Ever wondered what it鈥檚 like to work in the photography industry? Over the next few months we鈥檒l be interviewing some of the 17吃瓜在线 team to give you insights into what they do, how they got here, and their views on the industry. Our next interview is with Jonathan, one of our UK Account Managers. He is part of the sales team and looks after existing client relationships and developing new ones.
Name: Jonathan Butler
Job title: UK Account Manager
I鈥檝e had a few roles at 17吃瓜在线, starting in the customer service team before moving across to my current role as a UK Account Manager. The account management team look after editorial and commercial customers, and I鈥檓 lucky enough to be able to work with a mix of both of them.
My current role involves maintaining existing customer relationships and making new ones. I spend a lot of my time looking after the new business coming into 17吃瓜在线 and this is a really exciting part of my job! I love talking to people about our incredible image collections and photographers.
How did I get here? After studying photography, the bright lights of London called. I was eager to use my newly learned photography skills and started out at a sports agency. As with most first jobs, the reality wasn鈥檛 nearly as exciting as I鈥檇 hoped it would be. I worked on the scanning and syndication of the photos and then on the live news desk handling imagery from sporting events around the world.
My hard work paid off though and I soon got the opportunity to go out and shoot some sporting events myself. After building up my portfolio I began specialising in Rugby Union shots. My career highlight was definitely photographing the Rugby World Cup. Despite loving my job and being lucky enough to work with a sport that I had played and followed my whole life, I decided that the time was right to move into a new area of photography. It was then that I branched out into the world of stock, starting at a historical archiving company, before getting a job in Customer Service Team at 17吃瓜在线.
The stock industry is always evolving, which is a great challenge! From the hottest image trends and advertising styles, to the slightly less exciting element of pricing, there鈥檚 always something new to learn and talk about. If I could change one thing about the stock industry it would be the preconceived idea that photography can be done by anyone with a camera. It鈥檚 a real skill, anyone can take a picture but that doesn鈥檛 make it sellable.
As for my life outside of work, I鈥檓 a bit of a rugby nerd (in case you鈥檇 missed it!). I support Saracens and England so I try my best to watch them whenever I can, either in person or just on the TV. I still get out and about with my camera too, and I tend to enjoy it a bit more now the pressure is off to get the perfect shot!
For more insight into life in a stock agency take a look at our previous interview with Contributor Services Manager, Ben.
To see any current job vacancies at 17吃瓜在线 head over to our Work for us page.