Looking To Make A Career

[Dskater99]

Hey im 18 years old and i want to get into photography as more than a hobby but dont know how to go about getting noticed by a company or start my own buisness.


I got offered a job taking pictures for a local newspaper in the summer but havent heard anything from them since. I think it would be great to make a little money doing what i love, even if its only $100 a month. I need help maybe marketing my photography or setting up a portfolio. Any information or experiences would help. Thanks

 

[texkam]

Tons of threads on here that go into much detail about this topic. Take some time to read 'em. : )

 

[TATTRAT]

Hey im 18 years old and i want to get into photography as more than a hobby but dont know how to go about getting noticed by a company or start my own buisness.


I got offered a job taking pictures for a local newspaper in the summer but havent heard anything from them since. I think it would be great to make a little money doing what i love, even if its only $100 a month. I need help maybe marketing my photography or setting up a portfolio. Any information or experiences would help. Thanks

This sounds cliche, but just shoot.

You aren't going to land anything as a full time, bill paying, keeping a roof over your head gig right off the bat.

Keep shooting. Keep developing a portfolio, keep pushing yourself to be better than your last session.

Be prepared to get disappointed. Be prepared to STAY disappointed (especially if you are thinking you are going to be doing it as a career at your age).

Don't give up.

Like anything in life, sometimes it's not what you know, but it's who you know. Get involved, stay humble, learn who is out there, get to know those who are out there.

If you have already been offered a job by the local paper (though most use free lance and buy what they need, at least in this neck of the woods), and you haven't heard back from them, then it is NOW YOUR JOB to bug the hell out of THEM. You said it was "in the summer", does that mean this upcoming summer or the one that is now past? If it is for the UPCOMING summer, than you have a lot of time to impress them with pictures, and a lot of time to keep YOU fresh in their minds.

Remember, $100 a month is barely 2 tanks of gas. It's not going to pay the bills.

"Getting noticed" comes with time, reputation, consistency, and offering something that no one else is doing that makes people go "Ohhh, Ahhhh"...

Please, keep in mind photography for me is a hobby. I am a Chef by trade, BUT a lot of the same rules apply. I have been in my industry for 19 years, and no matter how great I am doing it, how AWESOME I THINK IT IS, there is ALWAYS someone just a little younger, a little better, and doing something that will be the next "big thing". . . same goes for photography, or any trade, imo. Find your niche, focus on doing 10 things 100% correct instead of doing 110 things at 10%.

All just my humble advice. To each their own. Weigh your emotional investments as you would your financial investments: What's the return?

 

[Dskater99]

Honestly i would love to take portraits and have the "customer" only pay for my travels and gas. Im not in it to make a living, I just want to be able to do what i love without wasting money traveling places if that makes sense.

 

[thebasedsloth]

Well the thread was titled 'looking to make a career' and now you're just saying you want gas money. Find out what YOU WANT to do before you start asking others how to do it.

 

[Glyn]

Hi,

As you're only 18, I would like to give you some different advice... Don't try to make a career out of it - keep shooting and keep having fun. As soon as you turn it into a business you start to put pressure on yourself and on your photography activities you run the risk of spoiling it. Just set out to create the best pictures you can and to have as much fun as possible and you will develop a lot better...

Of course, if you were in your mid 30's I'd be giving you the opposite advice!!

 

[pixmedic]

step1-take some pictures
step2-make a facebook photography page
step3- have all friends and family "like" your page and pictures
step4- rake in the clients!

if your just looking for "gas and travel money", this seems to be the most popular method.

 

[orljustin]

Honestly i would love to take portraits and have the "customer" only pay for my travels and gas. Im not in it to make a living, I just want to be able to do what i love without wasting money traveling places if that makes sense.

That makes no sense, and is a bad idea.

 

[Tony S]

Skip the grand career ideas for now. Take tons of pictures, learn about finding light, and enjoy the crap out of it. Once you start doing it for the money it become work. Go to school and learn skills for a backup career.

 

[KmH]

10 worst majors for your career- MSN Money

No. 3: Film and photographyUnemployment rate: 7.3%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 12.9%
Median salary: $45,000
Median salary for recent grads: $30,000
Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020:13%

It's even worse if you're a self-employed, freelance photographer.