There must be a better way, there must. Right?

Things are broken in a lot of markets. The photography market isn’t immune. As we transition from a product business model into a service model things are going to get ugly. If you need proof just look at the music industry, the journalism industry or any other product turned service in the 21st century.

I’d rather it be better than it be fair

I’m going to be making a lot less money (at least initially) for two reasons.

First I’m fully transitioning into a commercial service– meaning that when clients hire me they own my work. No copyright, no royalties, no terms of use.

Second because my goal isn’t to have the most money, it is to have enough money and have great client experiences. This will mean I’ll say no to projects more often if they don’t fit well with my goals.

I’m working for something bigger

I’m an artist. I produce annual series of fine artwork, this is my contribution to the community and the world. It also happens to be my drive and gives meaning to my life. I’m working commercially to reach a certain monetary goal so that I can work on these art projects that will become my legacy. Once I reach my goal every year I’ll stop taking commercial projects.

Betterness

I owe a lot of my conclusions and decisions to Umair Haque and his work on the Betterness Model.