The Art and Business of Photography

I just started reading this book today and so far I would have to say it is the best book for photographers I have come across. The creative arts are surrounded by a number of "authorities" who seem to specialize in creating lies that work to the detriment of the artist... In the first three chapters Susan punches holes in several of these lies. For example the well promoted lie that doing commercial work pollutes your own work. Susan call this belief "nonsense" and she is right. Subscribe to that belief and you will starve. As much as art critics love to talk about the hardship of some dead artist (whose work is NOW worth a fortune), economic hardship does not foster creativity. It hampers it.One of my pet peeves of late is the mantra pushed by the numerous consultants to photographers and some art buyers that "you can only shoot one thing" and that if you do shoot more than that you should only show one style and subject matter in your portfolio. Most photographers strongly reject that notion knowing it will cost them a lot of business and opportunities for creative fulfillment. But the pundits continue to preach it... to the detriment of many photographers. The truth is the market is such that very few photographers who limit themselves will do well as a result. Susan shines the light of truth on this and states "the successful contemporary photographer needs the ability to work in and for multiple outlets."hearing someone else say what I know (and I believe any professional photographer knows) to be true is correct had the effect of lifting a large weight from my shoulders....And the best part is something I discovered that I always thought I had. Susan talks about the need to separate your commercial work from your own creative work and to be as dedicated to doing your own creative work as the commercial. I always thought that I had my own vision and style, but I found myself grabbing my camera and going into one of the most photographed landmarks in the city. And I discovered something interesting... I was looking at it in a whole new way, shooting angles no one else had done before. It was as if I had discovered a whole new way of looking at things... MINE. I realized at that moment that I had been seeing what I created through what I thought to be the eyes of my prospective clients and in doing so was cheating myself out of the best reward for doing the work.I highly recommend this book. It validates what you know is true and helps you to navigate the lies and confusions that have entered into and muddied up the waters in our industry

This is one of Amazon's periodically Free Ebooks. Pick it up when free.

Starting a business is not for the faint of heart. Starting a photography business where melding your heart's passion with making a living is a difficult, tedious road. This book gives some down-to-earth pointers on how to get started and the pitfalls to watch out for.

The business of photography has gone through significant changes over the past few years. This book addresses those changes and helps professional photographers figure out how we can all survive in the new photography market. A must read for anybody looking to make a living as a professional photographer.

A great book that was full of exactly what I expected. There are tips about how to navigate setting up a photo business that come from the business AND artist angle and that is really helpful.Read it twice and there are things I will continue to get out of this book for quite a while.

The book is not really what I expected, but then I'm not sure what I expected if that makes any sense. It is a not a really hard look at the Art or the Business of photography, but more of a brief editorial. Short pieces of interviews from friends of the author make a large portion of the book.

Susan Carr has been running ASMP's education programs for a while now and she understands how to motivate professional photographers. She links the necessity of keeping your personal art and your commercial work going simultaneously in addition to discussing the latest on copyright and licensing. All good stuff.

good book for may photography course