Where do you find the most work?
natalieyoung
Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
Hi, I just started taking a couple of photography courses in January and do hope to make this a career. I am wondering if anyone that has been able to make this a full-time career, what area of photography do you find the most work?
Natalie
Natalie
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Natalie, that is a WAAAAY too-open-ended question. I don't believe anyone can claim to have tried it all, and there is so much to shoot.
What sort of photography do you love to do? Start there. Then within that, ask for advice and for what works best in the business of photography.
Best of luck to you!
Peter
Phtography is a generalization of a whole slew of specializations......and one needs to deside where to specialize in one or 2 areas....such as weddings / portraiture....again Portraiture is a whole slew of specializations....babies to families to seniors to pets and I know photogs that do only pets that is their total income and then there's the onesthat do onoy babies and some that do only weddings and others that do only Fine Art.....then of course the ones that worlk for the news media and those that would not shot an animate object if they were going broke and had to shut down their studio....the commercial photog......
You will just need to see where you heart leads and what your area needs in the way of another photographer to support:D
Two tidbits for a very general question:
1. Understand business. Take a lot of business classes. Even an MBA isn't out of the question. Know a lot about finance, marketing and operations, especially operations. If you know what things cost then you can figure out what you need to do to actually make money, a skill most artists don't have.
2. Diversify your abilities. Learn multiple skills in multiple trades. Construction skills are very useful in studio work for example. Learn quickbooks and some accounting so you can manage yourself and even do work in that area for others. These are just a couple examples. treat yourself like a business and an investment portfolio and you will make money even in tough times.
Good Luck
I'm sorry, but that cracked me up!
I've only taken a couple intermediate digi courses, nothing specialized yet though. I am going to be taking a photojournalism course in September which I have a real interest in. I also like macro, black & white, urban decay (I have a thing with old dilapidated barns). Portraiture I could enjoy, but not in the traditional, sears portrait sense. I have started posting some stuff on a couple of stock sites, but it's not something I think I would enjoy pursuing full-time.
I think my concern is that so many people i've spoken to don't think photography in general is a viable option for a full-time career. So I'm just trying to find out how other people people make a career out of it and what areas they pursue.
Originally Posted by Art Scott
and those that would not shot an animate object if they were going broke and had to shut down their studio....
and that is what it was supposed to do....at the same time I was actually quoting a commerical pro that was shooting computers and peripherals in my loading dock when I worked for NCR-Wichita.......he was adament about the fact that he would shut down before he would ever shoot a portrait or wedding......but his studio still is going today.....don't think it is growing as most of larger companies here are aircraft and they have started hiring their own photogs from with in the graphics depts of their respective companies.
You are correct that most people do not think of it as viable....however I am seeing the Wally world studios being shut down in this area....either people are geting more picking or photography as a whole is on the way out (but I do not think so)........in just the last 3 yrs Photography has finally become a real course at Wichita States vollege of Fine Art and not just a Journalism class...........
Most people do not consider any of the Arts as a viable means of making a true livng......but if one is a true artist then we do not need all the things that others desire.........I had people telling me that when I first started in this business and it was all of the negativity that helped drive me away from photography all together.......If I had follow that dream then I would be tons happier right now, as Iwould not have wasted over 20yrs slaving for companies that actually thought they owned your life and did not care about you or your family in reality.
If you are good at your art then persue it whole heartedly....do not listen to others with negative thoughts as that will bring on many regrets in the future.
Here in Suburbia, the biggest money maker is shooting school events and school portraits as well as school sports. Most of the work is given to agencies which in turn hire photographers and pay them enough to survive but not enough to live well. In addition to that, the work is seasonal, peaking at graduation time and pretty much dying during the summer months.
I personally don't make a living with photography, but here are some examples of people I knew or know and who do:
A friend of mine shoots for a company who does "virtual real estate" tours. She has to use her own car and does not get get reimbursed for gas or travel miles, but if she squeezes in enough work, she makes between $300 to $500 per week. She has a really large territory, so she gets enough jobs, but pretty much works and drives her butt off. This kind of photography doesn't really require any artistic skills, it didn't even require any formal knowledge of photography. They use specialized equipment and provide training for that.
An acquaintance of mine used to be a "pet photographer" for an agency who sets up a "studio for the day" at various pet super stores in the area. I trained with her for a day, when she was about to quit. I thought this could be fun until I realized that I have NO interest in taking pictures of pets with flowers around their necks in front of fake blue sky backdrops. I lost interest completely when I found out that you get paid very little but make most of your money by selling people things they don't want when they come to pick up their photos a week later. Coffee mugs, wallet shots, mouse pads and the likes.
A former roommate of mine worked as a photo assisstant in New York City on a variety of projects and with some great photographers (Elliot Erwitt, Karen Kuehn etc.). It took him years of swimming with sharks until he got to the top of the food chain and got "first assisstant" jobs which back then paid as much as $900 per shoot. Still, it was a constant struggle to get work and after a while he grew very tired of the constant networking and brown-nosing necessary to keep afloat. When he got married and had his first child, he quit photography altogether and became a ferry captain instead...
But I do have one friend who makes a good living with photography AND she loves her job. She works as an assisstant for an events photography company. They do big company parties, weddings, bar mitzwahs and the likes. Her job is to follow the photog around and hold lights, reflectors etc. while perusing the crowd. Then she uploads and quickly edits the photos on a laptop and projects large slideshows onto a screen, for the guests to enjoy while the party is still going on. It is also part of her job and her pay, to then sell prints (and coffee mugs, mouse pads etc.) to the party goers, but she assures me it gets a lot easier as people get drunker to sell them something
Other people I've known worked as a still photographer on movie shoots, freelanced for small newspapers (mainly gruesome accidents and house fires, not everybody's thing) and shot rooms/houses/furniture for architect's and designer's portfolios.
So yes - there are many ways to make a living in photography, and I don't think that the digital revolution has killed professional photography. But the realtiy it is very different from taking classes and shooting dilapidated barns.
It sounds to me that you would like to go into business for yourself, which generally means shooting weddings, portraits or shooting high-school sporting events. There isn't much of a market in the business kind of sense for artistic work such as macro photography and urban decay. To get paid for these, you need to get commissioned by a magazine or a publishing company, which means your work is exceptually stunning and unique and thus you have made a name for yourself as an artist already. But on the long road to official recognition you won't be receiving a salary and even if you get there eventually, it does not necessarily mean you will be able to make a living off your art.
Off course there are many other professional kinds of photography - Sports, Advertising, Journalism, Fashion to name a few. For most of these jobs, you don't get hired as a photographer right out of school but you need to work as an assisstant for quite a few years and hope that you are good enough to make the cut and get your own assignments eventually.
I don't want to sound too negative, and of course all of the above is nothing more than my personal opinion derived from my personal experience. I wish you good luck with your photographic journey for sure.
Greetings,
Jana
is but a dream within a dream
- Edgar Allan Poe
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