WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE?

It’s a question Michael is often asked in his role as a provider of photographic course materials for the Open College of the Arts

What’s the best advice you could give to someone wanting to be a pro photographer?

You have to be original. There’s a huge diet of imagery so in order to stand out – and you have to stand out in order to be employed – you have to show some form of originality. You can do this in basically three ways: the first is content. Go and photograph something that no one else has had access to. The second is to treat subjects in a way that is original and skilful. The third is conceptual, to have an idea behind what you are doing so stimulates the audience to think. People see so many pictures. They are only going to be attracted to those that make them stop for a moment.