[Tommot1965]

to all the Pros, that earn a living from Photograhpy...how did you set yourselves Up...at what point in your life did you achive it?..

if I had $50,000 to equip a studio, set up a website, expose my business to Local advertising...how would that work Out....cant help but think about it...particulary as my age and current workplace are at odds with each other

Take it for granted that in this business the ability to take a good image/Post Process and people skills are already in place..

where do you find your more lucrative work ...

Im dreaming perhaps...but then again...who knows!!

[RioRico]

How did I go pro? I joined the US Army.

Then I moved on to an easier way to make a living -- software engineering.

[Exo]

The trick is to work with what you have now, and eventually get the stuff you "need" later on once you've earned some $$ from your business.

If you magically spent 50k, advertised and got a huge customer base.. you would have tons of gear, a lot of clients, and no idea what to do.
You wouldn't have accumulated the knowledge you get from making mistakes and building a business. It's best to make mistakes when you're small scale rather than start off huge and make huge mistakes .

Focus on what you are doing, rather than what you're doing it with; imaginary needs serve only as expensive barriers that stop you from getting started.

[Tommot1965]

good advice EXO..what would you consider the first steps?, minimum gear required etc ?

where to advertise and what to advertise for?

weddings spring to mind..Ive done one years back for a family member...it turned out ok

i

[ll_coffee_lP]

From my experience the photography world is all about word of mouth, and little to do with advertising. This takes time and patience.

We started small doing family shots. Then moved on to extended family shots. Then shot for friends and then began to realize that we should begin charging for our time. We started charging enough to cover our costs, then continued to move up. We continue to get referrals and at this point we have several ongoing repeat customers, but most we don't know at all.

Very little of our work has come from advertising. We've been in art shows, we showcase our work in a major home builders model homes, we've run contests, etc... and almost nothing has come from this. The vast majority has come from word of mouth and the quality/care that can come from the custom photography experience.

We don't derive our wages from photography only, mostly because where we live there is a major lull in doing family shoots, weddings, engagement, etc. in the Winter and early Spring (about 5 months of the year). So we may not meet your criteria of a "pro" per se, but it has worked well for us and will certainly supplement us into an early retirement. In fact, we are exactly where we wanted to be at the end of year 3 of our business launch when we first set our business goals.

Gear wise...two bodies, at least two lenses that you are very competent at using (know them in/out, their strengths and how to exploit it, their weaknesses and how to get around it, bokeh, sweet spot range, etc.), and enough memory cards, and batteries (for some redundancy) would really suffice you to get started.

2011 is a good a year as any to "Jump off the dock", as the saying goes...

c[_]

[Tommot1965]

thanks for the insight Coffee, I appreciate it ..

[John Poirier]

to all the Pros, that earn a living from Photograhpy...how did you set yourselves Up...at what point in your life did you achive it?..

if I had $50,000 to equip a studio, set up a website, expose my business to Local advertising...how would that work Out....cant help but think about it...particulary as my age and current workplace are at odds with each other

Take it for granted that in this business the ability to take a good image/Post Process and people skills are already in place..

where do you find your more lucrative work ...

Im dreaming perhaps...but then again...who knows!!

I took a very different route from most and was fairly lucky.

Taught myself photography to a pretty high technical level in the early to mid-70s.
I've always been quite good at learning from books and enjoy the process. This was a good thing as most of my learning was done in a village of 1000 people in the Yukon. I then went south and very quickly landed a job at a small newspaper operation, doing photography and a bunch of darkroom work for several weekly and semi-weekly papers. While there I picked up quite a bit about process camera operations, which later proved to be very useful.

After a couple of years I went North again and continued to work on my photography while earning a living doing other things. In 1986 I was hired by a major museum and archives in the North on the basis of a strong portfolio and broad technical skills. Among other things, while there I developed a very sophisticated film-based copying and duplication system, then made the transition to digital over a five-year period beginning in 1993.

I worked there for 20 years, doing a very rich mixture of technical work, documentary assignments, and general photography. I retired to British Columbia in 2006 and have concentrated on my personal work, which is getting increasing recognition.

There is now a ridiculous number of people with more optimism than knowledge trying to compete in commercial/stock photography. I think that, for those of us with the discipline and flexibility to acquire serious skills, technical speciallization is a good way to go. For example, I think I could make a fairly decent income providing high-quality but affordable scanning and copying services to archives and museums that do not have in-house imaging programs.

John

[ajoe]

good advice EXO..what would you consider the first steps?, minimum gear required etc ?

where to advertise and what to advertise for?

weddings spring to mind..Ive done one years back for a family member...it turned out ok

i

What type of photography are you passionate about?

Your quote above sounds like someone who has a camera and thinks why not make some money. Am I wrong?

There are many photographic disciplines. Some you don't have to quit your day job and invest $50,000.

But without a passion for what you intend to do, the whole concept is just a crap shoot.

[Tommot1965]

What type of photography are you passionate about?

Your quote above sounds like someone who has a camera and thinks why not make some money. Am I wrong?

There are many photographic disciplines. Some you don't have to quit your day job and invest $50,000.

