Ishola on Friday said that the advent of smart phones with quality camera features and applications (apps), has turned photography more into a hobby for millions of people worldwide rather than a profession.
He said that those who had taken photography as a hobby were beginning to give professional photographers a run for their money.
Ishola was speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ahead of the World Photography Day usually observed on Aug.19.
He said that it was hard for photographers not to be threatened with the invention of smart phones.
“Smart phones have not only changed the way we make photos, but also the meaning and purpose of photography itself.
“ Now you can take quality pictures conveniently with your smart phone.
“Millions of people have taken up photography as a creative hobby with the emergence of smart phones.
“The ability to show your images to the world through such smart phones’ platforms as the Instagram, Facebook has made mobile photography an incredibly vibrant genre.
“A few years ago, I might have taken the world’s greatest photo, but it would be destined to sit unseen on my hard drive and of no relevance.
“Suddenly, thanks to the social media platforms, photography has a purpose. People have started taking more appealing photos that connect them with complete strangers across the globe.
“And the different apps on smart phones have been used by their owners to release enormous creativity in people who might otherwise never have been involved with photography.
“Several mobile photos are snapshots of daily life: people simply face-booking their lives, taking photos of their birthday parties and lots more, “he said.
Ishola, who is the photographer to major modelling companies, however, said that professional photographers needed not worry about the threat smart phones tend to pose to them.
“I’ll survive in this profession because I have skills, “says Popoola.
“I’m a storyteller in images; my compositions are better than what is usually proposed by most people’s smart phones, “he said.
“Just because you have got a sophisticated smart phone with quality camera does not make you a photo-writer.
“And just because you have got an Instagram app on your phone does not make you a great photographer.
“There are some techniques and tricks you learn in the school of photography that you can never have when using a mobile phone.
“Though, mobile phones have become a major threat to mainstream photography, I still believe that photography as a profession is up to the task of competing, “he said.
NAN also reports that another versatile photographer, Ifeanyi Oputa, had advised the association of photographers to sponsor a bill at the National Assembly on how to properly regulate and sanitise the industry in the country.
Oputa also said that professional photographers needed such an association backed by law to protect their intellectual property from illegal proliferation by pirates.
He said that since photographers do not have pension anywhere, they needed laws that would protect them and government’s financial assistance to empower them.
“Photograph is a money making venture, it is only in Nigeria that people do not see the potential.
“We cannot do it alone. We need the support of government to be able to empower youth with laws guiding it to back it up,’’ he said.
“We need to get what we are doing right, so that the people we are targeting will enjoy the benefits.’’
He said that young people growing up had been left to fend for themselves; and in doing so they had been left to look up to people with shady characters as their role models.
“The society over time has presented gangsters and criminals as role models for our youths.
“People look down on vocational skills, but we need to correct this impression and restore them to where they really belong. So, when the youths are empowered they will make reasonable income.
“This is why we need the bill because if we are crafting the future, we need to be careful,’’ Oputa said.
He added, “If there are laws in place and photographers get more organized and strong; they can raise funds to train and retrain themselves, to improve on their skills,’’ he said.(NAN)
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