Is pursuing freelance photography an ideal career choice?

[robbins.photo]

My ideal yearly salary is 30k a year.

I'd wager you could make that at McDonald's with a LOT less stress....

Plus free hats. At Mcdonalds they give you a hat. And a nametag. You don't get a either for free as a pro photographer.

Seriously though, to the op, starting your own photography business is actually pretty easy. Making any real money at it becomes an order of magnitude more difficult. Odds are good you are going to have to put a lot of time and effort into building your business, and that during that time you'll have to maintain a full time job as well to pay your bills.

Even after you get established, your looking at an extremely competitive business in which a lot of people will offer their services a lot cheaper than what you can afford to match, so you'll need to consider that as part of your business model and market yourself accordingly.

Keep in mind that a lot of guys who shot pro are getting out of the business already, so again, plan accordingly. You'll need to work very hard to establish a client base, etc - and then you'll have to work hard to maintain it. It's not impossible, but it's certainly far from easy.

So with that in mind if this still seems like something you want to do, I'll wish you luck.

 

[tirediron]

...Plus free hats. At Mcdonalds they give you a hat. And a nametag. You don't get a either for free as a pro photographer...

No, but you make up for it in t-shirts; I literally cannot get the t-shirt drawer of my dresser shut because of all the free event t-shirts I received over the years. I doubt very much if I will ever have to another t-shirt in my life!

 

[vintagesnaps]

Free hats... now there's an incentive...

Yes, work on a plan. Get on American Society of Media Photographers or PPA to see what you're going to need to learn. You can't just 'put yourself out there' in a vague way, you need to learn how/where to market yourself.

And what's being done by the people with cameras listing themselves on craigslist/facebook is underpricing, and causing existing photographers to be challenged to stay in business. I think you'd have to get damn good and know what you're doing.

Your uncle seems to have gotten you on the right track but he's established and probably has a good reputation and good word of mouth that took him years to develop. You're starting out with bupkis.

While you're still working, develop skills, and get out with your camera and practice practice practice. You've gotta love it to stick with it for the long haul. You should get to the point that you know how to use your camera without having to think about it too much, then you'll need to learn skills in working with and directing/posing people, etc. if you want to do weddings/portraits. Take a class, learn to do it 'right' - meaning learn the basics and how to do that well then you can get creative with it and make it more likely you can be successful.

 

[The_Traveler]

Consider that, if it looks good to you, there are truly hundreds of thousands of people with cameras who think the same thing.
The barriers to competition are very low and the public cares less and less about the gap between adequate photography and really good photography - and you have yet to get into the 'really good' category.

 

[dennybeall]

"The Traveler" has a good point. A good illustration: Place an ad on Craigslist for an Event Photographer for a small wedding - list the Budget at 250$ ..............and see if you get less than 50 responses.
That's an absolutely terrible price that barely covers expenses but a whole bunch of novices with D3300's will respond with words about how GOOD they are.........

 

[jcdeboever]

"The Traveler" has a good point. A good illustration: Place an ad on Craigslist for an Event Photographer for a small wedding - list the Budget at 250$ ..............and see if you get less than 50 responses.
That's an absolutely terrible price that barely covers expenses but a whole bunch of novices with D3300's will respond with words about how GOOD they are.........

Wouldn't want that nightmare.

 

[astroNikon]

take some vacations and go 2nd shoot/intern for your uncle.
That would be a crash course in everything .. weddings .. bridezillas .. equipment .. lighting .. 18 hour non-stop day.

but don't forget to work with him in the initial setup for the wedding and stuff like that too.
this will give you an idea of what goes into a wedding from a photographers point of view ==> Why I Can’t Shoot Your Wedding for Free {Part I of II}

also in your income, don't forget things like health insurance, car insurance, car payments, etc as you are now your own contractor and not an employee eligible for company benefits.

 

[Beatles2]

It is imparative you have a business plan, many great photographers with no business plan fail. You will also need your own gear. Keep in mind when shooting a wedding you might want to have better gear then the guests at the wedding. ( just saying)

You're young so if this is something you love, go for it.

 

[KmH]

Is pursuing freelance photography an ideal career choice?

Not today, and it's getting worse by the day.
The bar to entry has gotten to low.

Your only hope is to have sufficient business, salesmanship, marketing and photography skills that you can attract as your regular customers the 15% of the populace that has 85% of the money.
High quality retail photographs (weddings, families, kids, portraits, events, etc) are a luxury item and should be marketed, promoted, and priced as such, if a freelance photographer wants to have any hope of earning enough income to live a middle class type life.
The real trick there is that to attract the 15% that has 85% of the money you have to be able to socialize with and think like the 15% that have 85% of the money.

The Internet, cell phone cameras, online photo sharing, and digital cameras that can make a decent, if only mediocre, photo with little skill required of the photographer are making freelance photography a very hard way to make a living.
The good news is, you don't have to waste time/effort/$$$$s marketing/promoting to the prevalent average person Walmart - Low Prices Everyday - buyer mentality. You only market/promote to that upper crust 15% that have 85% of the money. However, your marketing/promotional material need to be attractive to the 15% that have 85%.

So it is unfortunate, but the average freelance photographer in the US today doesn't make income above the poverty income level and fewer than 15% of all new retail businesses (of any kind) survive more than a couple of years. Only 15% of all photographers today make $50,000 a year or more, and most of the 15% are older photographers that have long established photography businesses.
The #1 reason new retail businesses fail is because they don't make enough money to keep the business going. Which usually means the business owner isn't making enough to eat and pay personal expenses, let alone keep the business alive.

