The game has changed a lot in 2024. Being a successful photographer is no longer about technical ability but a lot more about aesthetics and vision. In this article, I will tell you the five things you need to stop doing to be a successful photographer in 2024.

A lot of photographers focus on all the wrong things. This can derail your career. Some will spend years being derailed and not progress as rapidly as they can. I honestly believe that anyone can be a photographer with the right knowledge, understanding, and taste. Read on to find out the things you need to stop doing to be a successful photographer.

1. Reading Gear Reviews

The first one applies to a large number of photographers who have just started out and who are focusing on getting the best technical image possible. Being a combination of aesthetics and precision, it is easy to fall into the precision part of being a photographer. There is a new camera every other month, and new gear released almost every week. Reviewers, such as myself, will jump on this gear and review it as it’s exciting to try out. That said, if you are familiar with my reviews, you might notice that I only review the things I use personally, and not every new tool available. This is down to me finding gear reviews pointless to some degree. For example, I can tell you what each light modifier does because it has a direct impact on my work, but I do not know the latest camera Canon released, let alone other brands. The information I would get by reading a review of the latest Sony would not make my work better, or be time well spent. I only dive into reviews and gear research when I need to buy a replacement for gear that does not fulfill the purpose it has in my workflow. As such, I won’t be trying out the global shutter in the new Sony, but you bet I know more than I need about Phase One because it’s the equipment I sometimes get to use for jobs.

2. Getting Feedback From Other Photographers

Another thing photographers are constantly doing wrong is asking for feedback from the wrong people. Such people are fellow photographers in most cases. Truth be told, some photographers really hate my work because it is technically wrong. The skin tones are blown out, backgrounds overexposed, or the image was shot with a head-on flash and nothing else. While photographers will not find these techniques exciting, the clients who are paying me do. I care a lot about the feedback I get from such people, as it allows me to progress and deliver better results to the people hiring me. A random person on Facebook who knows every lighting technique (in their opinion) will likely look at my work and find a ton of mistakes with it. Rightfully so. I am inevitably asked to do portfolio reviews and feedback for photographers. When doing so, I focus on things such as aesthetic and vision rather than technique. Trust me when I say I did paid jobs with nothing more than a camera and a head-on flash. Those jobs sometimes paid more than jobs for which I had ProHeads with a ton of modifiers. Your images should be in touch with what the current zeitgeist is, not with what camera and lighting brands are marketing to you. I can go ahead and come up with a 20-light setup if I want to, but it will be useless if the subject in front of my camera is not right. Ask for feedback from your clients, not fellow photographers.

3. Watching Photography YouTube for Hours

Another one is photography YouTube. While a great pastime, you can’t possibly be watching photography YouTube and then go ahead and claim you did productive work. I rarely watch photography YouTube for that exact reason. That’s not to say that I spend a little too much on documentaries and all that sort of jazz. I do. The difference is, by watching documentaries, I expand my horizons a little more than by watching a photographer go to Iceland and capture the same exact image that was captured time and time again. While I would not be a photographer had it not been for some people on YouTube, one of whom is in a Russian prison at the moment, but still. Photography YouTube is very focused on technique rather than aesthetic. This would be all well if, say, we were living in the 1990s where knowing how to place a softbox would land you in the top 10% immediately. These days, every kid with a phone can get a better image than some photographers. What most can’t do is focus on aesthetic and vision. As such, if you spend your time thinking outside of photography, you will inevitably end up bringing something new to the table which will make your work unique.

4. Copying Other Work

There are so many photographers who spend too much time trying to replicate famous images. Fashion photographers will often complain that they don’t have enough runway, studio, or black and white work. Then they go ahead, take those images, and they end up looking like a 2007 Bavarian fashion magazine. Another one would be nude work. The idea of a black and white nude shot, or an extreme close-up of water drops on someone’s body parts has been done to death. Landscape photographers will do the same thing with the Eiffel Tower or the Delicate Arch. Portrait photographers will go to extreme lengths to copy Annie Leibovitz. I honestly believe that the rise of Annie Leibovitz gave companies that make canvas backdrops a huge sales boost. Having an Oliphant backdrop was almost like an accolade for people shooting portraits. Instead of trying to have a portfolio similar to what other people have done, go ahead and try to photograph something that speaks to you. It must not be the same as everyone else’s. At the end of the day, when clients review your work, they want to remember you. Few of them care that you are able to do a splash shot or a black and white nude. It is expected that you can do most things.

