Saying YES

You can read a really, really good post on A Photo Editor. A response was written about that post by A Visual Society recently. I resisted the urge to comment for many reasons, but mainly because I am sometimes skeptical about the seemingly manipulative status-quo in the photo industry. Is APE just messing with us by posting this, trying to get a gauge on where photographers are, by reading through the comments to this post? Is he attempting to separate the yes-men and women from the real photographers?

I agree with most of what APE has to say about saying ‘no’. I have turned down a ton of jobs, myself. I agree with AVS that reps need to say no too. My old rep did it all the time. In some ways it is the key to a successful career, almost…

There is another parameter that involves saying YES. YES to giving your best, from your best images to your best production value. YES to building trust. What about the junior art director who is full of passion and who may not have the best project for your career right now? But, you can see that that person is going places, so you invest in that person and say YES. YES to the new business relationship and YES to bigger and better projects down the road.

In Germany a few years ago, an ad agency hired some fashion photographers to shoot print ads for their automobile accounts. That cross-genre approach would be frowned upon by the “American Photo Elite” on this side of the Atlantic. But, by saying YES, and taking a risk, these photographers turbo-boosted their careers and went on to become really, really successful.

The point I am trying to make is that every creative walks that line between yes and no. Perhaps by saying YES sometimes, taking a risk and building lasting business relationships based on trust, can be just as important as saying NO to mediocre, not-career-worthy, bad paying work.

The post about saying no is well written and relevant. Maybe it’s just me, but after reading that post I can’t help thinking that APE is perhaps just full of it.