Is photography something to pursuit long enough?

[dokyun_kim]

<p>The world we are living in full of DSLR that anyone can take good photos, DO YOU think that the photography business is something to pursuit as full time-day job, so that you can provide your family? <br>

Suddenly, i wonder how long it will last... </p>

<p> </p>

[Jochen_S]

<p>I've been listening to professionals' laments for 30 years now. Everything depends really just on YOU and your extraordinary non photographic skills. - It is unlikely you'll draw the lucky straw by relying on the state employment agency to provide you with job offers to apply to.<br>

It isn't the DSLR that makes the photographer. - It's the ability to place lights and even more important the skill to make people cooperate. And all of those are nothing if you work on a "oh its fun to do this - let me try please" base. - It might work out for building a portfolio, but later you have to convince everybody that you are a busy man, the best they could get and absolutely worth a lot of money.<br>

Last note on the fulltime dayjob thing: Have a awesome side job and some business consultant figuring out if ends will meet in the long run. - If figures look good enough: Why not try it as long as possible? - Photography is cheap / low investment. - You neither need to borrow a million to pay machinery nor 3 employees to get going.</p>

[rick_m.]

<p>I looked at the pictures you posted in your portfolio and I can assure you that not just "anyone with a DSLR" can take shots like that. You are thoughtful, have a good eye and it appears serious skills. Don't downplay your abilities.</p>

<p>One thing that really annoys professionals is the notion that anyone can do what they do. While I would be the first to say that there are talented and well trained amateurs who can produce results that are every bit as good as professionals, they are not all that common and more importantly they are not available to the general public. I could point you to several amateurs on this site whose work is wonderful but they are not for hire. </p>

<p>Here is a direct answer to your question. If you wish to be a professional photographer working for yourself, you will earn your money as a salesman and shooting the assignment is just the fun part. It is your skill and tenacity as a salesman and marketer is what will make you successful at supporting your family. Here is an example for you to consider:</p>

<p>A few days ago I shot a charity awards and fundraising event for which I was paid fairly well. Why did they pay me when a talented amateur with a DSLR (indeed there were several there) could have easily handled the job? Because I convinced them that they needed to ensure that they had professional quality photos on-time and without excuses. In a carefully prepared sales presentation I pointed out all of the possible uses for these photos beyond the newsletter they were thinking about. I told them what a nice "recognition gift" it is to give the speakers and awardees an nice 8X10 of their time in the spotlight. They had never thought of that. I showed them how these pictures, in a nice frame, were more personal and much less expensive than the presentation items they had been giving. While I was at it I mentioned that shots like these require a certain skill by reminding them of the annoying red-eye, wonky lines, poor white balance under the multi-vapor lamps, and blown out highlights with which they were used to contending. I reminded them how annoying it was to have photographers intruding into the action and told them that professionals know how to get the shots discretely and unobtrusively. I mentioned how we know how to "work the crowd" to get good candid shots (with the subject's name and cut-line information) for their newsletter. I mentioned how we know the correct way to pose people for the group shots. I told them about how I would visit the venue and carry the exact equipment that would be best for their event. In other words, they did not hire be because I was a professional, they hired me because I made a good sales presentation which inspired confidence, took away one of their many 'worries' and gave them value that they did not know they could expect. All for the very fair price of....(insert your own number here). Then I delivered the final product in person, three days early, mentioning that I "got right on them" because I knew they would want to get the awards out right away. We sat at their computer and "enthusiastically" went through the shots that were not printed to ensure they had what they wanted. I left them a stack of business cards and with the commitment that they would write a nice yelp review, and the 'promise' they would call me for the following year's event. (I will call them first but they will find that out soon enough.)</p>

<p>So the point of this admittedly wordy post is to inspire you to realize that you have two opportunities to succeed in this business. First and foremost are your obviously prodigious photographic skills. Skills you will never stop learning to broaden. The second you can acquire with a lot of work. These are the skills necessary to prospect for work, make great presentations, add value to the customers process and deliver on-time and on budget. There are plenty of photographers out there whose photographic skills are first-rate but whose sales skills are amateur. They will never succeed as professionals. </p>

<p> </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>There are a thousand views on this, often expressed here and elsewhere.</p>

<p>Professional photography has always been a hard row to hoe - from the beginning, professionals were always challenged by the amateurs whose main income was derived from other activities. In that sort of situation, it's hard to keep prices up to a living level.<br>

It's not getting any better in the spread of digital photography on the one hand, and the rise of computer graphics on the other.</p>

<p>It's not unlike baseball, I think. A certain number of people can make it to the minors, but the major leagues are accessible by a <em>very</em> small percentage of those who would like to make a living playing baseball.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Other factors influencing the availability of work and pay scale may include geography - there will be less demand in Toledo, Ohio, than LA or NYC; and genre - high end fashion work will pay better than street photography. </p>

<p>Of course it also assumes a particular candidate has the chops to competently perform the work. </p>

[Spearhead]