5. Not Charging Enough

This one is harming the industry as a whole. I tried having a low-cost-airline business model for my portrait business for a bit, but it failed miserably. The rule of thumb I got from this experience was that the less the client is paying, the more problems they will have. Think back to all the times you’ve seen a passenger act up on an airplane. More often than not, it has been in economy. Now look at Emirates first class: the story is quite different. The point is, people paying a premium for your work, even if what you are doing is not worth anywhere near what you’re being paid, will be far nicer to deal with. When you don’t charge enough or price-cut, you are getting the cheap client who is not familiar with what you are doing and is already unhappy that they need to pay a fee for something they think they can do on a phone. By charging more, you will end up losing the lower-end clients, but you will gain the higher-end ones. The goal is to work less and charge more.

As such, here we have the five top things that you need to stop doing to be a successful photographer in 2024. I must point out that these apply to photographers working in the commercial sector more than anyone else. Nonetheless, I’m sure if you shoot in a different genre and client base, you will be able to apply some of them to your work and have a more profitable and successful year.

Over to you, what are some of the things that you are looking to stop doing in 2024? Share with us in the comments below!

One of the most respected “noses” in the world, French perfumer Mathilde Laurent aims to light up people’s lives through perfume that results from the meticulous assembly of just the right ingredients. Born in 1970 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb west of Paris, she debuted her career as an apprentice to Jean-Paul Guerlain before working at Guerlain for 11 years, and has been the in-house perfumer for Cartier since 2006. She shares her path to a life in fragrance.

How and when did you become interested in perfume, and when did you know you wanted to be a perfumer?

The parents of a childhood friend were the first to tell me that I should become a perfumer. I was around 16 years old. It was the first time I heard anyone talking about this profession! They told me about a report they had seen about a school and said, “As you talk about perfume all the time and smell everything that you see, this school is made for you.” It was a perfume school, and that’s how I discovered that there were people whose job it was to invent these perfumes that I smelled in my little bottles. I kept it in a small corner of my head, but I did not develop a passion or a devouring ambition.

How did you discover your talent for perfumery and develop it?

At the time, I was especially passionate about photography. And to continue my education in photography, I needed a two-year higher education diploma in chemistry. By chance, the same diploma was needed to continue on with perfume, too. I wasn’t bad in math, chemistry and physics, so I did a scientific baccalaureate and then I took my time to do a DEUG [Diplôme d’Études Universitaires Générales, or two-year university diploma] in chemistry. And that’s when I had to choose between photography and perfume. I had already experimented with photography, so perfumery seemed more mysterious to me. I had never had the opportunity to smell essences, to make mixtures and to understand what this job was about. So I threw myself into it and prepared for the entrance exams for ISIPCA [Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de l’Aromatique Alimentaire, or French school for post-graduate studies in perfume, cosmetics and food flavoring formulation] in Versailles, France.

What are your earliest memories of scents?

Many scents stick out in my mind and are part of my life, such as my childhood garden in Normandy and the Corsican underbrush, which gave me my first olfactory shock. I have memories of Mirabelle plum preserves, lemon tea, the smoke from a Gitane cigarette, the smell of an oak barn, the scents of the forest, crushed fig, rivers, sand in my chocolate croissant. The list is endless, and happily so, because it allows me to find my bearings, as well as to learn and memorize the raw materials in perfumery.

What are your three favorite smells in the world?

The smells I love are not perfume ingredients. For me, perfume ingredients are tools, and I don’t favor my screwdriver over my scissors. When I need a screwdriver, I take a screwdriver. And when I need scissors, I take scissors. The ingredients of perfume help me go where I want, do what I want, and produce the smells that I seek. So in that regard, I don’t have any favorite ingredients. As for my favorite perfumes, some examples are Helmut Lang Eau de Parfum, Rochas Femme, Grès Cabochard, Mitsouko and Vol de Nuit by Guerlain, Mugler Cologne, Hermès Un Jardin sur le Nil or Montana Parfum de Peau.

The Broomfield Photo Club will meet at 6:45 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Crawford Room at the Broomfield Community Center, 280 Spader Way. This month’s meeting will feature a talk from club member Ann Huffman, whose presentation will entail “Capturing Experiences: A Blogger’s Approach to Photography.” The club meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month, with its next meeting scheduled for March 28. Meetings are also held via Zoom. To learn more about the club, visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/photoclubbroomfield or by contacting Carl Muehlemeyer at 303-469-0537 or broomfielphotoclub@gmail.com.

