5. Born in; West Germany Studied at; The International Center of Photography, NY. Worked in; Palestine, Japan, Chad/Darfur, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, the US, Lebanon, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Iraq. Exhibited in; Germany, New York. Musee de L'Elysee in Switzerland.
6. “My main source of income is assignments that I do for editorial clients. I sell very few prints, get very little money from the licensing of my existing pictures in my archive, which is taken care of by my agency.”
7. “I regularly have small shows, but this is never done in a commercial way and I almost never sell any prints. This is due to the content of the work I do. Nobody hangs a picture of a dead guy or a picture from a war or disaster zone into their living room. I understand that and have no problem with it.”
8. “I was luckily never in a situation like that where I had to decide between helping and photographing. Generally I'm a human being first and a photographer second. If I can really help, I help.”
9. “Sometimes during the editing process you take a picture out that you are morally not comfortable with or that you know will be misunderstood.”
10. “You have to find a balance somehow. This is not about getting rich, it never was. This is about being able to somehow survive financially while doing what you love to do.”
11. “If you care about money and a career this is not the right thing for you.”
14. Born in 1975 / The Netherlands. Graduated at Academy of Arts Utrecht, Photographic Design. 22 Exhibitions / 5 books / 9 Commissions / 3 Awards
15. 101 BILLIONAIRES “101 Billionaires shows the other side of modern Russia, the raw reality that lurks behind the façade of the power elite. Rob Hornstra visited the regions to which Moscow has its exorbitant wealth to thank. Here he used his camera to record the fact that the Russian hinterland itself sees little of this prosperity.”
16. 101 Billionaires (2009 Crisis Edition) At the beginning of 2008, the list of richest Russians contained 101 billionaires; a magical number that for the time being will not be matched. The global crisis hit hard in Russia. Exactly a year later, there are only 49 Russians with fortunes of ten figures or more. This drop was behind the decision to publish a second, revised edition of 101 Billionaires, the Crisis Edition.
17. Income Streams (descending order) “I believe that the Internet is a good place to save money. It makes us photographers more independent from third parties like agencies, publishers, distributors and even editors and curators.” 1. Grants 2. Assignments 3. Crowd Funding 4. Print sales 5. Books “Nowadays it is a deliberate choice for me to publish my books without a publisher or distributor. By doing it all myself, my books are not so expensive for buyers and I earn some money with it.” “The supply of free high-quality photography or documentaries on the Internet is just too large.”
19. “One of the challenges of these times is to find the right balance between what you want to do and how you finance these plans. I never think about 'sacrificing' work. It is a mistake to have this negative attitude (sacrificing work), you should focus on positive solutions (where are the opportunities with my work?).”
20. 2 Important Points 1. Money is only important to realize new projects and plans. So don't waste it on bullshit for yourself. 2. Listen to everyone, learn from everyone, but in the end only do your own thing.
22. THE Nightlife Photographer. Nightlife Photographer of the Year, 2007 'L' magazine, New York Nightlife Photographer of the Year nominee, 2007 Paper magazine, New York Nightlife Photographer of the Year, 2006 Village Voice, New York
25. Editorial / Commercial “I aimed to make it my main revenue stream for the next few years. Though due to the economic collapse it hasn’t worked out as hoped.” “I want to be happy doing what I do”
26. Signed to FACTORY311 Agency Benefits Skilled at milking more money from Clients. Art Buyers often don’t have relationships with individual photographers. Shows the Client you’re serious. “It’s all tradition. It’s totally bogus – but it’s the way things work.” Negatives Can’t do external work. Take a large cut of the final profit. Can limit your creative freedom.
27. Do you think Fashion is a waste of time? It’s a total waste of time. (unless you love it)
29. “If someone is out to make money, I’d suggest they get into investment banking, not photography.”
30.
31. THE INTERNET “It’s about things at our disposal. Which should be differentiated from ‘everyone is doing it so I might as well’.” “My friends set out to raise $3,000 for their book. Micro-Financing allowed them to reach $15,000.” “So instead of doing some shitty internet printing, they could go to a decent printer and have it done properly.”
32.
33. What’s the best investment? “Spend your money on Vacations. Fun. Enjoyment. Pleasure. Books. Movies. Feed the side that produces the work.”
34. Have you had to decline clients and why? “Sure, it was an annoying job that didn’t pay well. You have to factor the compensation in relation to the workload.” “You’re a hooker in a way, right? A handjob is this much, but if you want ass action it’s 10x as much.”
35. “You know how much extra nightlife work I got after the NYTimes had a half page spread about me?” “Nada. Zilch. Nothing.” “Keep that in mind when someone offers to pay you in fame.” END
Editor's Notes
So this is pretty much split into 3 parts. For three main photographers I interviewed. I contacted others and got replies but these were the top three / most in depth.
First one, ChristophBangert. Photojournalist based in Switzerland.
1. What is your main source of income? (Print Sales/Commissions/etc)
3. Have you had your work exhibited? If so has it helped drive print sales or further work?
9. Has there been a personal ethical debate in terms of whether you've decided to pick up the camera and shoot, or put it down and help?
Have you ever said no to a photograph?
Your work seems very focused and personal. Do you find the documentary area of photography a lucrative and able market to generate an income whilst documenting something you find is uncovered ground?
Next guy, RobHornstra. Personal stuff was very much documentary. Very different from Christoph who took ‘in the moment’ style shots.
He made a book called 101 Billionaires.
Then when Russia and the world hit an economic collapse the 101 billionaires went down to 49.So he made another book. 101 Billionaires, Revised.
What’s the largest income from your work?I also asked him about the internet. What the benefits are.
3. You publish your own books. Do you find the message of your work is more important than your profits?
3 a. If that’s the case, what is your opinion on sacrificing your work in the name of making enough money to survive in this industry?
5. If you could advise the younger generation of documentary photographers in the realm of business practices. What would be the most crucial message?
Next guy, Nikola Tamindzic. Very different from the first two.
Started out as THE nightlife photographer.
Was considered the nightlife photographer. He created the aesthetic, photographed the famous, paid to party. HATED IT.
So he wanted to go down a route he enjoyed..
Editorial / Commercial.I asked him if his photography supports him full time?Do you think it was a good idea to Transition after building such a good profile of nightlife work?
He signed to the agency Factory311. I asked him the pros and cons of being signed to an agency.
I asked him if Fashion was a waste of time, due to the flooded market
But he went on to say that anything you do is a total waste of time if you don’t have a passion for it.
He echoed what all the photographers I talked to, said. Photography is not about making money. It’s about making enough money to fund doing what you love.
I asked him his thoughts on the internet. Whether it’s good or bad.
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