<p>The market is a lot tougher now than it used to be. A lot of it has to do with the where the photos go. Photos on the internet don't need to be the quality they used to be. Anyone with a camera can take a decent enough photo of a celeb doing step and repeat. The only part of that taking work is the distribution. And new cameras have taken some of the technical challenges out of shooting, excluding when real lighting is required. However, even studio lighting is easier - with the internet, it's not that hard to find information to buy the right equipment and set it up correctly.</p>

<p>I spent half of last year shooting for a Hollywood studio, mostly on-set and also some portrait work. However, there was no way they would pay me enough for doing that, so I was given the task of doing marketing, which involved a lot of writing, something I have done for years. Because I was commuting, there were weekend shoots I couldn't do. They found a local MWAC who took excellent photos and was free, she just wanted to be on the sets. Given that these mostly went out via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, there was no reason to look for another professional photographer.<br>

<br />A good friend has been a headshot photographer in LA for years, often working with celebrities. His work has dried up, and prices dropped so much, that he is going back to acting in commercials. The reason is that there are now too many people out there capable of producing quality work. And they are hungry enough for it that they will deliver on-time.</p>

<p>Also, the ubiquity of cameras, particularly because of phone cameras, means that news reporting can be much more timely coming from the general public. When something unexpected happens - a big accident, a fight, a building collapse - someone with a phone will have a photo of the actual event. The pj arrives half an hour later and gets a photo of the police yellow tape. People lament the disappearance of "real" news photography, but except for features or planned events, there's not much use for it.</p>

<p>I used to do well with sports photography shooting fights. In that world, video has replaced stills for a lot of the paid jobs. It's far more interesting to the fans, who are the ones consuming most of the images, to watch a full head kick than just look at a money shot of the foot hitting the head. They are interested in technique and the aftermath, and it's something that works better with video. </p>

<p>Overall, it's a changing world. There are a lot of professions that have lost value or disappeared entirely due to technology, and photography is just the latest one. It's not hopeless, but average pay is less than what an office admin makes where I live.</p>

[rick_m.]

<p>I want to go back to one point on this. The complaints that we see here are similar to those expressed by many retail businesses when confronted with the internet and the ease with which someone can become a "company". Also the ease with which a customer can access the lowest bidder. As Jeff said, there are no end to photographers willing to give away their services in exchange for their 15 minutes of fame. As a PJ I am constantly assailed by people willing to work for a press pass. </p>

<p>The deal is though that none of these folks are willing to do the real hard work. That is prospecting. They put some blown out pictures on CL and declare themselves wedding photographers. Even the ones who post lovely work are still unlikely to succeed unless they are willing to do the hard, grind it out, work of promoting themselves. To make it in photography you simply have to do this.</p>

<p>If you have a shoot this afternoon, you need to get up and prospect in the AM. Then go to the shoot. If you have no shoot today you need to spend the day looking for work. Putting up a website and advertising on CL does not count. I wonder if anyone is reading this post. Here is a way to look at this that I have absolutely never seen anyone express this way. Here it comes. Most photographers earn what a part time job earns because they are part-time photographic business owners. By this I mean that if you don't set a minimum 40 hour work week and stay working that whole time you have not earned full time wages. </p>

<p>So. You do an engagement shoot this AM and it takes 4 hours. You go back to the office and do the proofs in two hours. You still owe the company another two hours. What do you do? Call customers on the phone, visit wedding planners, make presentations to venue managers........get my drift?</p>

<p>If I hired "you" at $20.00 per hour full time as a staff photographer in my business and you did not have a shoot today, what would you expect me to ask of you? Sit at the computer and post pictures to your profile? I don't think so. You would expect me to have you out pounding the pavement looking for business. If you don't want to do that then you get $10.00 per hour part time and I call you when and if I need you. Right? And if you won't be a shooter for $10.00 per hour I can assure you that I can hire your replacement the same day I post the opening. </p>

<p>So the bottom line is that being a professional photographer/salesman is a full time job if you want full time wages. As the owner you will be lucky to get to the point where you are only working 8 hours a day. So don't expect to get full time wages from a part time job. </p>

[mike_earussi1]

<p>From the few photos you've posted you skill level is already at a professional level, but as Rick M has so excellently pointed out, the main criterion for being a successful full time wage earning professional photographer is more a matter of self promotion than actual skill level. In fact I've seen many mediocre photographers succeed where excellent ones fail because <em>aggressive</em> salesmanship is more important than skill level. So my question to you is "How aggressive are you willing to be in order to succeed?" If the answer is "a lot" then you'll make it, but if not, then you probably won't.</p>

 

[William Michael]

<p>I think that an existing Professional Photographer has to either: create other <strong>like business strands</strong>: or <strong>diversify outside photography:</strong> or create a <strong>niche photography product market</strong> or IMO the best solution if one wants to stay mainly in photography do: <strong>one and three</strong>.</p>

<p>Whatever the case, of one wants to stay in the business there little use complaining about <em>"the situation"</em>.</p>

