcases, bowls and much more.
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I find this image contemporary and modern because the photographer has used a natural environment rather than a white background, studio based image. The subject in the image is in focus and the ground gradates out of focus due to the shallow depth of field, the sun behind the subject also gives the image depth and adds to the bright and colourful image giving it an innocent feel.
Conclusion
After investigating social photography in depth I have come to the conclusion that this is something I would love to pursue. Although working as a social photographer has its bad points, there are enough positives to balance out the negatives. Every type of work has negative aspects and I think that these are something that I could get through if I commit myself one hundred percent, I feel that the knowledge that I have gained through having a university education in the subject will definitely help me.
Working in this field would require a studio for portraits and as I mentioned earlier it would be beneficial to have more than one person involved so that it would be possible to take on work such as weddings and events outside of the studio without having to close the studio, to do this I am thinking of opening a studio with my sister.
After much thought I feel that just basing myself as a photographer in the North West will restrict my career and limit how much work and income I could achieve, I would have to extend not just to the UK but to other countries worldwide so this is something that I now plan to look into. I believe that I am fully committed to this and hope to create and pursue a successful career.
