File :-(, x, )
Feed the mouth, or stuff the pocket? Anonymous
s­up /p/

Please define Selling out in regards to photography.

Is it selling out if you took the time to learn a hobby (craft), then to sell some of your photographs? Or is it more of being paid to photograph stuff you don't want to?

Is it all about keeping the Artist cred of staying impoverished? Can you make a living out of photography and not be called a sell out?

An interesting turn of events this past afternoon has had me thinking about this. I would very much like your input on the matter.
>> Anonymous
This came up with me the other day when I was approached by a modeling scout. At first I was like aw hell naw, then I thought about it. What are you ultimately trying to achieve that would somehow become invalid because you've "sold out"? Most likely anything you do would be the same unless you're on a huge scale like decent bands gone pop or something. Money is money. Put it back into your work and you're good to go.
>> I||ICIT !!mknjFN/v/49
>>138043
lol, so i guess studying something at uni/college and getting really interested in it, then working for a mainstream company that pays well could be classed as a sell out?

nah man, go for the money, the only people who "do it for the art/street cred" are fuckin retarded enough to think that if they do this shit long enough theyll make it big and keep their "cred" while you make it large and get payed well far ahead of them but all you lost is your "cred"

fuck it, ill take the money, "cred" doesnt keep me warm and put food in my mouth lol

TL:DR im/will be a sellout FO' SHO'!

did i even cover your question lol?
>> Anonymous
It becomes selling out when you let the money change the way you photograph. If you get paid to make the photos that you want to make, that's awesome. If you get paid to take the photos that the payor tells you to, then you're a sellout.

That said, if your desire is to make a living at photography, you will have to sell out to some degree. That's the nature of the beast.
>> fence !!POey2hdozCZ
most photographers "sell out". only a very privileged few haven't had to shoot ad work to make ends meet.

nevertheless, i would say you're a pretty big fucking sell-out if you stop making the artwork you're capable of making if you're too busy shooting photos for cereal boxes.
>> angrylittleboy !wrJcGUHncE
Interesting, because I was thinking about this not too long ago.

Before, I was adamant that I wouldn't do glamor or fashion photography. Personally, I just didn't like the whole concept of having a person dress-up and pose inside a small room for you. But from where I come from, it's where the money's at, and with this hobby being not really free (I'll be emptying my wallet and acquiring a loan in the coming weeks to pay for the new stuff I just ordered), I'm now thinking otherwise.

So I'm selling out because there's more money in something that I don't like (glamor and fashion) as opposed to the thing that I do like (street). I need the money to pay for my stuff and fuel my other interests, but it won't mean I would be stopping taking photos of random people on the streets and starving Asian children since I can always do it whenever I'm free :)
>> Anonymous
If after all good advice on /p/ you find yourself using HDR, candy-saturated colors, selective desat, vignettes, steep b/w and what have you, and get paid for it, you are a sell-out. Secretly /p/ will be jealous and proceeds to call you a fag.

If, however, you heed to /p/'s advice, and continue to 'do your thing' and produce images nobody really cares about no matter how good they are, you are a photographer/artist, and /p/ will pat your back for finding your thing and proceeds to call you an art-fag. You also wont get paid.

But seriously, are you really concerned about being called a sell-out? Your choices are being a paid photog, which could cut out some of the enjoyment of your hobby, or an amateur photog doing something else as real job to finance your hobby.

Personally I wouldn't consider photography as a job since it tends to be a competitive field, and I'm not convinced about my endless creativity and skills.

And consider, if you get bored of it / start hating it later, what are your chances of getting another job at that point?
>> Anonymous
>>138051
This.

Although, I don't think anyone should be making a living at art. Art is more than a job; it's something seperate and holy. I mean, if you can incidentally make some money while doing it, great, but there's nothing wrong with someone working a 9-5 and coming home and sitting down with a piece of paper to write, or a canvas to paint, or an instrument to play, or going out with a camera to catch that nice five-o-clock light.
>> Anonymous
who gives a shit, srsly
>> Anonymous
I think selling out is being the guy that was totally passionate about photographing peanuts, then started photographing cashews instead because that's where the money was at.
>> Anonymous
selling out is a term that privelaged kids in their parents' basements use to describe activities that they aren't willing to get out of their comfort zone to do

if it's good, honest work, it's not selling out
>> Depressed Cheesecake !wFh1Fw9wBU
Here's an idea: abandon ridiculous social norms, especially about something so trivial like Photography and live life the way you want to. That includes selling your photography without feeling like a sellout if you want to.
>> Anonymous
Selling out would be making a name for yourself by, say, having a style revolving around the absurdity of big corporate advertisements, then took a job taking photos for an ad campaign for a big corporate group.

The idea of selling out is basically that you take whatever it is that makes you special, then offer it to anybody who pays you a few bucks AND just ride on your past work. So long as you're doing something of some quality, you're not a sell-out.
>> Anonymous
The former artists I've known who allowed profit to gain dominance over their art are all unhappy. When you love something but then you break it for $$$ you've sold out.