But WTF is an ideal career choice, of any kind today?
The pace of change has become so rapid that young people today should be planning on having 6 or more careers in their lifetime.

 

[smoke665]

I don't mean this disrespectful in any way, toward those pursuing their dream in photography. However I can't help but be amused by the number of posts that crop up on this, and the overwhelming consensus. "It's a great business, you just can't make a living at it". Granted there are those true professionals either by talent or longevity that are the exception to the rule. I pulled up the latest data from the Department of Labor and Statistics. The "average" income for the classification "photographer" is just a shade over $40K. By comparison the average for a fast food manager (not store manager) in the this area is $35,000. Most all of the construction trades make more than photographers. Truck drivers make twice the average of photographers, and the list goes on. I would advise any young person starting out, that Nirvana is a myth, it takes cold hard cash to live, and if you don't seek the training/education to earn a decent living while you're young, you will one day find yourself in a deep dark hole and no way to climb out. I learned at an early age to differentiate between what I liked to do and what I was good at doing. Over the years doing what I was good at has paid for a lot of things I like to do.

 

[Gary A.]

Yes ... What-the-hell and why not. There is possibly nothing worse than stagnation. But, it won't be easy and taking a bit of leap here ... I suspect, that at this time, you do not have the skills and experience of a professional photographer.

Go to school and take photo classes. Find a mentor to help you. Work for an established and successful professional photographer. Read books on photography, shoot, shoot some more and when you think you're done, shoot some more. Go to a four year college and get a degree in Art (emphasis in photography) or Communications (emphasis in photojournalism) and while you're you're in school, take as many business courses as possible.

I echo everyone else who explained that the field is very competitive ... But there are many photographers that are monetarily and career-wise ... successful. And one of those successful photographer could be you ... The odds are long that it would be you ... But it could be. You'll never know if you could be successful ... unless you try. Unless you quit stagnating, get off your butt and take a stab at it ... Reach for the brass ring.

At this point, don't worry about a business plan. Worry about how you will acquire the skills and experience to become a professional photographer. Find professional mentors, find part-time or full-time work with an established and successful professional photographer. Join photographic associations and learn from the members. Work at your photography every single day. Learn digital, learn film, learn video, learn studio, photojournalism, et cetera ... learn it all. Make photography your passion.

You are on the first step of a long journey. Bon Voyage. Good luck and Good shooting.

Gary

 

[KmH]

The Department of Labor doesn't single out retail photographers.
Plus their information isn't current and only reflects those photographers that have a legal business.
Lots of newbie photographers do not have a legal, registered business and do not report income to the US government.
The DoL stated median average income for all photographers is stated as $31,710 - well short of $40k.
Photographers

To make a living income with any business is mostly about having business skills.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Here is some advice Ill offer on freelance in general

1) Don't Quit Your Day Job Just Yet: Day jobs can suck, bosses can suck, work can suck some times but having a stable paycheck and being able to eat and pay rent can really help you quite literally survive, quality of life can be something that many don't think about until they are on the wrong side of it. You may even find that the money you make at a day job can help you get some gear with out needing to leverage a credit card or take out a loan. You may even be able to get a job in the photography industry and learn in the process.

2) Work When You Can: If you take my first piece of advice you will most likely be thinking that you will have no time to pursue things. This is wrong in my opinion. Many modern day jobs fill the 9-5 time frame quite well which, if we are being frank, is not when weddings and similar events happen. I worked with a guy who did wedding videos on the side to make extra money and had no problem balancing his day job with it. You will however have to sacrifice free time and possibly doing things with friends to make this a reality. Some people are willing to do this and consider it the price of getting started. You may find that you can hold a day job no problem and do portrait sessions at night and weddings on the weekends, you will need to work in time to sleep there but you are young, you can sleep later in life.

3) Don't Expect to Go Straight to the Top: Building clients, building a reputation and just generally building skills takes time (think years not months). You need to be ready to fail at a few jobs and possibly even make a fool of your self once or twice. If you can ride these things out, it will get better! The young generation is a very now now now generation, don't expect your skills to mature over night.

4) Seek Advice: You have asked here which is a start, but go and sit down and talk to other people who have done it. Talk to older people who started long ago and talk to young people who started in the past 5 years. Get a feel for what you are in for, what its going to take and make a plan for your self. No two stories are going to be the same but you will find a common line of hard work, time consuming hours and simply putting your self out there.

Regards
Dave

 

[smoke665]

The Department of Labor doesn't single out retail photographers.
Plus their information isn't current and only reflects those photographers that have a legal business.
Lots of newbie photographers do not have a legal, registered business and do not report income to the US government.
The DoL stated median average income for all photographers is stated as $31,710 - well short of $40k.
Photographers

To make a living income with any business is mostly about having business skills.

To have an average you would likely have some well under and some well over. To me making a living is somewhat like making a living as an artist. Some go hungry and others (like a friend of ours) live quite well off thier art. The end result though is that you need to be realistic in what you choose as a way to make a living.

 

[astroNikon]

FYI,
I totally recommend to not take out loans to buy equipment as mentioned above.

Remember, a loan is because you can't afford to buy something.
Then when you get a loan you now have a FIXED Monthly Payment to pay,
which of course reduces your monthly spending income by that amount,
and when you add up the payments (which includes principal and interest) you may have spent enough to buy much more if you simply save up and pay cash.

For most people their income (or lack thereof) is the reason they took out a loan is because they don't make enough.
Then you have to cut someplace else to make up for that monthly payment.

I recommend saving up $$ to buy new equipment and start setting aside $$ to purchase future equipment.
Then you won't disrupt your current quality of life.