drumming practice c1960
Toronto. In November, 2003, we had the privilege of hearing well known photographer, the late Paul Hoeffler, talk about his experiences as a youth photographing jazz musicians in the Rochester area. Back then, Paul knew and photographed many once celebrated jazz musicians.
Later, he made many large high quality prints from his negatives. Paul’s was a cautionary tale. Doing photography for a client and being paid was a very positive experience. However; trying to sell high quality prints to others long after the shoot proved to be very difficult.
Studios took portraits only on demand and rarely printed such works before payment in hopes someone else would buy the prints. In fact, very few people were willing to pay the price asked for high quality, large size photographs of celebrities. Going to a live show and photographing the musicians in action, hoping to print and sell the laboriously created photos later, was a huge gamble for any photographer.
Over the years, many professional photographers presenting to us have noted payment or commissions up front were good but unsolicited sales were a challenge – be they to individuals, or media like magazines, newspapers, etc.
