Business Trends

At this moment there are 32,527,830 #travelphotography posts on Instagram. With so many travel images posted online, and available for free, our business concern is that clients may find a great deal of those photos “good enough” to use. All of which makes it harder and harder to get a paying job as a travel or landscape photographer these days.

A graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a degree in commercial photography, Andy Batt is an accomplished photographer and photo educator. The Portland, Oregon-based Batt is well known for his sports photography and his expert ability to create beautifully lit, high-intensity action shots that capture moments of peak performance.

Starting in the business of fine art photography is not easy. More than anything, there will be a lot of peaks and valleys ahead. In this column, we look at how to navigate some of these issues, find clients, seek gallery representation, and market your work. Thanks to my contributing photographers: Larry Angier, Michael Garlington, Laurie Klein, RJ Muna, and Brooke Shaden.

Although everyone loves travel photography, not everyone possesses the skills to turn that passion into a viable business. This month we spoke with six photographers working (and making money) in the travel photography business: Joe Becker, Todd Gustafson, Blaine Harrington, Jen Pollack Bianco, and David and Lina Stock.

Who are the clients buying outdoor and nature photography? How do you find these clients and make money? What are some of the special challenges you may encounter? In Business Trends this month we will address these questions and more with working pros Andy Biggs, Nick Simonite, Christopher Wilson, and Steven Wohlwender.

As a photo rep, I have always had great admiration for the portrait photographer. You are catching people at their worst (“I hate having my picture taken!”) and at their best (“Yes, this is really who I am!”). Whether it is a toddler, high school senior, or CEO, you are responsible to keep people calm, work fast, overcome technical and travel obstacles, and manage all the details of composition and lighting. In this column, we talk about all these issues as well as marketing your portrait photography business, the skills required for business success.

Getting work as a travel photographer has never been easy. Today, factors of the economy and technology have added obstacles that require even more knowledge and planning. The five travel photographers we interviewed work with clients ranging from editorial to corporate and advertising.