When you become a professional photographers, you can take one of two general paths: a specialist with a focused approach to a single genre and/or style, or a jack of all trades who can competently tackle a wide variety of jobs, if not quite at the level of a specialist in each area. So, which is right for you? This helpful video essay features an experienced commercial photographer discussing the pros and cons of both approaches to help you decide.
Coming to you from Scott Choucino with Tin House Studio, this great video essay discusses the pros and cons of being a specialist or generalist as a professional photographer. Of course, the appeal of being a generalist is that you will at least be considered for many more jobs, and if you are someone who gets bored easily, you get the benefit of switching up your work quite a bit. On the other hand, a specialist, by virtue of their approach, is more likely to distinguish themselves from their peers simply because their singular focus allows them to really hone and push their craft to a very high level. Furthermore, some creatives enjoy that pursuit of narrow perfection more than being very good at a lot of things. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Choucino.
