Photographer Jim Pickerell has his own ideas about the future of his profession. The days of adventure on the road, capturing special moments and selling the photo's later on, is over. In the digital age there is no more respect for the photographer's intellectual property and so photographers should be looking out for a new business model. Jim proposes that the best 'new' business model for the digital age comes from the time of Michelangelo: working under a patron or on a commission basis.

"Frankly, I think many people, and particularly those who grew up with the Internet, believe that all creative work should be immediately placed in the public domain for the benefit of all. What’s a Photographer to Do? Given the changes in society’s mores, what kind of jobs will there be for professional photographers in the future? I really think that those interested in taking pictures as a career may need to focus entirely on commissioned work. Some companies will need someone who is always on call to produce certain images the organization needs. Such staff jobs, though limited in number, will continue to be available. For the self-employed photographer, there will be weddings, family or business portraits, event coverage, contractors who need progress photographs of new buildings, fashion, and so forth. There will also be some news coverage — although in the future a lot of that is likely to be supplied by amateurs. The idea of taking pictures on speculation and showing them to potential customers, or trying to resell second rights to images created on a commissioned job, is becoming a thing of the past. Producing pictures in expectation that the costs of production will be covered by many users, each paying a small share of the cost, is becoming an unworkable model. So, photographers, I suggest you focus on work where your price for the project is agreed upon up front, and an advance paid.

When your work is delivered, the customer will receive all rights to do whatever he wants with it — except control its use. No one apparently has that right anymore."

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What do you think of Jim's vision?