Odd jobs/making money as an amature? Need suggestions.

[TheStupidForeigner]

I've been passively studying photography for a year or two, and the more I learnt the more I fell in love with it so I decided this year I will take a year off of any other kind of work and focus on becoming a professional photographer. I don't expect to become one of the greatest in that time, but at least good enough to support myself while doing something I love, which is more important to me than being rich.

The problem is my savings are not going to stretch the whole year by themselves, especially if I plan to improve my equipment as well, so I need to earn some small money while keeping to my rule of staying within photography, and any experience at all pressing the shutter I think counts for something.

I've tried reaching out to other photographers looking for intern style jobs as an assistant, even offering to work for free to some point but haven't had much luck... I've also been considering things like product photography, as it's quite boring I figured there wouldn't be much competition but I really have no idea where to start looking for this kind of work. What I'm trying to say is I'm really up for anything! And I don't care much about money either, it would just be nice to earn my first euro (I'm located in Europe) from photography and continue learning and moving up the ladder

So does anyone have any advice or suggestions for me?


Right now I have a canon t3 with 18-55 + 50mm 1.8, a homemade 50cm product light box and a bunch of low end studio stuff (reflector, softbox, etc.). I also have an ok computer with lightroom and photoshop. Of course I don't mind buying something else if it will pay for it's self.

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me to achieve my lifes goal

 

[astroNikon]

Search for local professional photography studios / wedding photographers in your area.
Call them and ask if you can be an assistant; intern; if they are looking for help; etc.

for getting small jobs you'll have to start some type of marketing campaign as soon as you figure out what you want to do. Try to develop some type of business plan.

i'm sure the Pro's will be able to offer better advice.

 

[tirediron]

You need to do more research. A LOT more research. With the flood of relatively good-quality, inexpensive consumer equipment on the market, there is NO area of photography that is not heavily over-saturated, at least not east of Timbuktu!

Since you plan to do this full time for a year, there is a lot of money to spend before you even shoot a frame for money. You need whatever licenses your local intermediate and/or Federal Governments require, you will need liability insurance, you will need to find out about taxes, what you have to collect, and to whom and when it must be submitted, and you will need to have contracts, agreements, and releases, etc, drafted and reviewed by a lawyer.

When you say you tried "reaching out" to other photographers, how did you do this? The only way that's going to bring you results is in person. Print 10-15 of your BEST images of the genre that photographer specializes in, shine your shoot, press your trousers and put on a tie, then take those prints, in a nice presentation folio, knock politely on the door and ask for an appointment with Mr. <Name>.

You will of course also need a website, social media pages, advertising, etc. As far as your gear goes, I'm afraid it's more than a little lacking. I would add at a minimum a speedlight and 55-200 lens to the kit, which will at least allow you to cover some events. We all say that gear isn't important, and it's not to the creative process, but it's essential to the financial one. Last year I did a family portrait session in a client's home for a wealthy, elderly client who had very specific requirements. It was also a very unusual home; had I not been able to reach into my gear closet for (IIRC) eight speedlights, and a number of magic arms, clamps, etc, I would not have been able to do the job to the client's satisfaction. I don't mean you need to start off with a $30K investment in gear, but generally if you're going to hang our your shingle, you should have a bit more unless you're going for a very specific niche.

Good luck.

 

[FotosbyMike]

I would also have to agree with Tirediron, but I would also like to add you may think product photography is boring and lack of competition but every website, catalog... has product shots every company needs good product shots. So there really is not really a lack of competition here. Product shots can be very technical with tons of hours in Photoshop so be prepared on what you take on.

If product shots is something you want to do you need to be putting a portfolio together now, stop by local stores, email local business and offer you services...etc. A photography business is 10% shooting and 90% business. Good luck!

 

[Light Guru]

I will take a year off of any other kind of work and focus on becoming a professional photographer.

Your stepping off the dock before the boat arrives. You should keep your regular job and do photography on the side until you have built up the photography work enough to switch over.

Making a living a a photographer these days is not easy and not having a job to keep money coming in while you build a photo business is going to make your life hard and stressful.

I recommend you read this book.
Quitter Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job Your Dream Job Jonathan Acuff 9780982986271 Amazon.com Books

 

[KmH]

Your profile does not say where you are. Where are you?
Here in the USA today, the average professional photographer makes a gross income of about $32,000 a year.
That translates into about $24,000 a year take home pay.

Making a living doing photography has never been easy.

Making a living wage doing photography is way more about having business skills than it is about having photography skills.

It sounds like you haven't done the basic math that will show you how much your 'business' will have to have as revenue on a regular basis.

I'll keep the math simple.
The 'salary' you pay yourself is a business expense (payroll).
In other words your salary is not profit.
A well run photography business can generate salary at a rate of about 25% of revenue.
So using the $32,000 average salary from above - $32,000 / 25% = $128,000 in revenue your business will need to take in per year ($10,667 per month, $2481 per week).
You can pay yourself a bigger salary in 2 ways:
1. Reduce business operating expenses so the % of revenue going to salary goes up.
2. Increase revenue.

