The Art and Business of Photography is a new title from Allworth Press. Written by seasoned professional photographer Susan Carr, the 256-page paperback offers both a detailed history of the photography business and of-the-moment advice about the profession today. Illustrated with 30 black-and-white photographs, this comprehensive guide provides “essential information about the photographer’s legal and business concerns, and explains the difficult balance between maintaining a successful business and pursuing creative, non-commercial photography work”. The book is available for pre-order at $19.95 via the website below.

Website: Allworth Press

Allworth Press Release

“Where Did The Clients Go?” Authoritative Guide Explains the Challenges and Rewards of Professional Photography Today

The Art and Business of Photography
By Susan Carr

Seasoned professional photographer Susan Carr thought at first that the Internet revolution was to blame for the industry’s shrinking client pool. But, as she explains in her new book The Art and Business of Photography, she soon realized that that larger forces were at work — namely, advertisers’ and media outlets’ shrinking budgets.

“A light bulb went off for me,” says Carr. “The economic model I built my entire business on was falling apart.” Carr, the education director and former president of the American Society of Media Photographers, describes how she had to reboot her twenty-year-old photography business several times due to dramatic changes in the industry.

In The Art and Business of Photography, Carr offers both a detailed history of the industry and of-the-moment advice about the profession today. Her comprehensive guide provides essential information about the photographer’s legal and business concerns, and explains the difficult balance between maintaining a successful business and pursuing creative, noncommercial photography work. Both aspiring and established photographers can draw inspiration from three photo essays, as well as interviews from eleven top photographers, including Ken Hawkins, Barbara Karant, and Gail Mooney.

In this book readers will learn about:

• How to integrate artistic expression and business savvy
• How to find clients and future prospects
• Licensing in the new economy
• The new professional photographer
• Business management, marketing, and sales
• How to improve your craft
• Fostering creativity and openness
• How to balance both personal, noncommercial photography and a professional photography career

With equipment checklists, inspirational photo essays from prominent photographers, industry resource lists, and detailed charts illustrating essential legal and business issues, The Art and Business of Photography will help any budding photographer develop both creative abilities and business acumen.

“[The] persistence to start or maintain careers in this industry that I see in so many of my colleagues inspired me to write this book,” says Carr. “I hope to provide the information and practical resources necessary for photographers to find the delicate balance of art and business.”

Susan Carr is a Chicago-based photographer and has been in the business for more than twenty years. Her photographs are included in corporate and private collections, most notably the Pfizer Corporation and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. A former president of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Carr has long been dedicated to the advocacy and education of fellow photographers and currently serves as education director at ASMP. She is the editor of ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, Seventh Edition (Allworth Press).

The Art and Business of Photography
By Susan Carr
Allworth Press, $24.95, 6 x 9, 256 pages
Paperback, ISBN 978-158115-759-8
Publication Date: February 2011

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