Me too. Hopefully it will be able to keep to a logical argument, not go off on a tangent each time its previous point is challenged.
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An Observed Pattern
- Thread starter BrianYarvin
- Start date
K
Kirk Tuck
Guest
We're having a lovely year here in Austin. Unemployment is almost inexistent now at less than 3.9%. A recent article showed that there are nearly 20,000 unfilled positions which require advanced education. The prices of housing in the central part of the city continues to rise dramatically, increasing our net worth. According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce over 100 people move here each day from somewhere else in the country, most with experience in technical, pharmaceutical and biotech fields. We've opened a record number of fine dining establishments in the last year. Austin sales tax revenues were up over 13% in October over last year, which was a great year as well.
Our professional camera store moved to a new location two years ago, quadrupling their space and last year had their best revenues and profits in their 32 year history.
The businesses in the Austin MSA (according to Forbes) generated $100.9 billion dollars in product last year. 40.5% of the adult population are college graduates. Forbes also put Austin in the #1 spot for job growth in the country. All fertile stats for the support of many business. We are also becoming famous for selling (licensing) creative products like movies, music, design, software and yes, even photography.
I am not a superstar photographer and am no more than middle of road in terms of talent but I am smart enough to live in a prosperous area, market my creative content to wildly successful companies and leverage those relationships to build new relationships with new companies.
There are many photographers, videographers, writers, film makers and other creative here who have figured out how to make good incomes on a consistent basis. Not all of them will be "stars" but a very big percentage have been able to make good incomes here.
I am well acquainted with many, many photographers here the area through my tenure as an ASMP chapter president and as a member of the advisory board for the largest college (commercial) photography program in Texas. There are some young photographers who still supplement their income with part time jobs at places like Starbucks but most with five or more years of experience seem to be doing very well. I often run into former students at the local camera store. Many of them are buying additional gear to keep up with their business expansions. And all the business programs for photographers in our college (yes, a semester long business course with guest lecturers in law, accounting and other fields is required for graduation) stress the concept of licensing usage rights as part of commercial transactions.
It's not bleak in Texas. And Texas is a big state. I may be as guilty in my optimism as the anonymous accountant is in his gloomy pessimism. I see people all around me not trying to nickel and dime their suppliers but leveraging their talents and insights to make stronger and better business for both. If I lived in a place where the whole business concept was to squeeze the last shred of profit from suppliers I would move to somewhere nicer and more human or I would close the business doors and move on.
Our professional camera store moved to a new location two years ago, quadrupling their space and last year had their best revenues and profits in their 32 year history.
The businesses in the Austin MSA (according to Forbes) generated $100.9 billion dollars in product last year. 40.5% of the adult population are college graduates. Forbes also put Austin in the #1 spot for job growth in the country. All fertile stats for the support of many business. We are also becoming famous for selling (licensing) creative products like movies, music, design, software and yes, even photography.
I am not a superstar photographer and am no more than middle of road in terms of talent but I am smart enough to live in a prosperous area, market my creative content to wildly successful companies and leverage those relationships to build new relationships with new companies.
There are many photographers, videographers, writers, film makers and other creative here who have figured out how to make good incomes on a consistent basis. Not all of them will be "stars" but a very big percentage have been able to make good incomes here.
I am well acquainted with many, many photographers here the area through my tenure as an ASMP chapter president and as a member of the advisory board for the largest college (commercial) photography program in Texas. There are some young photographers who still supplement their income with part time jobs at places like Starbucks but most with five or more years of experience seem to be doing very well. I often run into former students at the local camera store. Many of them are buying additional gear to keep up with their business expansions. And all the business programs for photographers in our college (yes, a semester long business course with guest lecturers in law, accounting and other fields is required for graduation) stress the concept of licensing usage rights as part of commercial transactions.
It's not bleak in Texas. And Texas is a big state. I may be as guilty in my optimism as the anonymous accountant is in his gloomy pessimism. I see people all around me not trying to nickel and dime their suppliers but leveraging their talents and insights to make stronger and better business for both. If I lived in a place where the whole business concept was to squeeze the last shred of profit from suppliers I would move to somewhere nicer and more human or I would close the business doors and move on.
