How professional photographers engage with and resist digital platform work

Abstract

While there is emerging research on the motivations of workers who engage with specific digital platforms, scant attention has been afforded to the contours of the digital economy as they affect workers in occupational or professional contexts. Drawing on interviews with 51 Australian photographers, the authors examined the extent to which, and why, photographers engage with or resist digital platform work. The photographic profession is an ideal context in which to examine such questions due to the fragmentation of the workforce and the recent proliferation of platforms. The findings revealed that the level of worker engagement is explained by platform control over price, service and product quality, and relationship management. The experiences of self-employed, freelance workers complicate our understanding of work afforded by digital platforms. Engaging with the political economy surrounding freelance creative labour, the study enables a richer theorisation of the experiences of platform-generated work in this context.