Starting photography in hindsight

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Permalink Reply by Tina Murphy on July 31, 2009 at 6:40pm

It depends on wether or not this will be your main source of income, or extra cash. It is very competitive out there, but there are people who make a decent living, have a look on etsy at some of the photographers on there they get good sales.

Whatever you decide you must enjoy it!

I decided what i liked doing and stuck with that!

Good luck with your venture

Tina

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Permalink Reply by Vicki Mantler on August 1, 2009 at 2:16am

Thanks Tina, excellent points and always good to hear other opinions!

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Permalink Reply by Ian Phillips-McLaren on August 1, 2009 at 12:51pm

Hi Vicki, The best and quickest way to get into photography full time is by assisting other photographers that you admire, I tell this to students practically every day. I used to teach photography as an artist in residence at Glasgow School Of Art. I'm always appalled at the lack of knowledge that students have when they leave college these days. If you assist a decent photographer, you will learn more about photography and the business in 2 weeks than you'd learn going to college for 3 years. The good thing about going to college is that you have the time on your hands to play around and experiment.

As far as the type of photography is concerned - it depends on where you want to go with your photography, if you want to work as a photographer in a small town then you can get away with shooting all sorts, anything from weddings to Landscape and you will get away with it and probably make not a bad living if your good.

If you want to be a photographer in a reasonable sized city then you have to focus a bit more on the type and style of photography you want to do and stick to it.

If you want to be a photographer and compete with the big boys and girls in London and New York then it's a totally different ball game, you really need to focus on one type of photography other wise you wont get taken seriously, if you have portraits in your folio mixed in with some products you'd be making it difficult for yourself and they might not take you seriously as they will think that you don't know what you want to do and your not committed enough to your portraits. Magazines and art directors like to pigeon hole photographers to the degree that - they might use one photographer for their grainy black and white portraits but not for their colour work, then they'll use another photographer for their colour work but not for there black and white. Then they might use you for your daylight portraits but not for your studio work etc, etc. it's that mad, of course being a photographer you want to take photographs of all sorts but it doesn't work that way, certainly not in London and New York.

If I send my folio out to a client, I have to make sure that I do some home work and put the right work in the folio for that client and understand what that client needs, so I might put my daylight portraits in the folio and keep my corporate work out (even tho they are portraits also) as this might put the client of booking me cause they might think ahh, I want that natural style of portrait there but what if he gives me this more rigid corporate style here. In a nut shell, clients want to see continuity all the way through the folio.

If you are doing fashion photography, magazines want to see fashion stories where there are 6 great images from the one shoot, not just one good shot from each shoot you have done. An art director from a big magazine said to me when I first moved to London - "I like your work but how do I know that you can shoot more than just one good shot in a day as that is what you have in your folio. I want to see six good shots from the shoot, for all I know you are only capable of shooting one good shot in a day".

I do apologise, I didn't mean for this to be so long and I hope that I've answered your question, I know that I have deviated a bit but just wanted to paint you a good picture of how things work in the business.

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Permalink Reply by Vicki Mantler on August 1, 2009 at 3:20pm

Not long at all, that's exactly what I needed to know. The more information the better then I can just pick out what pertains to my situation. Now I'm going to organize some folders and find a nice professional to attach myself to!
Thanks very much Ian

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Permalink Reply by Ian Phillips-McLaren on August 1, 2009 at 5:40pm

It's a pleasure. It's the best way, you wont regret it.

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Permalink Reply by Irina Ivanova on December 20, 2009 at 3:08pm

so if somebody like to become pro he must set aside other directions? is there any exceptions? for example, semi-photographer?

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Permalink Reply by Ian Phillips-McLaren on December 20, 2009 at 6:15pm

Hi Irina, It depends on where you are doing photography and what you want to achieve. As I said above, if you want to be a photographer in a small town or small city you can get away with shooting what you want. If you want to reach the top then you have to specialise.

