Does everyone secretly dream of becoming a Nature photographer?

[luffy]

I recently attended an ASMP event (I�m not yet a member) and was

asked what type of photography I did. When I responded �Nature and

Wildlife� the individual asking the questions stated �sure, so does

everybody else, but what do you do to make a living?�

 

My question is does everyone really wish they were making a living

doing Nature photography rather than whatever type of photography

they do. I found the individual�s comment rather disheartening. It

made me feel that there really wasn�t a place in the ASMP for me.

[bobatkins]

I think you're likely to get a biased opinion asking here!

 

I suppose being out in nature, travelling is what everyone would

like to do. However ASMP members are realists, and you're more

likely to be able to make a living shooting weddings or sports

than shooting wildlife.

 

The nature market is saturating. One stock agency is reputed to

have said that they now have enough landscape images on file to

last them until the end of time. Unlike current events, this week's

shot of half dome looks much like last week's (and next week's).

Ditto for Alaskan grizzlies catching salmon. There's only so many

of those shots you can sell, and you have your pick of thousands

now. Does anyone need to pick from millions of them?

 

The "secret dream" goes double for nature photography as a hobby. How

many people enjoy

wedding photography so much that they do it for free

in their spare time?

[macrophoto]

What is ASPM anyway ?

[bobatkins]

ASMP - American Society of Media Photographers. Basically photographers who shoot for publication.

[brian yarvin]

I don't know about those who do it in secret - but you just can't believe how many people aspire to be nature photographers until you see it for yourself.

 

Typical story; I used to work part time in a small stock agency (long closed) that sold one or two nature images a month. Despite this dismal record, we recieved eighty to one hundred inquries a month from new nature photographers. We also sold fifteen or twenty business images every day, but in the year I worked there, not a single person approached the agency with new business work.

 

My strangest story; I was at one of the NYC parties that I mostly try to avoid and two people were arguing...one had been a photo editor for the Sierra Club Calendars and the other was a former casting director on several Hollywood films. The casting director said that nothing was more competitive than getting speaking roles in feature films, and the Sierra Club guy said that your odds of making the calendar were ten times worse than the numbers the casting guy gave. The Sierra Club guy won that fight easily. (I stayed in touch with him for a bit, he's now a coin dealer)

 

Nothing on earth is more crowded than nature photography, even I do it!

 

Brian

[noel_atkison]

Hmm...I make my living as a civil engineer, but have always considered myself a nature photographer...guess I was wrong.

[george_rhodes]

This question really hits home for me. My own story might give you support. Back in 1988 a friend and I were beginning to make side incomes selling our nature photography to various markets. We ran into some ASMP memebrs who invited us to a local meeting. We both joined as (whatever that title was for "sort-of" photographers at the time) members. For the most part, we were ignored by most of the "real" memebrs. Over the months we found the meetings to be geared too much toward commercial work and felt that our interests were being ignored. My friend dropped out first and I followed shortly thereafter. Since that time, through much struggle and hard work, my friend and I have each become successful full-time pros, earning our entire livings from nature and wildlife photography. Neither of us pursued what is considered the standard markets that beginners seem to think of. We each searched our unique, untapped niches that were being overlooked by everyone else and staked our claims in those areas. We stayed off the typical oversaturated paths. Lately in our area many of the commercial photographers have come onto bad times and can't seem to find enough work to keep themselves in business. Several commercial people I know have dropped out of photography and are now working in other fields. My friend and I are each so busy, it is a struggle for either of us to keep up with demand for our work. We have completely separate businesses and we live in different cities.

[don_baccus]

George hits it on the head, the level of dedication and fanaticism necessary to make it is more important than the making of good images, if you want to make your living at it. Being able to make good images is assumed.

 

In other words, even a schlock like me can make a few thousand a year gross revenue randomly selling nature photos on a part time basis. But to turn that something that can yield NET revenue sufficient to both allow one to live and to allow one to afford to continue shooting seems incredibly daunting. I don't care enough to want to try even if I thought it was a possibility. It's not just an order of magnitude more difficult, given the competition, it's probably more like a hundred times as difficult. The bar to becoming published on a fairly regular basis is fairly low, the bar to being recognized to the point that income's a dependable stream is much, much higher.

 

And look how many well-known shooters turn to leading shoots and writing for magazines!

 

My own experience out shooting is that I run into plenty of professional photographers who aren't making their living shooting the natural world who are out doing it on their vacation. They always seem so wistful...they mostly seem to be wedding shooters.

 

Strangely, I've never had the urge to shoot weddings.

 

Maybe there's a message or moral there, I don't know.

 

George, my hat's off to you...

[squareframe]

it seems that passionate and creative people, can capture great images, yet fall on their face when it comes to marketing them. in most every endeavour I have been involved in, there has always been this built in negativity and skepticism, towards making a living at what you love to do. after thirty years of reflection, I have come to the following conclusions. in the 70's, all of us flight instructors aspired to fly for the airlines. times were tough though, and the overwhelming observation was that it was next to impossible to fly for the big guys. those that believed in themselves, and wanted that professional experience so bad that they could taste it, went off and flew charters, flew freight, worked the bush in Alaska ... with the dream still alive. I have stayed in touch with these friends, and all of them who kept the dream alive in their hearts, despite the advertised odds, are now all flying for Federal Express and Southwest Airlines. the one cynic that I knew, dropped out early on, and writes web pages now. he is bitter, but the choices were his.