But without a passion for what you intend to do, the whole concept is just a crap shoot.

no you are not wrong.

but that doesn't mean Im not passionate either .....Ive always felt that if a person can make a living doing what they love, then they have won the Lotto of life...

what I like to photograph for personal pleasure, shouldn't transcend to be reason for earning a living...IMHO...a true Pro can Photograph any subject, make a stellar job of it, even if it falls outside of their specialist field ....

Ultimately Id love to do studio work, Portraits , family shots...that kinda thing,
I might consider weddings...but Id never do one until I've assisted a few times to learn the craft of wedding shoots....they seem to me , the highest pressure as far as Photography goes....if I cock up in a studio, I can ask the subject to return for a free sitting...weddings are here and now..no second chances.

whatever I do ..it has to be with people...

Im looking at buying two studio strobes as a start..and setting up at home for a while..Ill see if I can turn that into something

[ajoe]

no you are not wrong.

but that doesn't mean Im not passionate either .....Ive always felt that if a person can make a living doing what they love, then they have won the Lotto of life...

what I like to photograph for personal pleasure, shouldn't transcend to be reason for earning a living...IMHO...a true Pro can Photograph any subject, make a stellar job of it, even if it falls outside of their specialist field ....

Ultimately Id love to do studio work, Portraits , family shots...that kinda thing,
I might consider weddings...but Id never do one until I've assisted a few times to learn the craft of wedding shoots....they seem to me , the highest pressure as far as Photography goes....if I cock up in a studio, I can ask the subject to return for a free sitting...weddings are here and now..no second chances.

whatever I do ..it has to be with people...

Im looking at buying two studio strobes as a start..and setting up at home for a while..Ill see if I can turn that into something

It sounds like you are taking the right approach by starting off small and working your way into it.

By my experience with the part of what you said (bolded) is completely the opposite. I know many people who have tried to turn hobbies they loved into businesses and most failed. They only succeeded at turning a great hobby into work. In the end, they lost money and an enjoyable pastime.

I'm not suggesting you can not or will not succeed, but on that you take it slow and let your success drive you forward.

Good luck!

[builttospill]

...what I like to photograph for personal pleasure, shouldn't transcend to be reason for earning a living...IMHO...a true Pro can Photograph any subject, make a stellar job of it, even if it falls outside of their specialist field ....

I disagree with you on this, to a point. I can also see your side of the story though. Look at other pros. They focus on what they excel at, what naturally comes easy for them. I've seen a lot of Ben's (benjikan) work posted here and on his blog, but I've never seen any samples from a wedding he's shot. Why? Have you ever seen a color photograph from Ansel Adams? Why? A pro became a pro because they practiced and worked hard at what they are good at and made it something more. A pro football (American football) player is placed in a position becuase they are good at it, a quarterback doesn't practice kicking field goals because a pro should be able to do anything on the field.

Take a look at what you're good at and what you want to do. If it compares to or beats the competition then go for it. If it doesn't you should know what you need to work on to get to that level. But my advice is to find your strengths that make your work stand out and specialize in it.

[Ira]

I agree with Coffee. You will develop tons of business through word of mouth, personal contacts, AND advertising. No problem there at all.

The problem:

Being able to deliver, which only one out of a hundred can do.

I have been shooting on and off for 40 years, and not only haven't I developed the skills to do weddings and other types of work, I really don't want to. Well, yeah, I do--but not enough to gamble the rent/mortgage money on.

The fact is, most of us don't have the combination of skills, personality or business-savvy to make it work. I'm not saying not to try--but without the first aspect of skill for the type of shooting you want to do--forget it.

But then, there's always baby photography.

[Gashog]

First off....what is "pro"? This "pro" stuff is starting to remind me of that TV show "Chuck" where everyone wants to be a "spy".
Is a part time freelancer a "pro"?
What if he made $175,000 last year?
I ask because my brother in law was a staff photographer at an advertising company and got layed off along with everyone else. The company still uses him and the other old staffers but as a freelancer and for a day rate of $12,000.
The rest of the time, my B.I.L. is a flower farmer and sometimes a wedding photographer.

I'm the opposite. I make pretty much nothing off photography. I can write off my occasional equipment purchases because I'm a part time freelancer but I make my money moving dirt. I own a trucking, excavation and demolition company.

Sorry to get OT. My brother in law did it by being in the right place at the right time. He went to school in CO for two years and got a certificate of some kind. He generated a nice portfolio while he was a student. More importantly, he made a lot of friends. He drove everywhere and did everything. He has a network of friends in the business who he "came up with" and when he's not booked (which is a lot) he travels all over skiing or raving and visits with them while he's out.
Through networking, he signed on with a small company with a very big client. Basically, he shoots cars for magazine adds and online brochures.

He can't do what I do and I can't do what he does. Totally different skill sets.

[Tommot1965]

A pro, in my opinion is somebody who charges for his services, either part time, or full time , amateurs do it for free

[Gashog]

What did you think about the rest of what I posted?
I left out that my BIL shot weddings for 2 years and worked for a landscape photographer doing mats and frames.
I like the news and sports. It doesn't pay very well though.