Honest discussion: Are photography clients spoiled and are new professional photographers devaluating the business?

Short answer is YES. Photography isn’t really a viable career, so much as a hobby where a few people are managing to make money. I know people making decent money, I had my best ever year last year, but the industry overall is becoming a space where you can’t expect to sustain a living. Even with decent jobs/clients, the first few phrases are “we don’t have a budget for that”, “things are a little tight,” “we can’t pay you for that”, “we need licensing in perpetuity.” As I said to a friend the other day, I love the creative aspect of taking photos, but I do not like the photo industry. Photography used to have some magic to it, a bit of rock’n’roll… it now has very little of either. No mystery.

/r/photography Thread