TRAVEL NOTES
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Earning the honest buck...
Change of Direction
I visited a consumer travel show today and found it very depressing. All the good pictures have already been taken, there's nothing left to shoot from which I can make an honest buck!
That was my initial rather startled reaction after a quick survey of the dozens of posters and brochures on display. Then I looked closer and realized that a lot of pictures were the 'classic' view type of picture; basically anyone could take these, although a professional would be there at the right time of day (lighting) to make the most of the subject.
NEW MARKETS DISCOVERED
But there is now a lot of scope for more personal and intimate types of pictures. As the travel market is becoming more adventurous, there's a growing market for more personalized travel pictures that is definitely worth exploiting. By going on trips and shooting in a more editorial style, rather than just the old standby viewpoints, a good travel photographer can tell stories with the camera. These pictures can get more mileage by selling in other markets, also, e.g. textbooks, TV documentaries, children's books.
This type of photography I see as a growing trend. Only a few years ago the entire travel market seemed to be aimed at the "14 days-in-the-sun-on-a-beach" package. Offers for more adventurous types of travel were rare. Not so, now. The market has turned on its head and seems to be adventure-led. Not many travelers want to just laze on a beach nowadays. So this is where you can still earn that honest buck!
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"The market has turned on its head..."
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When I arrived home after the travel show, I logged onto a travel website which had good stories, but very poor pictures, in fact, unbelievably bad. So what did I do? I emailed the website owner and suggested (in a very polite way) that with a little bit of help from me, their pictures could match the written content in quality. You do have to sell yourself in this game!
I'll see if anything happens, but in the meanwhile I'll get on with planning my next trip. Waiting for a phone to ring is one of life's great wastes of time in my opinion. I'd rather be out there taking pictures!
Happy shooting...
Jeremy Hoare is a freelance travel photographer residing in London, England. Phone/Fax: +44 20 7722 2065. E-mail: jeremyhoare@hotmail.com. Web: www.travelwriters.com/jeremyhoare.
Travel photographers will find profitable information in the newsletter, TravelWriter Marketletter, founded by Robert Scott Milne. For info: mimi@travelwriterml.com . Ask for a sample to be sent to you.
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