About |A |P |P |Y

APPY was formed out of the Digital South Yorkshire Digital Imaging Special Interest Group. The following report was presented to DSY in 2005 and is still largely relevant today.

Introduction

The Special Interest Group for Photographers (SIG4P) was first discussed with Inspiral in October 2005.

The proposal was to develop a ‘sector specialist’ network for professional photographers in the South Yorkshire area. The aim was to develop the skill level, technological awareness and increase the profits of their businesses.

The Market Sector

The photography market in South Yorkshire is fragmented. Most photographers are sole traders, tending to work on their own. There is little cross fertilization of ideas or working methods. The local market is ‘low cost’ where clients are unwilling to pay industry rates as opposed to Manchester and London where higher fees can be charged.

The market sectors include the following genres:-

Press and PR
Social- including weddings and family portraiture
Architectural
Commercial and advertising
Glamour
Art

There is little or no communication between the different genres of photography.

The one major change to the market in recent years has been the introduction of Digital photography. For over 160 years very little changed in the process for producing pictures. The technological advances were made by the film companies with minor changes made to cameras. Investment in new equipment was made only occasionally. A camera would be expected to last 10-20 years. In 1990 digital technology was introduced. In the last 6 years there have been greater changes to the industry than during the previous 150 years. Major film, camera and supply companies have ceased trading. The affect this has had on the way photographers work has been monumental.

Changes to the profession have included:

Investment required in IT equipment- replacement required every 2 years minimum

Workflow- processing is now carried out in house rather than outsourcing to a lab

Client expectations increased- no materials, so it is cheap

Training- new technologies no industry standards

Therefore a gap existed in the market for a SIG4P to develop:

An understanding of the training requirements for local photographers
More effective business strategies
Networking between market sectors
Sharing simple hints and tips
Identify sources of funding

The objectives of the SIG4P

Create a database of local professional photographers
Communicate with them effectively
Organise a programme of seminars on major topics affecting their professional practise
Identify existing local and regional resources already available
Collate information available on the web
Liaise with other funding organisations

The strategy created to do this was to identify local photographers using the following methods:

Personal contacts
Contacting local suppliers to professional market such as camera shops, processing labs
Directories and the internet
A series of 5 seminars was planned to run over 3 months. Many aspects of the new and developing technologies were too complex to cover in an evening session. Therefore these sessions would only serve as an introduction, giving an overview of a specific subject area. Participants could then identify areas of weakness in their knowledge.

Topics these seminars covered included:

Using the web to display portfolios
Selling images on the web
Workflow- using programmes such as: CS2, Aperture, iView, Lightroom, Nikon Capture, Fotostation
Using WiFi
Digital Asset Management (DAM) - Backing up, Off line storage
Web optimumization
Calibration of equipment including- cameras, screens, scanners and printers
Copyright issues

Conclusion

95 names registered with the SIG4P’S. From that 22 people became regular attendees at events. The SIG has brought together a disparate group of professionals working in a rapidly changing industry. A database has been created to allow quick and effective communications.

5 seminars were organised covering the variety of topics listed above.
We developed close links with Skills for Business. On the back of the feedback received from the SIG meetings, they were able to organise a series of one day workshops, using industry experts, to provide high quality training. Links were also formed with Redeye, a Manchester based organisation, which has a comprehensive programme of events for photographers.

The Digital sy website was used to display a programme of events and many useful links to newsgroups and WebPages.

A resource has been created of 10 training DVD’s for members of the group to borrow. We have also purchased 14 copies of ‘CS2’ for Photographers’ by Martin Evening. This is known as the bible to Photoshop.

Members of the group have formed a good working relationship by offering support to each other. There have also been a number of ideas on how to take it forward. These include:

Social events
Showcasing work
Further sessions on business skills
Developing further Workflow processes
Studio visits