Sports Illustrated lays off all photographers

[Warren Toda]

No joke. From the NPPA.

[Mark Blinch]

A lot of young photographers early in their career might look at news like this and start to think that maybe they made the wrong career choice. How can the Globe and Mail, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Sun Times, etc (the list goes on and on), operate without staff photogs? Does this mean there are no jobs? How can I make a career out of this?

Photographers get the least amount of respect within any publication or content producing operation from the bean counters at the top. On paper, your gear is expensive, your car is expensive, your parking expenses are through the roof, and your travel bill makes people jealous. There is a also a misguided view that our profession is easy and any one could do it, or there is no need for high quality photography because its the quality articles written that people care most about, not the visuals (Which couldnt be more wrong, look at Flipboard).

Recently I got an email out of the blue from someone explaining me about a great "opportunity". All I had to do was shoot their Monster Truck event, give them 10 high quality photos within an HOUR (they were very strict about their timing of delivery) after the event, and then next week ship them a DVD of all the "RAW shots". I would then get a byline for all the pictures they put on their website!! Wow what a deal! At the end of the offer, I would NOT be reimbursed for any expenses occurred. So I would pay for my parking, pay for the DVD burned with my photos, the shipping of the DVD, all for a byline on a website that no one cares about. I would have been the only person in the building not getting paid. Even the guy selling beers and hot dogs would get paid more than me.

But, if you are still reading this, it means that you love this job, because you are hoping I am going to say something positive about this profession. If you, can deal with all the crap at the top of this post, love this job, are competent photographer, posses people skills, have good email etiquette, and a little bit of business sense, there is a rewarding career making images as a freelancer. Just laugh off the emails you get asking to work for bylines, because there are many outlets that you can earn decent money by making pictures.

People still need images. I dont need to tell you how important visuals are for the new way of content consumption . Your pictures are needed for clickbait, memes, viral tweets, Instragram, advertising on Instagram, Buzzfeed top 10s, Flipboard, Facebook, to match a story about a chef, Rob Ford with a milk moustache (Nathan Denette), the greatest catch in NFL history, Jian Ghomeshi coming out of a courthouse (how many photographers can you count in that scrum), and the list goes on and on.

Sports Illustrated and the Globe and Mail will still pay photographers, just not staff photographers. For the record, I am not anti staff photographer, I believe there should be a healthy staff of photographers at any company. I know the value of good visuals, unfortunately the bean counters at the top dont see the same way. So this is the new reality, you gotta make a living being a freelancer if you love this work. There are way more AMAZING photographers than there are staff jobs to fill these days.

Instead of working for one outlet, you can work for many outlets, giving you a variety of things to shoot over your career. Also, did I mention all the expenses you have in your life become and tax write off? Staff photographers cant write off their cable TV bill because they need to watch the news, but freelancers can. There is a slogan used by a big bank here in Canada.. "You are richer than you think".

TL;DR: People need pictures, there are lots of outlets paying you to make pictures, dont be depressed you dont have a staff job, you can make a great career and living being a freelancer.
 


   

[Fred Lum]

Great, insightful post but hey, the GaM still cuts me a cheque every two weeks ))

[Mark Blinch]

Sorry Fred.. I was talking about the recent cuts to photo staff at the Globe. For the the record there are still very are still 2 very talented staffers at the Globe and Fred Lum and John Lehmann. Also for the record, I dont agree with elimnatiing photo staffs at all. Its just becoming the trend, so photographers should always have a business plan.

[Fred Lum]

hey Mark, I was just kidding but thanks for the follow up post

But you do bring up some excellent points to counter the doom and gloom that gets all the attention in our business. When I heard about SI, i was of two minds, 'holy mackinaw' and 'I wonder if they actually prefer freelancing, for the write-offs'.

What raises my eyebrow is the irony that while television broadcasters are placing emphasis on still photography for their websites, newspapers are trying to emulate tv. CBC has a staff still photographer (or contract, not sure) to populate their online presence and Zoran Milich was/may still be, shooting for CNN.

[Warren Toda]

What raids my eyebrow is the irony that while television broadcasters are placing emphasis on still photography for their websites, newspapers are trying to emulate tv. CBC has a staff still photographer (or contract, not sure) to populate their online presence and Zoran Milich was/may still be, shooting for CNN.

I've even run into a photographer shooting for a radio station!

For a fun example of how messed up newspapers are, look at this National Post story about photography. (So this is what the Pope looks like under his robes, and Marilyn is no longer dead).

Newspapers seem to be moving in wrong direction (still). As every news photographer knows, you run towards the fire, not away.

[David Buzzard]

There's work for photographers, but I think the role of the news photographer really has to change.  The old school model of showing up and collecting your assignments for the day are over, most of what I'm doing self initiated and I'm working independently from the rest of the editorial team. 

I also think that you have to be constantly proving yourself, and not only that you are a good photographer, but that the work you're doing is bringing in more money than it's taking to keep you employed.  I spent from 1998 to 2012 primarily as a commercial photographer, so that was the way I was used to working. 

[Warren Toda]

There was a time when newspapers valued photos. And that time started almost exactly 100 years ago.

Newly equipped newspapers were able to print large pictorial sections that increased readership and advertising revenue.

Here's a photo from 89 years ago showing The Washington Post's Sunday pictorial section coming off the presses.

A 1932 Gallup Poll showed that ....... (and wait for this one) ........ pictorial sections were the most widely read section of any newspaper and that made the advertising much more likely to be seen. Gee, who would've guessed that?

[Jimmy Jeong]

Some really great points, Mark. And I agree with you Dave that we have to hustle and change the way we make photos and pitch stories. But I also think it's very important that we change the way we handle the business side of things too.

[Aaron Hinks]

There was a time when newspapers valued photos. And that time started almost exactly 100 years ago.

Newly equipped newspapers were able to print large pictorial sections that increased readership and advertising revenue.

Here's a photo from 89 years ago showing The Washington Post's Sunday pictorial section coming off the presses.

A 1932 Gallup Poll showed that ....... (and wait for this one) ........ pictorial sections were the most widely read section of any newspaper and that made the advertising much more likely to be seen. Gee, who would've guessed that?

There are still some (community) papers that have a weekly pictorial section!