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09/25/2008 01:45:45 AM · #1 |
This is an interesting read by a photographer by the name of Jim McNay.
What do you think?
Jim McNay says you might have to play in the minor leagues, like Mike Piazza, before you hit the big time.
Career paths in photography can sometimes be better understood by looking at other careers to see how people get started. The sports analogy of starting in the minor leagues and moving up works fine. Noticing the career paths of actors also sheds some light.
When actors come out of school few of them go straight to Broadway or major motion pictures. Yes, it happens. The stars do align for a fortunate few. But not everyone will be so lucky.
Actors often get started by having day jobs. Driving cabs and waiting on tables are standard rent payers. In their off time, actors take classes (dance, voice, dialect, fencing, whatever they see they need to work on.) Then they audition for parts. They look for work in commercials. They seek opportunities to do voice-overs for radio and TV spots.
Again, sometimes lightening strikes and they get an important role right away. Often they serve in the vineyards for a few months—or a few years—before getting noticed.
In one interview, actor/director Ben Stiller talked about his run-up to success. Stiller, who finds opportunities in front of and behind the motion picture camera as a director, told of knocking on doors in New York for two years before he got a part in a show. He̢۪s glad he hung in.
Perhaps the prize for perseverance goes to now successful actor Harvey Keitel, who paid a lot of rent in his early acting days working as a court reporter. Though he was taking classes at the Actor̢۪s Studio, one of the finer acting schools in New York, Keitel wanted to be formally accepted into the program.
The Actor̢۪s Studio is notoriously tough on those who audition. Many famous actors who take classes there never manage to actually confront the challenging audition process. In addition, of a couple thousand who audition each year, few are accepted. Oscar winner Martin Landau noted when he auditioned, only he and Steve McQueen were voted into the program.
Keitel auditioned for ten years before getting in. That means he auditioned during the regular tryout period, failed, waited a year, auditioned again, failed, and so on—ten times before finally making the cut.
The key here is, Keitel knew what he wanted to do with his time on the planet, and knew where he believed he would find the best training for him. He hung in and now appears regularly in major and minor films, seemingly never out of work.
With luck, most photographers may find work in their field right out of school. With a combination of shooting, lighting, and computer training, even experience with digital video shooting and editing, there are opportunities for photographers to work in and around photography. They can shoot, assist, or be employed in something related to their photography interest.
And if circumstances prevent that, then they have the model of other professionals, such as actors and people in the entertainment industry who face perhaps even greater challenges breaking into their profession. Understanding the experiences of actors can show photographers how others travel parallel paths of their own.
Bottom line: Can we imagine ourselves going back to the same company ten years in a row with an updated portfolio seeking the particular opportunity that company offers? How badly do we want the experience of working for that organization?
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09/25/2008 02:13:18 AM · #2 |
| Very interesting stuff. As an acting student studying photography, this factors double for me. Planning on using photography to supplement my income as I attempt to make it as an actor. Of course, if lightning strikes in either area, who knows, I may take a single route. |
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