K
Kirk Tuck
Guest
Yes. People are still making things! Remarkable. Incisive. Brill.
BrianYarvin
Leading Member
Kirk, although we don't have the warm, dry weather that Austin does, central New Jersey is in pretty good shape right now. Because we have an unusual demographic: well-educated and affluent immigrants, there are some very interesting opportunities. I chose to work on cookbooks, food and recipes when I moved here because ethnic restaurants and markets were tourist-free and very authentic. I figured that I could make a few bucks selling them my services or far more by having them as my supplier. It seems to be working for now.
We don't have a local pro photography shop in the area. When we need stuff, we go to nearby New York City and shop at places like B&H, Adorama or FotoCare. The most important thing I see though is the thriving media business. New York City based publishers are less than an hour away and many editors and art directors live in the neighborhood themselves.
Every kind of place from local shops to big box stores sell magazines and books and I pay lots of attention to what they publish. Providing content for them is a siren-song for me. I can't walk by a magazine rack without wondering what I could pitch.
Since my first tangle with the nicknames here on this board, I've been paying attention to the wedding photography business. This seems to take some twists that aren't mentioned here but are probably well-known to practitioners. I am especially fascinated by photographer/stylist teams that essentially fake weddings for families abroad. Yes, it's sad that they can't have their extended families come to NJ for a real wedding, but everybody back home gets an album and photos of the bride and groom dressed to the nines. I often dream of hiring some models, bringing them to one of these companies, and shooting the whole thing as stock, but my current work beckons.
I must confess that I'm growing a bit restless and thanks to that exchange between you and Mr. Penguin a while back, I've purchased a house in Central Pennsylvania. It's quieter and cheaper than where I am now and seems to be a place where my wife can relax a bit. Will it be good for my work? I think so. I figure that if most of the wedding and portrait photographers are threatened by anybody with a camera, the commercial shooters might well be the same way. A man of normal height is a giant when among dwarfs.
The final point I want to make though is that the photography business around here is pretty solid. Clients around the world are interested in what can be shot here and local people are buying what's produced. My heart goes out to those folks who live in tough markets and I believe that there are lessons here to be learned. I'm just not sure how they can be taught - or if anybody wants to hear.
We don't have a local pro photography shop in the area. When we need stuff, we go to nearby New York City and shop at places like B&H, Adorama or FotoCare. The most important thing I see though is the thriving media business. New York City based publishers are less than an hour away and many editors and art directors live in the neighborhood themselves.
Every kind of place from local shops to big box stores sell magazines and books and I pay lots of attention to what they publish. Providing content for them is a siren-song for me. I can't walk by a magazine rack without wondering what I could pitch.
Since my first tangle with the nicknames here on this board, I've been paying attention to the wedding photography business. This seems to take some twists that aren't mentioned here but are probably well-known to practitioners. I am especially fascinated by photographer/stylist teams that essentially fake weddings for families abroad. Yes, it's sad that they can't have their extended families come to NJ for a real wedding, but everybody back home gets an album and photos of the bride and groom dressed to the nines. I often dream of hiring some models, bringing them to one of these companies, and shooting the whole thing as stock, but my current work beckons.
I must confess that I'm growing a bit restless and thanks to that exchange between you and Mr. Penguin a while back, I've purchased a house in Central Pennsylvania. It's quieter and cheaper than where I am now and seems to be a place where my wife can relax a bit. Will it be good for my work? I think so. I figure that if most of the wedding and portrait photographers are threatened by anybody with a camera, the commercial shooters might well be the same way. A man of normal height is a giant when among dwarfs.
The final point I want to make though is that the photography business around here is pretty solid. Clients around the world are interested in what can be shot here and local people are buying what's produced. My heart goes out to those folks who live in tough markets and I believe that there are lessons here to be learned. I'm just not sure how they can be taught - or if anybody wants to hear.
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