The New York Times has issued a strongly worded letter to the Israeli consulate in New York asking that Israel’s Foreign Ministry “cease perpetrating the provably false claim that the freelance photographer Yousef Masoud was embedded with Hamas terrorists on October 7.”

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Barry Stone

Leslie Moody Castro talks with artist, musician, and podcaster Barry Stone about how he engages with local artists, performers, and photography through his long-running project, Porch Swing Orchestra.

“The relation of image and sound is, at its core, really what Porch Swing Orchestra and Vast is the Sea is about. So, all the artists are bound, in diverse ways, through explorations of image, sound, and community.”

To play the podcast, click on the orange play button below. You can also find Glasstire on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

If you enjoy Glasstire and would like to support our work, please consider donating. As a nonprofit, all of the money we receive goes back into our coverage of Texas art. You can make a one-time donation or become a sustaining, monthly donor here.

Related Readings:
—Glasstire: Barry Stone’s Porch Swing Orchestra
—Glasstire: Everything Comes from Itself: Barry Stone’s “Lost Pines” at Lora Reynolds Gallery
—Glasstire: Barry Stone: Man about Town
—Artforum: Barry Stone at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery
—Glasstire: VAST IS THE SEA at Co-Lab Projects
—Glasstire: Barry Stone: Second Season
—The Porch Swing Orchestra Website

Why this photo

I’m always thinking of ways to take a different photo. I’m looking for things like new angles and exposures, in sports as well as in general news. Because there are multiple players involved in sports, you have to take as many pictures as possible in one location, which can result in a lot of similar photos. Swimming had already been going on for several days at the World Aquatics Championships when I decided to change things up to see what I could get. In the preliminary round, I planned to take shots outside the marquee middle lanes – 3, 4, and 5 – we usually focus on. After adjusting the underwater camera location and test-shooting a few times, I could predict that certain positions would give me the diverse, new photos I wanted.

How I made the photo

During heats in the morning – the races for qualifying for the finals – I took the initiative to test other camera placements. I asked the diver in charge to move the underwater camera to another lane in advance, and I took this photo during the men’s 200-meter breaststroke using the appropriate shutter speed and my custom white balance settings, one of the three presets I made on the camera. I set the white balance, which varies depending on the camera’s distance from the subject in the water and the lighting, and applied the appropriate setting at each moment of the swimmer’s movement. As a result, the most optimal combination of the white balance in and out of the water and color enhanced the swimmer’s movement in my photos. I tried to shorten the distance between the swimmer and the camera as much as possible because both the exposure and color balance change as you get farther away from the camera.

Why the photo works

Underwater photography is not just about camera adjustments but a combination of various technologies. AP photographer David J. Phillip helped me with the installation of the underwater camera. I troubleshooted through zoom meetings and real-time conversations, and I was able to make the photos I wanted for three weeks. Also, with cooperation from the underwater divers, I was able to install the camera in my desired lane. I received help from fellow photographers on the ground, too. Although the underwater camera housing moves faster with increasingly advanced technology, taking photos by hand is still different. I planned ahead, using the zoom of the lens and the movement of the housing to preset the camera angle where I wanted. I set the white balance, which varies depending on the distance and lighting in the water and applied the appropriate setting at each moment. As a result, I was able to best express the swimmers’ movements.

___ For more AP photography, click here.

At 3 a.m., while most Longmont residents are sleeping, Chris Rodgers is running toward a fire.

Moments earlier, he has awoken to a dispatch call airing across his home radios. Within seconds he has decided if it’s worth the photo, and if it is, he grabs his camera, suits up and heads toward the scene.

Rodgers, also known as Code 10 Photography, is one of the few fire photographers in the Boulder County area, a role he has held for the past 15 years. Starting as a volunteer EMT in 2003, Rodgers, 38, has become a household name among local fire stations and works contractually, part-time or through verbal agreements with departments.

“If something big happens, I’ll get the notification, I’ll listen to the radio, I’ll drive over there,” Rodgers said. “I enjoy going when I can, because the firefighters I’ve met throughout the years love being able to see photos of them working for the public but also just like seeing what they do and being able to share that with their families.”

