Another year has passed and, surprisingly, it was not the warmest day of the year on which I have been running the “Jobfester Photographer” workshop for the SK-Stiftung Jugend & Medien for the last few years. That has always been the case in recent years. 2 days with 12 young people between the ages of 15 and 19, in which I teach a few basics, talk about the various training paths and otherwise take lots of photos with the participants. Well, the participants do most of it, I just help them. This year at the Frank Erler studio, who was kind enough to stay the whole time, so that it ended up being a workshop with 2 photographers… thanks again!

I really liked what one of the girls (yes, only young women this time, what was going on, boys?) said at the end of the two days. She said that she wouldn’t do that to herself, spending two days with just teenagers. But I don’t do that to myself, I really like doing it. I could do something like that more often, honestly. However, I always have to be careful not to talk too much about the unpleasant aspects of the job, especially for newcomers. Because you don’t find customers with a good diploma or master craftsman’s certificate, you only win customers through experience. After all, he wants to be sure that he won’t sink the budget. So it’s less about creativity and more about production reliability. However, young people should not be put off by the idea of having to make a living from photography. Who thought at 16 that they would have to think about filling the fridge themselves? And that’s a good thing so far, because it meant the girls could just let off steam with their cameras without having to think about exams, A-levels and everything else that annoys you at that age.

It was also impressive to see where they all came from; Cologne, Remscheid, Koblenz and Duisburg. Anyone who takes on such a journey must really want it, I think. I appreciate that and look forward to seeing you again!