Jeff Brown, Photography mentor

Jeff Brown is a photographer and Photographer mentor. He works with photographers in twenty five different countries, he is an ambassador for Olympus cameras ,he is President of the BIPP and he has written four best selling photography business books. His fifth book is being written at the moment. He aims to help photographers get past the procrastination and get on with their business.

 

Jeff first came across the BIPP while he was in the military. The BIPP is the oldest professional association and was formed in 1901. At the time Jeff was training in the Royal Navy as a photographer and the BIPP certified his course. His course was 26 weeks with 26 exams, it was hard work. But Jeff passed, became certified and became a member.

 

Jeff has been president for the last year. He has realised that the association needs to appeal to younger and a more diverse membership. The BIPP is now open to anyone around the world. As it is so old it has a large archive of documents photographs and more. The head office of the BIPP is in Preston.

 

Jeff and Marcus then talk about what the BIPP do now. They have a monthly image competition. Photographers can add a single image for free and add more if they wish. It has brought members together commenting on each others work in a positive way and spurs people on to get involved. Jeff says some people ask what they get from the BIPP. He says the key is you get out what you put in. There is now a BIPP podcast, an active Facebook group a legal advice team, public liability insurance for members, a resources library (for your businesses) and more. The membership also gives you membership to the FEP which is the Federation of European Photographers and a membership of over 50,000 photographers. Being such a large organisation they have a strong voice.
There are two membership levels. Active membership and non-active membership. The non-active is for those who were in business, no longer work in photography or have retired, but want to remain part of the organisation.

 

Marcus asks where Jeff sees commercial photography at the moment, he says there are more professional photographers than there ever have been. But there is also more demand than there ever has been. Businesses no longer just get photographers in once or twice a year, they get them in much more regularly to feed the demand for social media images.
Most competition is at the bottom end of the market which is very price sensitive. These photographers are generalists. So Jeff says the best thing you can do as a photographer to get out of this, is to get a niche, become a specialist, build a brand and put your prices up. There are people out there willing to pay for photography. To get that work you need to niche, build your brand and look high end. So provide a first class service, understand your customers need. And the bottom end of the market isn’t going to get any easier with the likes of AI.

Jeff says there is huge amount of automation in many fields like car plants and farms. But there are still lots of people in these areas and it is the same with photography, it will always need people. Remember that taking the photographs is only one part of the story. We need to ensure we explain the rest of this story to potential clients to show the value we provide. Jeff says some images on social are clearly AI or AI altered and aren’t as realistic as proper photos and do not get as much engagement on social. For events like weddings a person will always be needed to capture the event.
Marcus thinks that a photographer selling ideas is the future, not just an image. Jeff says this is a great idea, providing videos and other extras with a photoshoot adds value. Jeff is very confident about the future of photography. But he says it’s important to remember to look at your business and remember that the image is only one part of the service you provide.