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Rodgers works as a radio electronics technician. But he got his start taking photos whenever he had a free moment working on an ambulance as a young adult.

“I started bringing a camera with me, and I was on these really interesting scenes with helicopters, crashes, fire assists, just a whole bunch of stuff,” Rodgers said. “So I would take pictures when I could, when I had the opportunity.”

While volunteering, Rodgers began working as an EMT for Pridemark Paramedic Services in Boulder County, where he would come in on his days off and take photos of the crews working. Through a co-worker, Rodgers connected with Boulder Rural Fire Rescue, which led him to work with Mountain View Fire Rescue, the Longmont Fire Department and Boulder Fire-Rescue.

“Fire photography, rescue photography is kind of my topic of interest, that’s where I’ve stuck,” Rodgers said. “Other photographers like landscape, other photographers like portraits, I stuck with the fire photography so when there’s an opportunity for that to happen, that’s when I go.”

For Rodgers, his photography isn’t about the pay, awards or hopes of turning it into a full-time career, but the enjoyment of seeing his skills develop over time.

“The drive is to strive for a really good photo,” Rodgers said. “The further you go back in my photos on social media, you see that I had lower quality photos, maybe something I could have done better. As I progress throughout the years, I see my photos get better. So that’s kind of my drive.”

Rodgers added that he doesn’t take pictures to get the perfect shot of disaster but to capture the courageous people who respond. He said he hopes his work shows the public the hard work that first responders do to save lives and property.

“One of the big things I’ve been doing a lot lately is taking photos of fire academy training sessions,” Rodgers said. “I’ve done that for a couple years now, and I enjoy getting to see those firefighters actually out on the line being firefighters and running real calls. It’s kind of like watching someone grow up.”

Rodgers recalls responding to a structure fire in December 2022 which resulted in the Sunshine Fire. Rodgers said firefighters initially responded to a call for a structure fire. However, by the time they arrived, it had spread to surrounding woodland. As crews worked to stop the spread he shot a Boulder Rural firefighter carrying a hose down a steep hill while a home burned behind him.

“That’s one of my favorite photos,” Rodgers said. “Sometimes you’re going for one thing and something switches really quickly. Even though you’re not prepared exactly for something that’s happening now, you’re still ready to go.”

With a constant ear on the emergency scanner, Rodgers is thankful to his wife for her support of his passion, even at times where she has woken up at odd hours in the night to a call.

Code 10 Photography can be followed on Instagram at @code10photos and on Facebook at Code 10 Photography.

Takagi Akimitsu, one of the most prolific and well-known crime novelists of 20th century Japan, was also a brilliant photographer. A French book depicting his photos from 1950s Tokyo was recently on display at the International Tattoo Fair in Paris.

Famous memory card maker Lexar announced its (now outdated) 2024 roster of “Lexar Elite Photographers” this week, and many online commenters quickly noticed something each of the seven photographers have in common: They’re all men.

“Ruh roh! There’s a common theme with your choice of elite,” writes Australian photographer Melissa Findley on Instagram, alluding to the lack of diversity.

“Silly of me to think women could be elite photographers,” adds Iceland-based photographer and videographer Kyana Sue Powers.

“These are all great photographers, that’s clear. But… surely, you could have found at least one female photographer that’s on par with them. At least one? No?” asks travel content creator Eva zu Beck.

“You’re a great brand, but you could’ve done much better. There’s a million insanely talented women photographers there doing new things. And they actually interact and represent the community,” writes adventure photographer Ryan Resatka. “Not sure if this was intentionally selected or done by one of your agencies for targeted marketing but yeah…”

“I have been shooting for nine years. I have seen it all with brands excluding female photographers and every year I think to myself, ‘This has to change this year. It will, because I know so many in the industry. So many with so much talent,’” writes photographer Emily Thomas. “And yet, here we are in 2024, with a huge brand saying that ‘elite’ photographers are male… I am disappointed, hurt, and hoping for change. Women deserve to be recognized and admired in an industry where they can contribute so much. Please do better.”

These are but a small sampling of the comments on Lexar’s since-deleted Instagram post announcing its 2024 class of “Lexar Elite Photographers,” and they touch on numerous facets of the issue and why so many people are so troubled by Lexar’s initial selections.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of the initial picks for the 2024 Lexar Elite Photographers. All seven are very talented. Further, despite what some commenters assert, none of the individuals are responsible for Lexar’s exclusively male selections.

