Career in Photography?

[wclement7]

hello all, i am a junior in high school. have known that i wanted to go to college since like ever lol. and for the last 3 years or so i wanted to be a computer engineer/programmer or something in that area. only problem is i took advanced photography this year and we go on trips. now i am second guessing myself. and i think i would rather be out taking pictures doing what i love rather then sitting on my rather large butt all day. so now to my question.. if oyu haven't left this post already(sorry bout that!). if i went into photography as a career would i be able to support a family? will i have extra money and not be just getting by? how hard is it to get jobs of this type? and well any ideas and comments are very welcome! if anyone is a professional photographer any things that helped you will be very helpful to me. I am great ful for all of you!
thanks,
willis

 

[fdi]

For most of my life, I was a computer engineer. I designed multi-processor control systems for large telecom systems. I looked hard at going pro with my photography and started to do some work for hire on the side. One of my problems was that it looked like it would take me about 10 years to build up to the level where I could make an equivalent salary. Possibly 5 if I decided to be a wedding photographer. The problem with photography is that there are lots of people buying nice gear that have nice day jobs (like engineer) and shoot photography on the weekends for amounts that are too low to make a decent living. That means you have to rise significantly about the crowd so that you can justify the larger fees. In short, yes, you can, but only if you decide you really want to and stick with it for however many years it takes you to get there. If you just sorta think it would be cool, then forget it. You will be lucky to pay off your equipment.

I had a wonderful career in engineering and left it because I wanted new challenges and more control over my life. I considered becoming a photographer and a consulting engineer but decided against both because they are both still working for time (unless you own a studio or consulting firm). If you are not working you are not making money. I became interested in building a business that would be able to make money without me so that I could eventually have the time and money to travel and work on fine-art photography.

If you want to talk more about engineering, feel free to email me. I have done hardware and software engineering for large companies and startups.

 

[craig]

I do photography and prepress production for the local paper. The pay is more then fair. I also do a lot freelance work, so that helps. The other photographers that have their own business do well. When I was in NYC I worked for some studios that made small fortunes. The money is out there. Long story short; it is a lot like most feilds. Knowledge and experience will pay off. So start as soon as possible.