The dividing factor is that Russel got a break. Mario Testino got a break, even Anne Leibovitz got a break. I wished many photographers would spend a little more time networking HARD and a little less on worrying about what Nikon is making or what Canon is making.

My uncle is an extremely big movie producer and every project my company reaches out to him to shoot his promotional work. We get tons of run around and we are actually very good and would probably shoot his promotional work for free simply for the exposure. We see him all the time and its always the same blah blah. I soon learned that you wont be handed anything in these big time entertainment jobs, and you must humble yourself and approach big clients humbly and strategically. We do this and we are allowed to now network and big strong relationships with some pretty big names in fashion and motion pictures.  Every phone call and email is a humbling process because you are just looking for that one person that believes in your work.  The problem is that many people that are given a shot, forget what its like to claw your way into a big meeting. My uncle received his from Spike Lee, and the rest is history.  I wait for mine, and in the meantime we shoot the best we can in the most unique way we can. Beyond all of this we work on selling ourselves with humility and confidence mixed at the same time.

Photographers are a dime a dozen now. We are not that unique anymore due to the rapid spread of education and technique, thus we can no longer run around like we are the only people that know how to do this. Dark rooms are no longer the norm nor learning curve that separated the photographers from the fauxtographers.

I recommend you all shoot, keep shooting, and keep knocking and asking. Someone is a fan of your work. Keep in mind some of your fans may be your broke friends and not American Vogue. 

Many of you wont ever make a lot of money from your art simply because you are not connected to the right people. This may seem sad and unfair but it is the truth. Being connected and given a chance is vital. There are so many good photographers world wide, its very difficult to stand out and yet be seen by those that can PAY for your stand out qualities.

I suggest many photographers spend just as much time networking as they do shooting.