Customer Reviews

How to Grow as a Photographer: Reinventing Your Career

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only should one not judge a book by its cover; one should also not judge a book by its title.

To me growth as a photographer means becoming a better picture taker. That can be accomplished by learning and applying technique and, as or more importantly, developing one's vision so that one can more easily see the photographic. (I know that's probably a tautology. But a clearer explanation will have to wait for a different book.)

That's not what growth as a photographer means to Tony Luna. To him, growth means striking out in new career directions. Perhaps Luna ought to call himself a career consultant instead of a creative consultant.

Luna's book is centered on what he calls "Transition Analysis", a five-step process that includes recognition, assessment, planning, implementation and validation. Luna's method is to recount his interviews with various professional photographers whom he suggests have changed their career directions. Most of the stories are interesting, but they impressed me not as stories of changes in direction but rather as stories of natural growth that didn't require much conscious application of the author's process. Alternatively, it may be that the process described is just a natural way of doing things. What would have convinced me of the value of transition analysis would have been the story of a photographer who was dedicated to a specific genre, like, say, landscape, who had reached a creative and financial dead end, and had then applied transition analysis to find a new career as, say, a wedding photographer. (Perhaps I'm not being fair. The author does recount the tale of a photographer who wanted to spend more time with his family so he gave up being a car photographer and became a wedding photographer. But that sounded like such a natural change that I don't feel it supported the author's process.)

Moreover the advice to "follow your passion" which is reemphasized throughout the book reminded me so much of Joseph Campbell (George Lucas' mentor) saying "follow your bliss" that I half expected Obi-Wan to whisper "Let the force be with you."

Other than aiming his book specifically at photographers, there's nothing here that other creative consultant's like Eric Maisel haven't been saying for years. Moreover, if you are a true artist and driven by your art, the kind described by David Bayles and Ted Orland in their brilliant "Art and Fear", neither a five-step method nor a twelve-step method may be of much help to you.

Still, if you're a professional photographer, and you feel like you've hit a wall, and have to change something, this book may help you to change direction. But if growth means greater vision, don't look here.

While reading some not so positive reviews from the post but went ahead to buy it anyway and am glad I did. This book is for photographers and their business. If you want to be inspired or having creative block, then other books may be relevant. There are some practical and difficult questions to the readers on growth and change which I myself is resisting or too lazy to adapt. Mr. Luna shares some honest and practical based stories and interviews from the pros to illuminate some of the myth about success. If I may be bold to say, do your best work and tell everyone about it and hopefully you get noticed. But read it and get inspired.

I have been a working photographer for 20 years. I only wish I could have read this book before I started. This book reveals the peaks and valleys that we all deal with and how to make the most of every situation. I highly recommend this book to any person who is making a living in the commercial arts.

From the condition listed, I was expecting much worse and of course was ok with that since I was ordering. To my delight, the item showed up fast and was in great condition.