“Social media has made everyone a photographer to a certain extent. You can look at that as a negative – why would a business need a photographer if you can just do it yourself? Or you can look at it as an extreme positive – now there’s a whole generation of ordinary people – not designers or professional photographers themselves, that speak the language of photography. Even ten years ago we didn’t look at as many photographs daily as we do now. We respond to photography in a far more emotional way than we did a few years ago. A single picture can go viral in a day, an arresting image can generate thousands of sales or enquiries or draw the whole world’s attention to a cause, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg of what photography is capable of. That is always going to be valuable, no matter how many millions of people are uploading their own pictures every day,”

Simon has applied this philosophy to his work with the University of Copenhagen. His striking, billboard-sized images on the side of the university itself are designed to sharpen up the visual identity of the institution, and ensured that a freelancer became an integral part of the team. This type of “dream gig”, where the photographer works with quality clients, and is able to express their own creativity and ideas, while enhancing the reputation and value of a business, is the standard of work that many millennial photographers aspire to. Consistently working in this way, and being regularly approached for this type of work requires a certain dedication and mindset. Simon claims it is important to not only take great images, but to really devote oneself to the clients’ needs taking the time to understand what makes them tick as human beings.

“Photographers aren’t just photographers any more. We have to think like designers, we need to network to understand our clients and speak that visual language that everyone on social media communicates in, which changes all the time. Our audience is more sophisticated than ever, they are aware of trends in a short space of time, and they can tell when something is derivative or inauthentic. It’s challenging and the process of learning is never-ending. However, the ability to bring multiple skills and channels of knowledge to your work with a brand or business, is the secret formula to constantly working with your ideal clients.”

You can view and find out more about Simon’s work on his website https://www.skipperphotography.dk/about