 

like my fellow flyers, who went off and carved a niche to be able to offer something unique, photography is much the same. channel some of the creativity you use for your photography, towards a business sense of how to find a market.

 

good luck!

[ryan_taylor1]

I think George, Don, and Daniel have pretty much summed it up. Making a living by doing full time nature photography simply requires talent, a decent business sense and, LOTS of creativity on all fronts. Like Don, I also sell images part time but I don't really expect to pay the mortgage with it anytime soon.

I am currently pursing another equally difficult market for a living (an academic job in biology). The job market for biology faculty is super saturated right now. They only people getting jobs are those that are redefining the ways we think about the field (ie. super geniuses) or those who have diverse talents. In addition, to my degree in biology, I am also pursing a degree in philosophy. As a result, my research papers reflect this, which gives me a different angle (edge) over the competition.

I think that the need for diversity and creativity are probably tantamount for many fields. Throw in a lot of work and dedication on top of it and you should do fine. However, it may mean scraping by for many years. You simply have to ask yourself what it is worth to you.

[rayn]

I like what Don said about the famous nature photographers. Most of them lead photo tours or write for magazines. I doubt they do this for fun so the pay for even a famous nature photorapher probably isn't that great. I've also always wondered how much money those "nature photogaphers" inherited from their parents... it's hard to believe they could afford 25 grand in gear along with their house and SUVs by only selling reproduction rights to chromes. Some probably can do it, but it must be very rare. For what it's worth, here's a related link:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000IhG

 

Hey, Ryan, I got degrees in Biology and Philosophy too (U of O), trust me, they don't pay the bills. Get the PhD or go to med. school. 8-) Then you can put up the money to publish some books and posters and everyone will think you're a successful nature photographer (don't tell them you paid for it). ;-)

[ryan_taylor1]

Ray, I am working on the Ph.D. in biology. As you know, it is the ONLY way to pay the bills in this field, and then its far from guaranteed!

[george_rhodes]

I just want to throw something out for consideration. There are many avenues to income from nature and wildlife photography, other than selling rights to your images or even seeing your work in publication. Those two arenas are very saturated and the most competative. I think Clyde Butcher is a good example of someone who developed a different approach. There are many others.

[joe_fuhrman1]

Aaron, all of the responses are excellent points. I do nature photography because I love it It also gives me a strong purpose to want to go to a certain destination.. If I had to feed my wife & daughter by doing this for a full time living, I would probably not enjoy nature photogrpahy as much. The pressure would be brutal and the income is never steady.

 

I would also be away from home so much, that I would wonder if this is really so much fun. Have you ever thought of how many pros are either single or a married couple with no kids? I don't aspire to be a pro, I am lucky to make an excellent income in my day job, and I am happy to have some photos published in my part time job.

[Bill C]

I'm a little out of place in this forum, even though I always scan through. When I was in high school (late '60s) and got seriously involved in photography along with several friends (and classmates), the big dream was to work for Life magazine. My big heroes were photojournalists like Eisenstaedt and Robert Capa and Larry Burrows, and others. People who might travel anywhere on a moment's notice to cover important things, like war, natural disasters, photographing the presidents and heads of state, etc.

 

In those days, I could never understand why anyone would want to devote their life to nature photography or work for something like National Geographic, or the like. Nowadays, I think Nat Geo would be really interesting, and I even photograph flowers sometimes, for Chrisake! (but I tell everyone it's just for film testing, etc.)

 

 

Anyway, I have just come across a very enjoyable website, Dirck Halstead's "The Digital Journalist" and have spent a couple of pleasurable hours reading and looking at pictures. The feature presentation, of all things, is about Alfred Eisenstaedt, "Photojournalist of the Century". And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a short excerpt from one of the articles, by William Marks, reminiscing about his friendship with Eisenstaedt: (I found this article very enjoyable and touching; URL is listed at the end of the post):

 

>> "Another thing I was to eventually learn about Eisie was how bothered he was for being renowned as a photographer of people. "I always wanted to be known as a nature photographer," said Eisie many times over the ten years of our friendship." <<

 

So all this time, he was a frustrated nature photographer; being sent by Henry Luce to photograph people, when he really preferred nature assignments. And you think you got it rough! I hope at least a few people here enjoy the article as much as I did. It's at:

 

http://dirckhalstead.org/issue9911/marks.htm

[devan_manan_singh]

If you want to make alot of money,become a plumber.I was one until I recently quit that profession to turn my love of photography and nature into a full-time pursuit.Funny,I've known former teachers college grads,and pilots who became plumbers.

I believe if you are truly dedicated you will be sucessful as a nature photographer.Sucess should not be measured in how many images you had published or your gross earnings,but the satisfaction that you feel within yourself each time you press that shutter.

That's what nature photography is all about,recording the beauty that's 'out there'.Each image should make (the viewer)FEEL something about nature and our place within it.

A" sucessful" nature photographer can do that.

The money will come eventualy,I hope,otherwise I'll be under kitchen sinks sooner than I think.

[sashajade]

I agree with many of you that nature photography is overcrowded to the point that most companies anymore turn directly to stock photo agencies. My heart tells me though that if you're truly passionate about nature photography and you're not one who counts on it as a means of making a living, that it would be wonderful to put together a book or two of your own work with captions and short stories to go with the pictures. Children's books seem to be pretty popular these days. :)