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Permalink Reply by lillithsnapped on August 8, 2009 at 11:26pm

This discussion was very informative to me. As someone just finding my way around photography as a small side income, this really gave me food for thought. Thanks, everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Pete Jenkins on August 15, 2009 at 12:33pm

Mmm. An interesting question. Of course things really are different now than when I first started, so what I did then (mid seventies) would be totally innapropriate now.

The best way to get into the photography business, is the same way as getting into any business. The secret is staying in that business and making it work. Colleges are turning out more (supposedly) trained photographers every year than there are jobs for photographers - in the UK at least, and I can't imagine that it is much different anywhere else.

Just doing what you like is fine and dandy, but if you can't make a living selling those pictures, then you aren't really in the business of photography - it is just a hobby.

Having a pasion for something is likewise very credible, but doesn't make you a business person.

I have a socket set, but does that make me a professional mechanic - no of course not.

I cooked lunch yesterday for my family, but does that make me a professional chef - agin we know that it does not.

I can teach anyone to take professional quality photographs, and have done, there are dozens of photographers out there who have sold images who have been taught lkargely or partially by me, but I am guessing that most of them have now left the business.

I can certainly teach or show anyone how to take £2000 - £3000 per year as a photographer, to make a living as a photographer then realistically one has to be invoicing out £40,000 a year, becasue with the overheads and cost of both photographic equipment and the computer equipment needed for processing, not to mention a car etc a photographer need to cover overheads of perhaps £20,000 per annum before one talks of paying the mortgage and buying food.

We may have lost wet processing but the cost of a professional camera can easily be £5000, more if you want, and professional lenses are often £1000 each more, much more for the specialist stuff. Cameras needed replacing every few years, and lenses every five. Computers are out paced by software as quickly as cameras wear out and high spec equipoment isw not cheap. Don't start me on the cost of software...

Everyone who has a camera seems to think that they can turn a few quid, and they can, of course, but most of those aspiring professionals simply do not make it because the industry is contracting. Twenty years ago there would have been well over 5,000 photographers working full-time either as staff or freelance for UK newspapers, today that figure is well under 1,000. Many other editorial areas are similar.

As a professional photographer of more than a few years I have had to reinvent my business many times. I was for most of my career a sports photographer, now I am more likely to be photographing a business conference.

In todays recession, which looks like it is going to get worse before it gets better, starting up as a photographer would seem to be foolish in the extreme. Many of those I know, are looking at leaving an industry that in many cases has little or no respect for the professionals that work in it.

If you really must set up as a professional phjotographer in the middle of a deapoening recession then the most important thing will be to have business knowledge. Know what you are doing. The photography by comparison might be seen by many as the easy bit...

Kind regards

Pete Jenkins

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Permalink Reply by Richard Pentin on October 6, 2009 at 6:21pm

Some great advice here. From my own limited experience I would suggest you spread yourself thinly and grab whatever briefs come your way. I started out in wedding photography and portraits, dabbled in editorial for a bit, tried my hand at interior photography and also started doing packshots. Having gone through this journey I feel weddings and portraits are where my strengths lie and what I enjoy the most but I now feel comfortable taking on other genres if they happen to come my way.

It's much better IMHO to get the money coming in from a broad mix of photography whilst building your experience and portfolio at the same time, rather than position yourself too niche and spend days waiting for the phone to ring! Once you become more established and experienced you'll probably find you'll gravitate towards a particular field of photography and start to make a name for yourself that way.

I think Ian makes a very valid point about NY/London photographers. If that's your goal then I'd take his advice as he's been there and done it. Having said that, there's nothing stopping you from having several websites or portfolios and branding yourself to different markets so that you have a number of revenue opportunities to draw from. There's no harm in sticking to your guns and only doing photography which inspires you but I reckon photographers who start out in this way and succeed are either the lucky few or have a lot of money in the bank to keep them afloat in quieter times!

Hope that helps.

Richard

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