Becoming a camera brand ambassador is the dream of a lot of photographers, representing a certain echelon of professional status and of course, meaning you get to use a lot of expensive top-end gear without having to pay for the privilege. However, this photographer made it into the ambassador program of a major brand and then decided to leave it, and this enlightening video features him discussing why he made the decision.
Coming to you from Mitchell Kanashkevich, this interesting video essay discusses why he decided to leave Panasonic's ambassador program. Being offered an ambassador position by a major brand can be one of the most exciting moments in a creative's career, but Kanashkevich gives us a rare glimpse at the other side of things, and I think it is really important to see, particularly as it provides a more balanced look at things. I was especially intrigued by his discussion of the politics at play. As he pointed out, companies do not just give ambassadors free rein all the time; they want to see a return on their investments, and as such, you may find your creative impulses stifled or pushed in directions you would rather not see them go. Check out the video above for the full story from Kanashkevich.
9 Comments
You show all stills, and then condemn Lumix for Autofocus in Video? Good Luck with Sony. I have Three systems, Nikon Z6, G9, and Fuji X100V, I use them all, but my Favorite is the G9 and all the lens's!
Of course you miss that 100% of this presentation was done as video. All the text was done by FStoppers in support of the video.
Authentic Ambassador programs do not give anything away for free. You get invited to take part once you are already using the brand by your own choice, not to get 'free stuff'. You might then get a really good deal on other purchases but a genuine Ambassador should have skin in the game.
This is a photographer I never heard of before, and I don’t shoot with either system, so I have no dog in this fight. My impressions: It’s not a camera company’s job to give you projects. Part of why they want to work with you is what YOU bring to the table in creativity. So he seems to have his nose out of joint over something that wasn’t their problem to begin with. It also sounds like he was sort of betwixt and between in terms of what region he was representing. This should have been clearly spelled out and understood by both parties. It sounds like it wasn’t entirely clear. Third, fine if he changes system so be it. It’s sour grapes and unprofessional to make a video all about why someone else’s products are better, after accepting free gear and having his profile raised by the first brand. I can see how no other company would ever reach out to him to do an ambassadorship again, because who knows when he might become disenchanted and air dirty laundry on THEM? His work seems good but I can’t respect this person as a professional in the photography world.
Well I lasted 5:22, not even half way as I totally lost interest in whatever he had to say.
They dated for a while and broke up, because expectations were not being met. That's life...
I found this video interesting. He has good reasons. I liked how he sympathised with his former colleagues and his "employer".
Not sure you will ever find your way onto another (future) Ambassadorship, but as you said, not a priority. I liked the way you laid it all out, watched till the end. The stills you flashed up were an instant 'SUBSCRIBE' from me. Good luck to you.
Although the title stressed that this was about "one photographer", I was hoping for something that gave more general information about the pros and cons of being an ambassador. Instead, it was just one photographer's personal story. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, but I was hoping for something a bit different. Miguel Quiles did a video on the subject a while back, which I enjoyed very much.
When I’ve read similar pieces over the years, it’s clear that each company plays this differently, and some have done major overhauls. I know Fuji did this with their X ambassador program bc the quality of who they’d chosen wasn’t what it should have been. Even today, the ambassadors for pretty much every company are overwhelmingly white men, even internationally, so the kind of content they feature is similarly limited to what interests only part of the theoretical market. They all need to think a lot more about who is representing their brand and what sort of work they’re helping support. And I’m so not the social justice type, but I still feel they should be dipping from a deeper well.