Thoughts on going Pro

[eigtball]

Good Evening All,

 

I just wanted to toss out a question. I am thinking of going pro at

some point in my life. I am talking in the next four years. I plan

on making it my career, because I find thats all I can really think

about all the time. I mean, I want to do it because its what I

really love doing. Its the only thing right now that occupies my

mind, actually since September its really occupied my mind (I have

shot more rolls of film since then, than the past 2 years combined).

 

Is there any advice that I can heed now, so that I will be prepared

when the time comes. I mean I want to do it right and do it right

the first time. So any of you pro's out there, or even experienced

amatures wanna give me a bit of advice I am all ears. And I will be

coping this post, and saving it for later reference.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[chris_hansen]

Sean

I am a part time pro. That means I kept my day job because I wouldn't

be able to feed my family on my photography income. I would suggest

the following.

#1 Map out a business plan with all potential costs and income

 

#2 Find an experienced pro to review your plan and see if it is

accurate and feasable.

 

#3 Work like crazy to make it work

 

#4 Pray a lot

 

This isn't meant to discourage you . Far from it. Be passionate about

your work . Put your heart into it. Just make sure that you are

following your heart with your brains.

 

Good luck and God's light to you

[bobatkins]

Reality check:

 

Are you making any money doing photography part time?

 

If not, what makes you think you will if you do it full time?

[catchlight]

Sean: obviously your love of photography has you thinking you would enjoy doing it full time. I'm not trying to sound discouraging, but the realities of making it as a pro require a lot more non-photographic work than most people expect.

 

My friend who is a very successful pro says his work is 20% photography and 80% promotion and marketing. A lot of great shooters do not have, or don't want to develop, the skills necessary to attend effectively to the business end of going pro.

 

You need to decide for yourself whether creating and revising your business plan, price structures, brochures, a web site, as well as constantly promoting your services is something you would be good at and like doing. Photography is a highly competitive field, and you will need to pitch your services constantly to prospective clients to land enough work to survive.

 

Then there's the big investment in equipment, including backups for everything, a high end computer system, and perhaps a studio and lighting system.

 

You will also have to hone your skills so that you consistently produce professional results--first time, often while dealing with less than ideal lighting, unexpected technical challenges, unreasonable client expectations, and/or intense deadline pressure.

 

If you go digital, you will have to streamline your workflow to a level of efficiency that will enable you to bid competitively and still make a decent hourly income.

 

My friend enjoys his work, and is paying his mortgage and raising his family solely on his photographic income. But he has had to invest hundreds of hours into landing clients, fine-tuning his business strategies, devising new services and markets, and building his reputation with attentive, timely service.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[steve_barnett2]

Get some photographs published while you are still an amateur. Go out on weekends looking for newsworthy stories and try approaching magazines, newpapers etc. Start a consistent library, so come Spring go and photograph the spring flowers and stuff, even if you think the photo's are 'below you', you may sell them next year to go with 2005 articles on 'Spring is coming'. Plan ahead, photograph everything with a view to making money out of it now or eventually. If you can do that and still be keen on photography you may make it as a pro. But don't, whatever you do, plan to make a living out of photography just because your parents/wife/in-laws/friends think you take 'nice' pictures and constantly boost your ego. Only the real world can do that if you are any good.

[melissa_eiselein]

Just a thought...

Keep in mind that when you make your hobby a career, it ceases to be a hobby and then becomes WORK.

[gary_ferguson1]

Sean, twenty-five years ago I graduated with a degree in photography, thought hard about my options...and pursued a career elsewhere.

 

I still keep in touch with many of my fellow students, about half of them are working photographers, and the rest have done other things with their lives. There's two characteristics that most of the professional half share, they're no longer particularly interested in photography and they don't have very much money.

[umd]

What do you want to be shooting as a pro? Weddings, photojournalism, sports, nature, studio work? Your business plan depend a lot on this. If you are thinking about nature, wildlife etc John Shaw has a book on that (business side of things) check amazon.com, imho they are thoughest ones as business and from what I see supply is more than the demand.

 

Are you finacially secure enough to sustain yourself in the worst case? I wouldn't be doing such a thing unless I had spare money to live on for at least 2-3 years. What is your day job? Will you be able to return it back if you want to after several years? How much experience and education have you got on your current profession? Is it worth wasting?

 

Are you sure that yours is not an (temporary) obsession? Do you have any (logical) stimulus other than it's occupying your mind?

 

So much from an amateur. Best wishes, good luck.

[stormfront]

Lots of well tempered advice but lets face it, there are plenty of people making a living from photography. It can be done. It is tough, is not the idyl we imagine and you have to be dedicated.

 

But, it can be done.

[timcave]

Join a state affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America, go to thier schools

and seminars. You will hook up with seasoned pros and new starters alike. Good Luck.

