Is iIt Possible TO Earn A SIX FIGURE INCOME in Photography ?

I read so much about the over abundance of photographers and photography majors

and the competition. I know several MFA grads who wound up going into teaching

to earn a living because they couldnt otherwise.

My question is, can one earn a six figure income in photography, and which area

of expertise are more profitable ?

I think your real question should be, "Is it possible for a creative and technical person with excellent communication skills to also have the business sense and discipline to run and market a small business that will generate for them a six-figure income?" Because all of that is what's important, and the "photography" part is completely secondary. If you don't have the rest of those bases covered, the photography aspect of it is totally academic. If you DO have all of that covered, even relatively modest photographic talent, you'll still be fine. But most people with a passion for photography turn out to be really bad at raising and maintaining the capital, and doing the paperwork and marketing needed to run a small business. The combination of those business skills and truly top-notch creative and technical talent is VERY rare, and those are the folks who can make as much in that line of work as they might in a more conventional job, or more if they really hustle.

Of course it's possible, but I wonder if those who are doing it set out specifically to earn a six-figure income. I'm betting most of them didn't. To compare using a different business, take real estate agents - many of them are doing poorly while the better ones are cruising along raking in the money. Or entrepreneurship, where somewhere in the range of 90% of startups fail while less than 10% survive, and of those perhaps 3% really thrive. The key is having the business sense to adapt and excel IMO.

"Is it possible for a creative and technical person with excellent communication skills to also have the business sense and discipline to run and market a small business that will generate for them a six-figure income?"

Very good point Matt, your right, most "artists" are horrific business people!

<i>can one earn a six figure income in photography</i><p>As long as a couple figures are after the decimal point, sure.<p><i>which area of expertise are more profitable ?</i><p>That depends on how you look at it. If you figure on being at the top of the heap, there are a number of areas that will do it, but you have to stay at the top. If you are not that talented, and we are not speaking about strictly photographic talent, things like product photography, executive portraits, fashion, and a few other areas will give you decent pay but not necessarily what you are looking for.<p>You should also think about what the top photographers do. Although they collaborate, art directors and clients typically call the shots. What you really have to do is be able to work with anyone, be able to improvise in the studio, have total understanding and control of lighting, and deliver the goods. You also have to be able to work with slow-paying clients, getting your money without pissing them off if they are going to give you more work. Here's an example of the kind of things you have to go through - I did a product shoot about a week ago. We (me and assistant) spent about 20% of the time lugging boxes up and down stairs, unpacking the boxes, repacking the boxes. We spent about 30% of the time improvising ways to make the product stand up, fill out, whatever it took to make it look right. We spent about 10% of the time setting up lights and getting exposure right. We spent about 20% of the time setting up products, changing angles, and making one or two creative decisions. The remaining 20% of the time was spent looking through the viewfinder and snapping one after another. The part that really pushed our creative skills was getting the products to stand up and fill out without the equipment being used showing. By the way, this pays far better than the stuff I really enjoy shooting, like live events.<p>I go through all this so that you understand professional photography isn't about running around with your camera shooting the kind of stuff you are displaying on the web. Other aspects of photography are similarly not what you might expect. A good friend who is a celebrity photographer spends more time waiting than anything else, and a lot of time uploading every night after a shoot. The real satisfaction in the business of photography usually comes from a happy client, not the act of snapping.

I think it is possible. But you had better have a lot of skill, no life outside of work, and no "I'll shoot this, but I won't shoot that" issues.

 

If you are looking to make $100,000/yr, there are many easier ways to do it.

"Very good point Matt, your right, most "artists" are horrific business people!"

 

Most business people are horrific business people. Very few of us have the talent or knack

and discipline to do it well.

 

Is it possible to make a lot of money as a photographer certainly, but it doesn't happen

overnight, and I know this to be true even of incredibly talented hard working , connected

people who were lucky enough to be bankrolled early on either through birth or marriage.

 

Also it's not just a matter of making the money --it's keeping the money that is the hard

part for most photographers as it is for most people. And you have to learn how to make

your money make money on its own.

 

Finally you have to look closely at the historic numbers. Not just the dollars but also how

long many photographers stay in the business. The work is hard and the burn out factor is

high.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes274021.htm

i know several photos doing $250K in small towns in the NW.

 

taking the picture is only 1% of your job.

It's really easy as long as you don't worry about where the decimal point is. ;-)

It IS possible, but not easy. You really have to hustle and be where the money is. Most photographers do not do that well.

"Most business people are horrific business people. Very few of us have the talent or knack and discipline to do it well."

 

And I, for one, pray that never changes. It's how I'm able to afford photography for a hobby.

 

Joel Berry, CPA - Sugar Land, Texas

I do better than just 6 figures, have lots of time to enjoy life and love what I do. I am also very

creative about marketing and *very* forward thinking in terms of out smarting the changing

markets. Hint: Getty no likey my market penetration..:-)

I can't add much to the excellent responses of Matt, Jeff and Ellis, except to say after talking with several local professionals and several photographers at festivals, fairs, etc, I'm keeping my photography a personal endeavor to work into a small business as time and resouces permit. But then I'm like a lot of other photographers and have a real income to pay the bills and such, and bail out the photography side.

