Travel Photography

[nicolewhitephotography]

Hello,

 

Any advice on getting into this industry? I have searched the Internet for

months and found a few great sites - although the best advice usually comes

from these forums.

 

Nic :-)

[jan_bremnes]

By "getting into this industry", do you mean how to make a living as a travel photographer or how to photograph while traveling?

 

If you meant how you can become a professional travel photographer, I would guess the way to go would be for you to travel, take a lot of pictures, sort out the best ones and send them to whoever employs travel photographers and see if they're interested in hiring you.

 

If you want to know how to photograph while traveling, I can't help you as I've been searching the internet for tips for about the same amount of time as you. I've come to the conclusion that I won't learn anything from just reading it on the internet, so I've bought a cheap and used camera on eBay, that I wont be afraid of loosing or using, and if I do loose, I can easily afford a new one. This camera I plan to learn inside & out, so that I know just how it will respond in any given situation, and so that I can use it without thinking. Hopefully I will achieve this before I go backpacking around Europe for a month this summer, and if any of the pictures I hopefully will be taking, turn out any good, I'll share my experiences with you, if you still need advice on that point.

[jeffpolaski]

Gradually. And don't quit your day job.

[tara_photography]

If you want a step by step and honest opinion see this man who does exactly what you are referring too and has 2 books out on the subject aswell

 

http://www.danheller.com/

[matt_borengasser]

I've been thinking about the same thing and decided to give up on the prospect now before I become disillusioned or fail. Why?

 

Well, now there are thousands (millions??) of people travelling all over the world, and there are thousands (millions) of people who are quite talented at photography. If you doubt this, just go look at a travel magazine and then compare the work inside to what people are posting on www.trekearth.com. So, even though I live in Asia and love taking photos, which puts me in a good position to try to start such a career, I know that I am up against millions.

 

Second, there are many stock companies who are buying and using people's photos, and not paying very much. I work with a couple who put their work up on a stock agent and together made 50 dollars last year. The funny thing is that they are neither professional nor were they serious about selling their pics...they just thought, what the heck and tried it. I think they got 2 dollars a piece. Obviously these stock agencies know that there is a lot of talent out there that can be had for very little. I don't suppose that the few paper media who need travel photographers are in short supply. I would just add to the number wishing to get into the industry.

 

Also I shoot primarily black and white :)

 

But if you really want to get in to the industry, I would second the notion that a book is a good place to start.

 

My two cents which are worth about one cent.

[bob soltis]

Nicky, an excellent source of information is: Spirit of Place by Bob Krist; two others are Travel Photography by Susan McCartney, and the Photographer's Market.

 

Best of luck, and keep your day job.

 

regards

[J.W. Wall]

What Tara said. Dan Heller speaks of today's marketplace in real-life terms.

[nicolewhitephotography]

Hi Guys,

Many thanks for all comments. It has been good to see all the different opinions we all have in this area, one thing which stood out was 'don't give up your day job' - I wouldn't worry about that guys :-) I guess the sort of information I was looking for, was what companies and travel corporate are out there? What standard should I be pushing myself towards? It's always good to have a goal to work towards and in the photography travel industry I find this very difficult to 'research' - and coming from an organisation nerd - this can be frustrating at times. The best information on the web I have found to date has probably come from Lonely Planet Photographers.

 

Thanks Heaps,

nic :-)

[robert_k1]

Photography is an extremely competitive market. However, I think that there are still niche opportunities. I posted the following in another thread about tours in NZ. The idea is to offer local photography guide to visitors. You can keep your day job, and test drive a new career without heavy upfront overhead or investment. Last but not lease, it may even lead to unexpected friendship. I wish that there are sites that promote this kind of service.

 

=======

 

Even for the independant travellers, a photography guide can be very helpful in a foreign land. Unlike a regular tour guide, a good photography guide would understand the needs of a photographer: the off-the-beaten path locations, the best lighting at dawn and dusk, the need to linger around (or to return) for the great shots, etc. Taking the total cost of a trip into consideration, hiring such a guide and coming home with great shots can be a very good value. Unfortunately, unless you join a "photo tour", it is difficult to find a personalized photo guide.

 

One way is to find the local (non-pro) photographers. If they have personal sites and if the galleries show good work in genres of your interest, contact them for advice and suggestions, and inquire if they would be interested as guides. Many such photographers are more than happy to be helpful to visitors. I certainly have done my share, but I'm not in NZ.

[nicolewhitephotography]

I just wanted to thank you again for letting me know about Dan Heller's website. I found it as useful as you said I would. I liked the fact that he was so generous with his information, so many people enrol in courses for months to gain this information. I liked his information so much I am going to try and find his two books this weekend. He was so right about how it is so difficult to find any information on the business side of things in Photography and not many who have done it are willing to share this information as it may be a HUGE secret or something. The only thing I must say that I found interesting was the website design. I just thought if he has been so successful how come the site isn't presented in sophisticated manner?? I found that strange, although I must admit I love Photographer Steve Mcurry and I don't find his site that flash either, and another National Geographic Photographer I love, Jodie Cobb, well she doesn't even have an official website so I guess I can't 'judge a book by it's cover' so to speak.

 

 

And thankyou for the above information on the guides contacting the photographers - that is a fantastic idea :-)

 

nic :-)