Marissa Mayer Archives - Rettew Creative

Marissa Mayer: Defining The Profession of Photography

The profession of photography took a huge hit on Monday. Well…let’s just say that highly acclaimed Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer clearly defined something I have been pondering for a long time.

If you look at the picture above, she said these words exactly during a press conference on Monday. Yahoo made a few announcements specifically the acquisition of Tumblr and the release of the new Flickr. Tumblr is a popular blogging platform and Flickr is a popular photo sharing social outlet.

Below is the response from a question posed by a Fast Company writer during Monday’s press conference:

“There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro because today, with cameras as pervasive as they are, there’s no such thing, really, as professional photographers when there’s everything that’s professional photographers. Certainly there’s varying levels of skills but we didn’t want to have a Flickr Pro anymore. We wanted everyone to have professional quality photo space and sharing.” – Marissa Mayer, May 2013″

Here is the video to listen to the response in context with the question posed from Fast Company.

I get it…we live in a age of cameras everywhere. I just returned from my vacation in New York and I was surrounded by people all around me taking pictures with iPhones, Droids, professional digital SLRs, pro-sumer digital SLRs, and so on. We live in a time with the pervasiveness of capturing and sharing pictures.

I did not take my professional Canon camera to New York. I did not want to carry around a bulky camera while walking with my wife all over city. My iPhone 5 did a wonderful job capturing images then allowing me to immediately upload the images to Flickr.

Here is one of those images:

It looks great and I think I am going to have it printed and hung in my office. Is it perfect…no! Could I have done a better job with my DSLR…yes. We have access to these technological tools and a price that allows the masses to capture beautiful images. Am I a professional photographer or videographer, well…yes. But…no. I do not consider myself a photographer, videographer, or any term that connects me directly with technology. I consider myself a photojournalist.

I was a journalist at one time working for news outlets all over the country. The I feel word photographer defines a person based on the technology used to capture images. I want to move away from that stigma…I want to associate with the idea of craft…the craft of capturing and telling stories regardless of the technology used to achieve that goal.

As I was standing on the boat taking the picture above with my iPhone 5, there was a guy with a Canon 1Dx. As I was watching him capture his images, I could tell…he was an individual that had not spent a lot of time around a SLR or DSLR. He had over $7000.00 in his hand as he was running around madly holding the shutter down to capture the same image everyone else was capturing with their iPhones. He was holding the shutter and pointing…you could tell there was no clear thought process by the way he was framing the image. Because he has an expensive camera, does that make him professional? Does it make him a professional photographer? Does it make him a photojournalist?

Should we as professionals that use our cameras to perform our jobs and run our businesses take offense to Marissa’s statement? Maybe or maybe not…if you term yourself a professional photographer? If you just take pictures and feel your space is compromised by those who access to these same tools including iPhones…then maybe this will piss you off. But if your craft is to tell stories…you should like the fact the Flickr just extended your account storage to 1 Terabyte. Then, sit back and watch everyone else moan and grown.

If anything…her statement is a statement of the changing in times. The fact more people have access to professional gear and professional editing software brings more value to what I do. There are many that take pictures and capture video…then there are those that believe in a craft of telling stories.

By the way…there has been a lot of backlash online from her statement, here are a few tweets surrounding this conversation:

*Photo credit to SLR Lounge

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite & Melissa Mayer in Socially Responsible Messaging

So when I first watched this commercial…I was first taken in by the little chit chat conversation between a guy and girl. Here the girl has the new Kindle Paperwhite and the guy right beside her had an iPad trying to read in the sun. Any of you iPad owners know…that is nearly impossible with the glare. I have one and I know. But…I am not going to take a device to the beach.

But as the commercial moves along, the little surprise in this commercial is the fact that a new Kindle was just released. The commercial claims the Kindle Paperwhite is smaller and easier to use outside than the iPad, especially in the sun. Yep…we have seen many of these Amazon commercials comparing the Kindle to the iPad, so nothing real new.

But underneath it all, we thought there might be some little conversation that might spark where a guy was using technology to “hit on the girl” beside him. But, our conscience would not allow us to consider the reality of that thought… especially since Amazon is about pushing products.

Guess again. They not only addressed the issue of this seemingly weird conversation where a guy hits on a girl…it turns to an acceptance of the other’s relationship getting them a drink. Both with husbands.

I think this is the first time I have seen a large company like Amazon address an openly controversial topic with such ease and matter of fact. This ad leaves us knowing that both gay and straight individuals are the center point of this new product launch.

From the Inquisitr.com:
“It’s no secret that Jeff Bezos and his wife are strong allies in the fight for marriage equality. Last year, according to Reuters, they donated $2.5 million to the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. Referendum 74 was approved by voters in Washington last November.”

“It’s a bold move for Amazon to take such a big risk when pitching its Kindle PaperWhite to potential buyers, but clearly Amazon thinks the cause of Marriage Equality is worthy of that risk.”

This ad is about business and the commitment to their social responsibility. Amazon is a worldwide brand that serves numerous different communities including those who are gay and support marriage equality. This ad just makes sense especially given the fact that companies like Amazon have an opportunity to become leaders in this multilayered conversation.

From Amazon to Yahoo…these brands are tackling issues right in front of us everyday. From marriage equality to gender equity in the workplace…the conversation is in the forefront and it is time get with the program.

From Harvard Business Review Blog:
“Marissa Mayer is no fool. She didn’t take over as Yahoo’s CEO because the company was doing well; she came on board because the stumbling Internet enterprise was an underperforming underachiever that had lost its way.

“So when Mayer decrees seven months into the job that she wants people to, you know, physically show up at work instead of telecommuting — or else — I’m pretty confident this reflects a data-driven decision more than a cavalier command. In all likelihood, Mayer has taken good, hard looks at Yahoo’s top 250 performers and top 20 projects and come to her own conclusions about who’s creating real value — and how — in her company. She knows who her best people are.”

Whether you agree or disagree with Amazon and Yahoo…the fact of the matter is they are making a statement. And they are leveraging the digital times….because now people are not only talking about these decisions over coffee, they are sharing their thoughts online, in social outlets, and blogs like this.

By the way, the Kindle Paperwhite video was published on YouTube on February 20, 2013 and on March 4, 2012 (12 days later) the video has over 583,000 views. They are not only making a product statement, they are making a social statement and people are consuming.