 

It seems from the documentaries I've seen of some top photographers, you can earn a six-figure income but at a price of your time not photographing (business and assciated work) and maybe family (long hours or away on shoots). It's the choices you make.

<i>I go through all this so that you understand professional photography isn't about running around with your camera shooting the kind of stuff you are displaying on the web.</i>

<p>

Very true, but there are a few exceptions such as this

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/statement.html">travel and nature photographer</a> :-)

Absolutely- Have passion for life and what you do. Learn good business , value your work. Set goals and steer clear of negative people. If someone tells you -you can't do it- it only means they can't do it. It's not as hard as you think. Work hard, be creative, enthusiastic, productive, love what you do and it will show in your work, rise above the crowd. We live in a world of instant worldwide global communication along with huge leaps in artistic creative control. There has never neen a better time in history to be a happy and successful photographer.

Wow, great answers people. THANKS!

Daniel and Randy nailed it. You don't even have to shoot boxes if it's not your thing.

The point is that it has always been very difficult to take home six-figures in this business

at all, ever. Today, it is impossible to make a six-figure income as a photographer unless

one holds oneself to high professional standards, pushes the work to the highest level

they can, knows the market, values their work and negotiates with their own best interests

in mind, nurtures professional relationships, networks, carefully considers what actuallly

constitutes effective marketing techniques for their particular business, focuses on high

grade customer service, etc., etc. It also helps immeasurably if they are charismatic,

gregarious, and make an effort to get friendly with their clients face to face (without

getting walked on in business negotiations).

 

Due to technological advances, the barriers to entry are low for making nominally

marketable/publishable work, and the notion of being a "published photographer" is held

in far too high esteem by amateurs. So, we are going to see more and more amateurs,

well-funded retirees, etc. (that is, people who don't rely on photography for their

livelihood) entering the market, and selling just enough to undermine the market for many

full-time professionals.

 

I'll never understand why anyone would want a photo credit in a magazine so badly that

they would sell their work for a song.

 

If you want to reliably make six figures as a photographer, prolifically produce highly

marketable work, register copyright in every image you ever expose to the market, and

then aggressively pursue the inevitable copyright infringements. You'll make far more

from the settlements and damages awards than you'll ever make from normal fees.

If money is your primary issue, I'd suggest you rethink your career choice. Not because you can't make 100K, frankly, it's easy to make 100K. As a matter of fact, I'd say the amount of money you can make is limitless in this business. However, if you're already looking in the stands before the ball even crosses the plate, you're not going to hit any home runs.

 

I can tell you from experience, it's far easier to make a great living doing something you love so much you'd do it for free than it is to barely scrape by doing something you hate.

>>> My question is, can one earn a six figure income in photography, <<<

 

Yes.

 

>>> and which area of expertise are more profitable? <<<

 

Business expertise.

 

WW

pretty good answers here. I assume you want to clear 6 figures, not have gross sales of

that amount. Mostly everything that was said was true. One thing you you should do is

take advice from qualified sources. Those that are truly making it in the business. On

another forum the few pros that are there constantly offer their advice only to be told they

are wrong by amateurs. It's like anything else you do, surround yourself with successful

people and ignore the losers. I will caution you that photography attracts a lot egos and I

have found a lot of Pros will tell you how much they charge and how much they make but

many are exagerating. Many will tell you they make 250k or more a year but that turns out

to be their gross and their net is way lower.

When I started this business my goal was to make $100K. Most people told me it wasn't

going to happen. I have aggressively networked with successful photographers that

through lots of questions I deemed to be telling the truth and were successful. I will tell

you it's an extremely small percentage that actually clear $100K. I've talked to people that

tell me they make 6 figures, but then I find out it's a husband and wife team which really

means they only make 50K.But once you get there you will find a whole different group

who think differently than most photographers.

I am one of the few that clears 100k with no employees and I will tell you it's hard to do

solo. I figure I might be able to make 130 to 150K, but after that I will need employees.

Everyone here is correct about knowing how to run a business. I put far more effort and

time into the business end than most photographers. Photographing acually only occupies

about 5% of my time, The rest is devoted to the business end.

I used to teach a course at The New School on the business of freelancing (also wrote a book on same subject) and on the first day of class I would ask, "Who in this room thinks of themselves as a businessman or woman?"

 

If three or four hands went up that was a lot. As previous posters have said, earning money is no different than in many other professions. An advanced degree in science, law or medicine gives you the potential to earn money, but is no guarantee. As the pendulum swings from science to art things get a little squirrely because of the conflict between self-expression and business.

 

Some people are lucky and follow their hearts and the money follows. The average photographer has as much chance of that happening as the average kid on the street making the NBA. Smart business models can be found throughout the industry, we just have to follow them.

Hey Gary:

I looked at your site and see your from Yonkers? Wow we're neighbors, I live in Scarsdale.