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Getting Your Photography Content
I read a lot about photography and I found out that the further I extend my knowledge, the more I step outside of the box and away from my comfort zone. What’s important though is that the actual reading never surpasses the amount of time spent on shooting which is essential so as to put in practice what you’re learning.
It’s also fair to say that I write about photography a little but from my experience, very few of the content I take in is acquired from magazines.
At best, the most interaction I have with them comes from routine visits to Barnes & Noble when I know new issues will be put out but I hardly ever make a purchase. Not to say I don’t consider their content worthy of any compensation but the ones I’m mostly attracted to (Practical Photography, Digital SLR Photography and Digital Photographer) are all UK-based publications which means they’re rather expensive in the states.
Their budget for producing these magazines must be massive because they bare no expense in ensuring you get your money’s worth in every edition. Like any other publication, they’re all heavily packed with advertising, but don’t let that fool you because what makes them effective and unobtrusive is that they are all relevant. I always walk away with a minimum of 5 URLs I’ve written down of products that were advertised and post them to Fotovine.
Wired’s recent Magazine App for iPad has had heads turning and I would love to see that same advance towards digital publishing adopted by others especially if it involved any of these 30 Photography Magazines. I think that’s probably what it would take for me to actually purchase a magazine again.
Until then, I have a plethora of blogs to supply me with a diverse reading list of photography content with some of the most influential ones being Digital Photo Experience, PetaPixel and of course The Digital Photography School.
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This Thing with Magazines
For as long as we have coffee tables, people will always find things to occupy that empty space with and towards the end of the month, a magazine is what you will find on mine. It’s interesting to think if people can still develop a relationship with magazines because our gratification from picking one up at a bookstore can either be instant or worthless so if you subscribe to one, you’re saying that you discovered more than just “surface level” content worth reading.
I’ve cut down my magazine subscription to just one (Wired Magazine) and I purposely don’t unwrap it until I’m sure I’m going to dedicate my time reading it as much as I do a good book or blog. Sitting quietly to dim lights and a soothing beverage sets the tone for a clear purpose to read. You recite the word’s silently to pull out more value in the them, you digest the grammar and you scribble notes to reference passages that set off ideas to further analyze.
In a sense, magazines are very comparable to people - they each posses a certain oddity and quality that put together who they are and while not all publications resonate with everyone, there’s one that manages to slip in a special spot that creates this new way of thinking for you.
Perhaps it sounds a little too philosophical but I’ve manage to follow this reasoning when buying magazines or anything that requires for me to set some time to read. Some pieces just warrant browsing while others are to be lost in thought with. I don’t consider myself a scholar in any specific discipline but there’s nothing more impactful that an article offering perspective and amplifying on a topic you thought you knew all about already.
One Pet Peeve
I have to say that the one aspect of reading magazines that drives me crazy is that I can’t always seem to be satisfied with what’s written and correct me if I’m wrong but I think it’s something that anyone involved in a “creating profession” goes through.
You finish an article and can’t seem to move on because now you start paying attention to what font was used, how it was laid out, what color palette was implemented, the depth-of-field in the photograph if any and all these elements that add value to what you just read become equally amplified in importance.
So yes, call me crazy but I think about all these little things when opening up a magazine that I receive which is why I like to think I’ve establish a relationship already with it; hence the time I like to set aside to enjoy it.