[eigtball]

Bob: I understand exactly what you are saying. I want to make money doing what I love doing. I might now make piles of money, but at least I can do it to sustain my work.

 

Brent: Great advice thanks. Me I am lucky. My wife to be is a real smart cookie (I means REALLY smart). Shes on the fast track to becoming a professor of sociology. She is top of her class, and her newest scholarship is about 30K Canadian. Thats just for her masters. So we have discussed it, and when she does become a prof. I can go pro then. So as for bills thats covered.

 

Rest: Thanks for your advice, I like it how its not sugar coated. I like frank advice that isn't bull. I would rather know what I am up against, than pretend its going to be easy.

 

If you have anymore advice, I am still all ears.

 

Cheers,

[william_foster]

What you really have to think about is this: What does turning "pro" mean to you? Does it represent an amount of money you make or does it represent a certain quality level of work? If it's more about job related goals such as money, publication, notariety, etc. then it takes more than just high quality work. You have to be very good at "business skills" such as marketing, sales, accounting, legal and management (time and business).

 

Believe me, your images will not sell themselves even if you are Ansel Adams, Annie Liebowitz and Alfred Steiglitz all wrapped up into one person. The competition is extremely tight out there and your other skills must be top notch. In the case of a lot of photographers out there, their marketing is much better than their photography. In fact, there are a lot of photographers out there making a decent living making mediocre images.

 

If it's about money, keep your job and photography separate. Do some photo gigs on the side. If it's about publication and notariety only start by entering a lot of contests and shoot a lot of stock on speculation, but keep your job. If money's no object, ditch the job and do these things full time. Getting your work in front of [legitimate] competition judges will start to give you an idea about how your work might sell to art directors, etc.

 

Lastly, read the stuff Dan Heller has written about this. I don't know him personally, but I highly recommend the articles for his candid look at this very issue. Visit www.danheller.com and click on the Business link. It will help you determine for yourself if you have "business sense" or are just trying to make a hobby into a profession.

 

By the way...if you do ditch the job, you'll be glad you did.

[jim_koral]

The only way to make money in photography is by selling your camera. (Sorry...) If

it's truly your passion, go for it! Make a plan and work on it.

 

As a previous post asked, what type of photography would you pursue?

[eigtball]

Money Question: NOPE! Its not really for money. If I can make enough to cover my costs, then I am ok. As for bread winning, between me and my fiance we are so simple. We spend only on things that will advance our lives. We buy nice things, and only when we need them. I wouldn't dream of making tons of money. A little would be nice, to you know keep up the fun ;) As for why? It is because I really enjoy doing it, and I want to do it all the time.

 

I don't want to become famous (known, but not famous). I am not trying to make a million dollars, but I would like to make some money at it. Cover the costs, and keep me in the fun. I have basic business training, and I am great a selling my self, or a chosen product. I express my opinion, and I educate my self as often as possible. Money is a powerful thing. It can do mean things to people. Me I am more into just doing a hobby for the rest of my life, insted of busting my butt making meager money. I would rather do what I love for meager money, and smile at the end of the day.

 

Now I wouldn't be able to even do this without the support of my girl. She understands what I want, and supports me 100%. See she is also presuing her dream, except her dream comes with lots of money on the side. So we can afford to let me be a 'freelance' professional photographer.

 

It is hard to make money at photography. I have read, and read tons of articles and stories that state its almost impossible to get rich. Well if my goal isn't monitary but life fulfilling that is way better then spending the rest of my life behind a desk, or stuck in an office, with a boss that expects way too much. I think 4 or so years of that will be surely enough.

 

Cheers,

[mike_morgan1]

<p>Have you read this photo.net article:  <a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/turningpro.html">Turning

Pro</a></p>

[pradeep1]

Hi Sean

 

This is exactly what i was contemplating too a month or so back, and before making the plunge, i spoke to lots of leading photographers in my city, and they all seem to have the same opinion that it takes quite a long time to see any money from the field, secondly it needs a lot of investment and the investment is on a regular basis, so even when you make money, you need to reinvest it in equipments.

 

one thing that i would really agree with is, as mentioned earlier, is that when its a hobby its good and very exciting, but once it turns to be work it is not that great, espescially when it is so competitive out there and you need more marketing skills than photography skills to survive in this field (its sad but thats the sad reality).

 

what i suggest is try to be on a job which doesnt take you the whole day and is a decent income for you, and then take photography as a part time hobby and try to publish your photos etc and with that money buy your equipment. Theres nothing like a hobby paying for itself :) happy shooting and wish u all the best for your decisions. :)

[john_perkins2]

If you're going to be freelance you'll need a good agent, and a good accountant. You get to

choose accountants, but agencies choose you.