<p>WW</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>There will always be a market for professional photography.</p>

[holly_swanson]

<p>This is what I have learned, over the past year of attempting to start a photography business: If you are in need of this to be full-time job, to give you full-time income and to survive off of, don't even try it. Unless you are an absolutely brilliant marketer, I suppose. With a lot of spare cash to throw into your new business. If you have plenty of spare time and money and can afford to do this as a hobby with just the aspiration of going full-time one day, then sure.</p>

<p>As someone who was new to the industry, I found there to be far, far too much competition. Every stay at home mom is becoming a photographer these days, and apparently darn good ones. Another problem is that the large majority of clients do not appreciate or recognize any artistic aspect to photography - they only care about poses and how they look. Which is important, too, of course, but if you're a fine art photographer hoping to set yourself apart with moody, emotional images and creative editing, good luck. That's kind of common sense, I guess, but still disapointing.</p>

<p>So say you DO create photos that appeal to the majority. Clients will be turned off by any prices over $200-300, rationalizing that they can just call their uncle who owns a "good DSLR" and come up with some cool poses themselves. (Since, remember, they don't recognize any creative talent aspect, they do not have the ability to see the justification for any high prices.)<br>

<br /> The ones who are successful are the brilliant marketers. They manage to appeal to their clients in a way that I was never able to figure out. It has little to do with their actual photography and more to do with their personality. As someone who is shy and artistic, and well, since I'm not exactly a people person, down the drain that went. The photos of course must be good, too, but you could take the same photos, take away the marketing bubbly photographer personality, and quite frankly no one would care.<br /> I admit it, when I first started out I too thought "I own a 5d mark III and a ton of L lenses, people will be knocking down my door to pay me to take their picture!" I look back and laugh at that now :) <br /> I was never looking for an easy buck, I worked extremely hard and spent a LOT of money to start my business. I worked for a wedding photography studio early on, but that wasn't worth it as the pay was far too low. After a year, I found ONE client to shoot for free, ONE more client to shoot who chose me as a last-minute resort after the other falling through for $125, and the wedding studio gigs. That's it. I got scoffed at every time someone asked me my rates and I answered anything over $200. <br /> Seriously, IT'S SO BAD THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN FIND PEOPLE TO SHOOT FOR FREE. At least, that was the case for me. I never could understand just where in the world all the photographers get their clients streaming in from. It just never happened for me, but seems to for many others. <br /> Please forgive the negativity, but quite frankly it's liberating to throw in the towel.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"The ones who are successful are the brilliant marketers. They manage to appeal to their clients in a way that I was never able to figure out. It has little to do with their actual photography and more to do with their personality. As someone who is shy and artistic, and well, since I'm not exactly a people person, down the drain that went. The photos of course must be good, too, but you could take the same photos, take away the marketing bubbly photographer personality, and quite frankly no one would care."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Holly, although what you've said seems to be the prevailing sentiment, I don't think there is really any mystery to the successes of many photographers. <br>

<br>

A solid online presence has replaced face-to-face as a means of introduction to clients, and sites such as Facebook and YouTube as enabled artists to cultivate a captive audience through the showcasing of their work. <br>

<br>

Beneath all that, though, is the online persona which one develops to serve as an anchor to accrue "Likes", "Followers" and "Friends". If people like what they see, they'll talk about it, share, and pretty soon one can develop ones online presence to become larger than life unlikely through other means. <br>

<br>

The captive audience can then serve as "testimonials" even if they're not customers, and the more the merrier. It becomes the tangible cultivated through the intangible. <br>

<br>

Interestingly, in many instances, skill set beyond a certain level becomes irrelevant as long as your work is demonstrably "good enough", and the rest of it is simply how appealing your persona is to your captive audience. There is serious competition, and folks who are good at this will develop an intuitive sense for update frequency, what to share, and how it's shared; some choose a mix of personal and professional sharing while others are strictly business. </p>

<p>In a limited territory, this strategy can also serve as a powerful complement to traditional means of local marketing.</p>

[aaron l]

<p>I found I get a lot more value when I'm out pounding the pavement, talking to store owners, convincing them that their photos are poor and not doing them any favors. They know this but still struggle because they don't realize bad photos make them look bad. The clients I do have who've realized this don't regret what they get from me.<br>

If you want to starve, try to be the artist. If you want to be in business, you've got to sales/market roughly 30% of the time. And that'd not putting up a website and hoping. Over the years, my site traffic has slowly dwindled, so it takes a lot more effort. Buy some Google ad listing. I've tried this and didn't have it dialed in, so I'm revamping my campaign. Businesses that succeed have a sales force and when you're a solo photographer, that's you.<br>

It's very tough, you have to show them what you can do compared to what their cousin/niece/uncle does. I told my last client, "Your sculptures are $4k-$15k. Do you want your iphone photos to make you sculptures to look like a dime store?" That won him over. He didn't want to feel like his expensive sculptures should be in the dollar store because that's how they looked.</p>