With those basic numbers you can recalculate for more or less salary, more or less revenue, and a better or worse % of revenue.
For example:
Lets assume your business running skills are not well polished and you only generate salary at 20% of revenue. To keep your salary the same you need to increase revenue - $32,000 / 20% = $160,000 per year.
Lets go the other way and assume you run a tight ship and generate salary at 28% of revenue - $32,000 / 28% = $114,286.

 

[Braineack]

Here in the USA today, the average professional photographer makes a gross income of about $32,000 a year.
That translates into about $24,000 a year take home pay.

lol.

 

[Austin Greene]

I will take a year off of any other kind of work and focus on becoming a professional photographer.

Your stepping off the dock before the boat arrives. You should keep your regular job and do photography on the side until you have built up the photography work enough to switch over.

Making a living a a photographer these days is not easy and not having a job to keep money coming in while you build a photo business is going to make your life hard and stressful.

I recommend you read this book.
Quitter Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job Your Dream Job Jonathan Acuff 9780982986271 Amazon.com Books

Can't agree enough with this. Get some clientele going first. Before I ever switch to weddings full-time I'll need to be at least matching my current income from my full-time job. Currently, that means doubling my volume in the next year. In my case, that might not be too difficult, but in other markets it could be near impossible.

 

[TheStupidForeigner]

Thanks for all the replies. First of all I am now living in Germany, I actually just moved here and spend 20 hours a week studying German, so I didn't have a full time job to quit. Also for me I easily get distracted so I know the only way to achieve what I want is to allow and focus a large amount of my time on it, all or nothing kind of thing. In regards to tax stuff, there is a law in Germany that says if you make under 500 euros it is considered a hobby and you don't have to declair anything, and I don't expect to get even close to that limit within the next several months, so will worry about it when I get to it.

Anyway regarding product photography, would anyone suggest just going up to small companies and asking if they need anything? To be honest I really wouldnt know what to say or what to offer. This week I plan to take photos of a bunch of random products around my house, though there is so few articles and videos regarding product photography. Any suggestions on making it stand out? I also did some formal business portraits for a friend last night, will offer a few more friends and maybe look for a way to advertise that as a service also.

 

[Braineack]

yeah learning how to camera first is a great idea.

 

[astroNikon]

Maybe you could show some of your Product Photography and Business Portraits for C&C.
then you can gauge where you are in regards to the Pro's responses to those.
and what equipment, education, techniques, etc that you may need to add

But at the very least, as I believed was mentioned above and at the very least, you have to create a portfolio for prospective customers to review.

 

[FotosbyMike]

IMO unless you have a strong selection of images it is going to be hard to get anyone to hire you. I would start watching all the Youtube videos you can about product photography, lookup people like Karl Taylor, RGG EDU, Tony Roslund to start. Add some photos for the form to review.

 

[imagemaker46]

Not having a day job to stay with while you try making enough money to live on is a problem. I would find the day job first, save enough money, invest in classes to learn about photography, buy the best gear that you can afford from the new day job, and then re-think photography as a way to make a living. It's really not easy.

 

[fjrabon]

I got lucky. I got a job that allowed me to photograph 40 hours a week, without having to use my own gear, shooting sports and senior portraits. I made ~$36,000/year doing it. It taught me a TON.

I had viewed that job as a way to really immerse myself, build up my personal gear and build up a substantial sports photography and portrait portfolio but ultimately transfer to working for one of the big newspapers, agencies or magazines.

I did eventually get one of those job offers from one of the top newspapers in the US. The salary offered was $33,000. It was in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. $33,000 in that city isn't really even a living wage.

I also had started to be jaded by what it was like to be a full time photographer. I actually didn't enjoy shooting 60-80% of the time. I managed to turn my passion into a soul crushing job, just like any other job, with no hobby I was passionate about to balance things out.

I basically had every break you could have possibly had go right for me. And it still didn't really work for me as a full time career.

Of course this is just my personal experience. But the point is there are a LOT of things that can go wrong when you've planned as little as you have. And even if everything goes right, being a pro photographer is rarely about passion. It's mostly about doing your job professionally and treating it like a job and not a passion. You already stated you find product photography boring, but you're considering becoming a product photographer?! This sounds like a recipe for neither professional success nor personal happiness.

My advice, especially given how little you have put into it at this point, if you love photography, do something else for money. Keep photography your personal love and passion. The job of photography is very different from doing photography you love 90% of the time.

 

[TheStupidForeigner]

Fjrabon I'm sad you had that experience, although I think you misunderstood me a little. I don't want to "become" a product photographer, I just want a temporary way to make a little money while getting to click my shutter, even if it is slightly unrelated to what I hope for the future. I think your problem might have been more that you were working in the wrong job, or for the wrong person. For me I have actually never wanted to work for another person even since I was a teenager, and so far have had several successful and happy free lance jobs and businesses. I think this may be one of the reasons I am choosing photography as it suits a freelance lifestyle, although I do know that is also a lot of work and as many people said involves many skills other than photography which I also do believe I have.

As for the other point people said, yes I definitely need more work to show, and I also need more practice which are basically the same thing and that is definitely my top priority at the moment. I do have a rather mediocre flickr page with some work althought I know it is lacking in many areas. Anyway, if anyone wants to see what I've done so far you can take a look: Flickr Dan Norris. s Photostream