The questions I would ask any accomplished photographer.
Let me backtrack.
Having taught hundreds of workshops as well as many classes at universities including: the Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, University of the Arts and Syracuse University, I have often struggled with the question of how does one teach “art?” I am not sure I have ever “resolved” that issue, but I do know a thing or two about the students who do best. They are the ones who can get past the “problem solving” part of the art and move on to the creative/expressive part, which is the part that “matters.”
No matter where I am teaching, the photographers who are serious, or who want to get serious, fundamentally seek to know how I solve the three biggest problems that I think all photographers face: which camera gear will solve the problems I face as a photographer, what digital workflow will work best for me and exactly what was my career path to get me to now making my living as a photographer?
To answer them, I first pop open my rolling backpack/camera bag and I show them every little thing that is in my bag. Of course I show them the cameras I use, but I am very specific about what each one does and why I use that exact model. Same thing goes for the lenses I choose. Ditto for the flash, flash diffuser, memory cards, card wallets, portable hard drives, etc., etc., etc. I talk minimally about brand, but I go into a great deal about the problems that each piece of gear solves for me. I happen to use Olympus cameras, but that is only because their gear solve a particular set of problems that I face.
I do the same with explaining my workflow. I walk them through mine in slow, even excruciating detail. Since most of my income comes from stock photography, I have a peculiar workflow. When I talk about that workflow I walk them through each step and explain exactly why I do what I do, all the way from batch renaming, to key-wording to how I register my images with Library of Congress for copyright protection.
I do the same as I walk them through how I make a living as a photographer. I talk about my various revenue streams, pricing issues, rates, rights, etc. I also talk in great detail about my career path, because the jobs I have had and the choices I have made along the way from one-time student to working pro can be very helpful for aspiring photographers. Again, I do this in great detail and ideally, without any value judgments. I try to get across how making a living is just one more problem I need to solve before I can get back to doing what I love, making photographs.
So in my mind, the tools that any accomplished photographer needs are camera gear that works for them, an efficient workflow and a clear career path/viable business strategy. What people actually photograph once they have those, are their own choices. The irony is that the manufacturers of gear have done a great job of selling people on the idea that their products are the key to great photography. I would argue that the cameras are the least important of the three tools. The other two, an efficient workflow and a clear career path/viable business strategy are far more important.
An accomplished photographer I know, Justin Guariglia, www.guariglia-chen.com/ is giving a talk soon and he will be speaking about his career path. His presentation “Five Magazines Assignments that Changed My Life” is the kind of detailed exploration of a photographer’s career path that can be vital to anyone thinking of working full time as a photographer.
The presentation is January 14th, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm at the Apple Store at 103 Prince Street in New York City. For more information, start at www.apple.com/retail/soho/ and look for events on January 14th.
So you may not be able to corner a master photographer in a bar, but here is a chance to start exploring the most important questions that I for one, always wanted answered.