The problem is that there are plenty of exceptionally talented women for Lexar to have picked to be part of this brand ambassador group. And let’s be clear, that’s precisely what these photographers are: brand ambassadors. While they all showcase talent in their respective photographic fields, their participation in the Lexar Elite Photographers group is a commercial endeavor meant to market Lexar’s memory cards to a broader audience. It also expands the reach of the selected photographers, not that any of the seven original picks need much help in that department.

The Lexar Elite Photographers are not some group of contest winners. It isn’t like there was some big pool of entrants and a thorough and critical judging process that blindly selected these seven specific men.

This is also not a random selection from some pool of pros, where you could stick your hand in a hat and just so happen to pick out seven men because there are more men in the field. Precisely how photography became a male-dominated field is a much larger and more complex topic, but suffice it to say, it’s the result of many factors, including institutionalized sexism and discrimination.

This is also not some thoroughly exclusive group. It is not like Lexar would have been forced to exclude one of its seven picks to “make room” for a woman or anyone else. This differs from when a university makes admission decisions based on meeting some desired racial makeup.

Lexar concluded — wrongly — that the best way to reach and expand its audience and sell more products to photographers was to enlist these specific people.

Do you know what makes an audience wider? Including women.

Do you know how to connect with a more diverse and more extensive group of photographers? Involving a more diverse group of brand ambassadors.

It seems so simple. I’m not a marketing expert, but I do care about photography, and it’s tiresome seeing how frequently women and people of color must do twice as much work to receive half the recognition.

The situation gives off major vibes of Canon Phillipines’ similar gaffe with its ambassadors in 2021.

Filipino photojournalist Jilson Tiu, who was part of the Canon’s original “Crusaders of Light,” went so far as to quit the program because Canon Philippines failed to apologize for its mistake.

Representation matters, and women are historically woefully underrepresented in photography despite occupying a large and significant role in every genre of photography.

And yeah, maybe this is all a bit rich coming from a white man. I get that. But it is precisely my position that makes it somewhat hard for me to fully understand just how much representation matters for people who are underrepresented and historically marginalized. When people speak up and say something is wrong, it’s my — and everyone else’s — responsibility to listen.

And obviously, Lexar has listened and agreed with some commenters because it has reversed course and deleted its original post. The company has also changed its tune concerning Lexar Elite Photographers dramatically in a new Instagram post:

Lexar Community, we heard you loud and clear regarding our Lexar Elite Photographer selection. You’re correct — we missed the mark. The selection is not an accurate reflection of our amazing community and for that we apologize. We need to do better. And change can’t wait for next year, it needs to happen now.

Starting today we are actively looking for diverse photographers and creators to add to our Lexar Elite Team this year. We are looking for educators, innovators, and photographers who are constantly pushing the boundaries of creativity and technology in order to create stunning images. If you’d like to nominate yourself or someone you know please tag them below.

We appreciate your honest feedback and will continue to look for ways to improve our community with your support and input. Thank you team!

So that’s where we are now. Lexar made a horrible blunder, got hosed in the comments, deleted the original post, and reversed course in response to the criticism.

On the one hand, it’s genuinely baffling that the original choices were all men. If Lexar wanted those seven individuals in particular, which is reasonable, the company could’ve also selected at least a few of the many qualified women to include as part of a bigger roster. Ideally, Lexar would have included photographers from a wider range of racial and cultural backgrounds, too.

That at no point before the 2024 Lexar Elite Photographers were selected and published, did someone say, “Hey, wait a minute,” is still concerning. I’m unsure if there are just not enough different voices in the room, but it’s not a great look.

On the other hand, Lexar heard the feedback and listened, which is excellent. Because people got involved in the discussion and did so with a level of restraint and rationality that, quite frankly, wasn’t wholly deserved, a change for the better is in the works.

In Lexar’s original and new post, many are tagging photographers who are perfect candidates for a revised roster of Lexar Elite Photographers. It’s fantastic to see.

The photography community isn’t always one big happy family, but when it is, we all benefit. Inclusion and representation ensure that more voices are heard, stories are told, and meaningful art is created.

Lexar’s new class of Elite Photographers will surely be more diverse than the original selections. Nonetheless, this is a week that the memory card maker will be keen to forget.