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Why the value of still images is collapsing It’s that old supply-and-demand thing. The supply of digital images is way, way up. At the same time, advertising in magazines and newspapers is sinking. If you want to continue earning a living at something you already do, it’s helpful if your trade is difficult to do and expensive to get started. Photography during the film-era was this way. Every time I pushed the shutter-button a couple of bucks flew out the window. Now the cost of getting into the pro photography game is virtually nothing (aside from the cost of the camera, the computer, the software, the training… still a relatively low investment for what you’re able to accomplish). I’m grateful that HDSLR cinematography is expensive and problematic right now. The Trib Is Dead. Long Live The Trib. For several generations, ads in magazines and newspapers were the leading consumer of commercial stills. Sorry Charlie, those days are gone. Today advertisers are increasingly moving their efforts over to web-based campaigns. It’s not personal. It’s demographics. OK. So that means that it is personal. The web, with it’s ability to provide instantaneous feedback to advertisers enables those spending the ad bucks to target their message exactly where it needs to be within minutes. For an ad placed in the wrong magazine, the response time is measured in weeks or months. Print advertising is plummeting (stats here). It’s not the economy, stupid. It’s the medium. Check out MagazineDeathPool if you’re not already a regular reader. Now is not be the time to launch a career as a magazine shooter.