Conor E. Ralph

And I think photography that was a little different or had new ideas really stood out. I think the big trap of photography right now is everyone just absorbs each others idea and recreates them. It’s all very mechanical, someone sees a photo they like on the internet or Instagram and then goes out and makes their version of it. It’s quite bizarre, it’s like modern photography is a series of memes. So nowadays it’s really hard to stand out or make new unique work. I got really lucky timing wise, I got to work on some pretty big projects very young. Which I think is important to make stuff when you are young, your energy is different, the way you see and think about the world is so much different, your filter for bullshit is different, you really pour your whole heart into things, it’s very pure. But you are also naive about everything which is good and bad, the work comes from a better place, but the understanding of the industry is not quite there. There are lots of politics involved and when I was a twenty four or twenty five year old kid, I definitely burned some bridges by being a bit too “strong willed”, but your live and you learn. Now I feel much more “professional” which is valuable. I’ve been on so many big shoots, I know the expectations, I know how to behave on set. I think a lot of people don’t realize the pressure on set and making all these creative decisions you have to make on the fly with other people’s money. People assume, it’s just a very easy job, taking pictures, and in some regards it is, but there is much more to it. Wow, this is getting a bit long winded. But basically what I would say to people who really want to be a career photographer, is make sure you really want to do it, when you love something really deeply and then you have to turn it into something to generate an income, it can change your relationship with it and it will probably never be the same, because when you have to put yourself and your work out there and when it gets rejected or you don’t get hired it can feel very personal. Secondly, just make the work you want to make, take the photos you want to see. Don’t pay attention to what is trendy or try to make work that you think will get you hired, because at the end of the day, if you get the job or not, you have to live with and love your own work, if you are making stuff that you don’t care about, it is usually pretty apparent in the work. So I always tell people who ask for advice, just work on a project that makes you excited. That was a big “aha moment” for me as well, after school and suddenly there are no more assignments and all parameters are gone, you can just go out and make whatever you want to see in the world. That is what is so beautiful about art, the ability to envision something and then make it.