Photographer and teacher Todd Bigelow is a little upset, although at first glance it might appear to be a little confusing as to why. As a teacher of The Business of Photography, at various universities , Todd has received many emails and letters of thanks from those students who have had the opportunity to learn from his wisdom. While initially quite the little ego boost, Todd became concerned when he started to dig a little deeper into why the students were thanking him, and it took on a significantly more worrisome meaning.
The man has a point.
You might say, “Well, if they want to go freelance, they should do a business degree instead”, but if the universities aren’t teaching photography students how to go it alone and with rapidly increasing numbers of employers turning their backs on degrees in favour of innate talent and experience, one has to wonder what type of student the universities intend these courses for, and what good is the degree at all? There are, of course, going to be exceptions to Todd’s observations, both in the USA and around the rest of the world, but with the rising costs of further education and the demand for photographers to work for as little as possible, this obviously isn’t a sustainable situation. You can read the full open letter, along with a short update, over on Todd’s website. Todd Bigelow is a California based editorial photographer who has shot for some of the world’s leading publications, including TIME, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, People and ESPN. Two decades of experience in the freelance world have allowed him to teach many courses on the Business of Photography at UCLA, University of Arizona, Brooks Institute of Photography and many other establishments throughout the US.
