RANT - Photography Business

[RoyalCaptures]

RANT BEWARE:
I'm sorry guys, but come on seriously. It seems like every man and his dog I know wants to become a "professional photographer" lately.

Thoughts??

 

[bratkinson]

Everybody would LOVE to have a job they LOVE, work 5-10 hours a week taking pictures, and get well paid for doing so! THAT'S what the unknowing public perception of a professional photographer is.

Those of us old enough to remember when Bob Cummings had his own TV show in which he was a professional photographer that lived well and had numerous beautiful women at his feet know that was merely TV/Hollywood fiction, not reality. Back in the late '50s when that show was on TV, one really had to know a whole lot more than point the camera and click the shutter to make a living out of it.

But today, one can simply buy a 'fancy' camera (any starter kit will do), hang out a shingle and start taking pictures and make lots of money! It's all so E-A-S-Y...

Yea...right!

How easily the naïve believe that's all they have to do? OK...get a 'professional camera' and some 'professional lenses' instead...THEN go for it!

Never mind the accounting side of running a business...or the IRS, or professional insurance (liability, accident, errors and omissions, etc), advertising...AND putting food on the table PLUS health insurance, rent/mortgage, etc. OOOPS!!! I forgot the startup costs of actually acquiring 'all that' professional gear.

And last, but not least...don't forget actually learning photography and capturing a mood or feeling, not simply millions of colored pixels inside a computer disguised as a camera...

 

[PaulWog]

Take any niche forum... or any online forum for that matter... and you'll run into 'the angry crowd'. They get mad at life. They get mad at other people, they nitpick, and they initiate arguments that never need to be started in the first place. Earlier today, someone asked about which lens he should get to progress from his 18-55mm lens. He stated clearly what he wanted, what he does with his camera, etc (the answer was that he wanted more reach). The first reply wasn't "here's lens choices X, Y, and Z". He was met with a response that read: "Frankly, do you even know, understand and can use ALL of the functionality that [your camera] has?" The name of the forum-goer who gave the response is irrelevant. I'm not saying he's a bad guy, or that he doesn't have advice to give. What I'm pointing out is the insipid, bashful attitudes that so many forum-goers choose to default to.

Remember that this is a relatively major photography forum. If someone is interested in going pro, and they decide the discussion medium to lay their thoughts out will be a forum, then this forum is a very likely one for them to come to. So, if you're frequently refreshing the "Aspiring Professionals" subsection of thephotoforum, you're obviously going to run into this a lot more. What I'm saying is that the numbers might not be that great, but you're putting yourself at the hub where many of these kinds of people will come to.

Moreover, photography isn't the only trade that people choose to pursue on a whim. Plumbing, carpentry, interior design, fashion design, make-up artists, professional writer, YouTube personalities, artists of all types, professional trades workers of all types, etc... it's not uncommon for people to wake up and say "Hey! I want to be *that*." Most don't make it past the internal thought process. When someone takes it to a forum, that's not worth a lot more than the first stage of thinking it out in your head. I wouldn't be offended by someone saying they want to go pro, they have a prosumer camera and a lens or two, and they've shot a couple vacations. They could be misinformed, ignorant, and overly hopeful. However, few will take it to the next stage.

Remember that photography is one of those things that everyone gets to do. Many people try to be their own lawyer or doctor when they shouldn't be. Many home-school their children when they don't know the first thing about properly laying out a learning plan for a child. The examples are endless. Botched home improvement jobs? Yep, that happens every day. The enjoyable do-it-yourself stuff is what is attractive to many (especially those who are unhappy with their profession, or don't have a professional field they're currently in). And yes, the lazy people do exist who should have gotten a proper education, or stuck with a company or trade, and they didn't... and they just want it all handed to them (but it's not worth getting angry over the most painfully annoying examples). I think we could narrow the go-to easy-to-think-it's-easy-but-it's-not-that-easy list of professions down to maybe a list of 20. Photography is up there. I've run into many (very young, very old, and inbetween) who are terrible with writing, and they are continually trying to be published, or just have others look at their writing. I think what you're mad at is the image of a person who thinks like this: "If I just try hard enough I can do it... I don't actually need to treat this like a path which requires self-education, constant adaption, intense dedication, and substantial amounts of discipline...".

 

[photoguy99]

What's wrong with that?

'But they're soooooo baaad!' isn't a reason. Neither is 'they'll probably fail' since that's true about every business.

 

[RoyalCaptures]

I'm not saying its bad for them to establish, its just annoying me how many people are willing to charge, even though they are in most cases "in-experienced" and if they took the time to study the art. Maybe I wouldn't be so frustrated!

 

[Overread]

Dear photography - welcome to the world of traditional art, where people who can't draw have been getting jobs since we invented drawing!

 

[SCraig]

You can't blame it all on the people who immediately buy a camera and hang up a shingle, a lot of the blame lies with the consumers. Look at any of the social media sites or photography forums and the trash that gets the "That's GREAT!" comments and likes. Consumers have been bombarded with bad to mediocre photography for so long that they have come to accept it as being "Good". Friends and family tell someone "Wow! You're great! You should go Pro!" and they do it.

When the bar keeps getting lowered then the profession gets flooded with people who can't jump very high.

 

[acparsons]

Well, I would like to become a "professional photographer." I have two other professions as well, but love creating photos. It's been a long journey learning what I know now, and I know I have a lot further to go. In my opinion, more power to anyone that wants to become a "professional photographer."

 

[JoeW]

RANT BEWARE:
I'm sorry guys, but come on seriously. It seems like every man and his dog I know wants to become a "professional photographer" lately.

Thoughts??

Yep. And you've actually understated the issue. B/c everyone knows someone else with an "expensive" camera (and we all know the camera is what makes you a pro) or their nephew once took a really great picture a couple of years ago at that family reunion on the beach, the expectation for many potential clients is that you'll shoot the wedding for $50 plus the open bar. Or that you'll take photos of their house/family/event for "the exposure."

And I'm not bitter. That's just the reality of trying to live full-time as a photographer these days: it's much harder b/c the expectations have changes and the barriers to entry are much lower. And it's even worse if you're a photojournalist--you've got people with a camera, no experience in a war zone at all, who head off to Syria, no affiliation with any media outlet.

Screaming at the Gods isn't going to change this--it's the nature of the market and how technology has evolved. The best ways to succeed are pretty much the ways that most small businesses stay in business these days:
--have a good business plan and a sustainable business model with a competitive advantage (most photographers don't have any of the three)
--perform well
--have a niche so that in that speciality EVERYONE in that niche knows you and sees you as the "go to" guy (or gal)
--mine for referrals, treat them like gold, and run your business in a way so you're continually producing referrals and "word of mouth."

Do those things and you'll probably be successful. You'll probably also spend very little of your time doing photography (and most of it being a businessman...which is how most successful businesses operate). Sorry if this came off as a lecture--just sharing my mindset as to why I don't get upset at the guy who starts at wedding photography shop on the side where he shoots a wedding for $200, does minimal edits and then hands over a CD or the college student who will shoot your family portraits for beer money.

 

[manaheim]

This is a rant thread with the word "professional" in it.

So that means that by the time I come home tonight it should be like 6-7 pages long and will probably need to be locked.

 

[keyseddie]

I see your point, Royal, and yours as well JoeW. I apprenticed with a top shooter in the mid 70s for 2 years and learned a lot. I was blessed with writing and public speaking skills which paid dividends with self promo. Back when commercial guys in the city were kings, (80'S)my hourly rate was higher than the day rate a new pro was seeking in another thread. I was always good but my contacts would get me the jobs, which is how that world worked. Lucrative but too demanding and cutthroat for my tastes and personality. High end weddings were next, and I made a good living there for a few years. Again, my photography was good, but my self promo preceded it and got the clients. I ended my active career in the art show biz, mostly in the Hamptons. I currently take people to Europe, help them with their photography, and still sell prints, mostly on aluminum, for way too high a price.
I've been here a week or so, and it did amaze me to see watermarks on poorly constructed images and "Photographer" attached to peoples names with little experience. In retrospect, I charged too much money before my talents deserved it, but I did have the apprenticeship behind me and was full of the bs needed to move forward back then. KMH, I believe, posted in a thread some facts about pro photographers earnings, and it was astounding to me how little shooters make nowadays. I wish all the aspiring pros the best of luck. It's different than my time, so I probably lack the correct advice on business, but I do know what sells as art and I do know what sucks, so ask away if you think I could help you.

 

[imagemaker46]

Just do a search on this topic and you'll find all the same comments/complaints in every thread. People should have figured it out by now that potential clients look at price before they look at quality. Quality in photography has changed since digital, garbage is now acceptable, mediocre is now good, good is now excellent, and excellent doesn't matter in the minds of most anymore. If someone can get a mediocre image from a mediocre camera owner and pay very little they will go that route. If someone can get garbage for free, they will take it.

It took me a long time to accept the fact that the business of photography has changed to the point where I would never recommend anyone go into it as a career, learn photography and enjoy it as a hobby absolutely, but a career, nope. People still see photographers as living the grand and glamorous life, hanging out with professional athletes and celebrities, travelling the world, working a few hours a day and making thousands of dollars. These people are the "photo dreamers" If they had to spend a month walking in the shoes of your average full time professional they'd see a different world, especially if that professional is a freelancer, with one income.

I have had to alter the way I do business, going back to the point of offering my services at a rate lower than what I used to charge in order to get clients to hire me more often, it still translates into the same money, just takes longer to get it, and the clients feels like they are getting a better deal. The price of the cameras and lenses I require to do the job haven't changed, in most cases they have gone up quite a bit, so it takes more work to make ends meet at the end of the month, longer hours and more stress dealing with it all.

In the end laying blame on a declining industry is pointless, you can't blame the camera companies they want to make money, can't blame the people that buy the cameras, and you can't blame people with the cameras for thinking they can make "extra" money with it. If I was to lay any blame at all, it would be society for treating mediocre as acceptable. People used to reach for excellence, now they are happy with just being ok.

 

[sscarmack]

I haven't met anyone around me who wants to be a "professional". I'm actually searching for the next "pro" in the area to mentor them and use as an assistant and its like pulling teeth.

Then again, I'm sure its all based on location also.

 

[mishele]

Thoughts...
Stop worrying about everyone else.:mrgreen:

 

[robbins.photo]

RANT BEWARE:
I'm sorry guys, but come on seriously. It seems like every man and his dog I know wants to become a "professional photographer" lately.

Thoughts??

Hey, some of those dogs really have some natural talent. Saw some street photography the other day shot by a golden retriever. Granted it was mostly just shots of fire hydrants but some of them were very artistic.

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