Small idea...

Antithesis

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So I'm a starving college student and I was pondering an idea to make a small amount of money on the side. I'm studying photography as a minor at the moment as that's all my current school offers. It has about 4-5 terms of straight forward photography classes and a mixed bag of photoshop and imaging courses. I'll probably have taken them all by next fall. My ambition is to get a BS or BA in Liberal Arts with a minor in photog and eventually get a Masters in Photojournalism.

I was thinking of posting an ad on craiglist, the local newspapers and anywhere I can online with something along the lines of: Amateur photographer looking to do on location work (portraits, etc.), and charge a relatively small amount of money. I need to do research as to what I should charge and then slowly increase the amount as my quality of work gets better. I don't really plan to make any serious money, just enough so I don't have to work a day job on top of my financial aid. It would also help me build a portfolio and get some much needed experience in the field. I probably won't post the ad up until the springtime when I have all the gear I would need, and then slowly accrue more lenses and such as time goes on.

The gear I'd be starting with would be a d80, a Nikkor 50mm f1.8, one of the fast sigma zooms (something like an 18-70 f2.8), an sb-600 and another minor flash like an sb-28 for off camera, light stands and umbrellas and a wireless flash trigger. I'd also probably get aperature or CS3 and I have a CD-burner and I'll get prints made via shutterfly or mpix.

I'd be mainly getting experience and practicing, I'd probably be starting with friends and family and locals that don't want to pay through the nose for a photographer. I'm also back-up shooting my first wedding next weekend, and another in December.

I was curious if anyone has done something similar and been succesful? Would this be a good way to get a small start on my career, or should I put it off? I'll probably be getting most of the gear for myself as a hobbyist anyways, I just wanted to put it to work to make money during college.
 
A better way to start is to do free shoots and a free 8x10 to build your portfolio. All my free shoots ended up with orders for extra prints, so I made money from them, and built up my portfolio. You could also see if your college sports team needs photos. That's a great way at making extra income.
 
A better way to start is to do free shoots and a free 8x10 to build your portfolio. All my free shoots ended up with orders for extra prints, so I made money from them, and built up my portfolio. You could also see if your college sports team needs photos. That's a great way at making extra income.

Good idea, I'll take that into account. I've never shot sports and I don't think I have the extra money for a fast tele. I might check and see if the school has equipment too.
 
Good idea, I'll take that into account. I've never shot sports and I don't think I have the extra money for a fast tele. I might check and see if the school has equipment too.

It doesn't have to be taking pictures during games. They would need team photos, too. ;)
 
I always say go for it. On the other hand the world needs another reasonably priced amateur photographer like a hole in the head. I would try and get a job assisting someone. It is important to understand the field and then jump in.

Love & Bass
 
Yes, the idea to do free shoots is an excellent idea. You can build your portfolio, make friends, get some happy customers, and make some money too.

I am a ballroom dancer, and we worked with a photographer who did this, and ended up spending way more than we planned, because we liked the photos. You can see some of them here. This may not fit your plan, but maybe there are some dancers in your area that would appreciate your help.
 
I am working on the doing the same thing, except i am a biology education major. I am doing the free portrait thing for a lot of my friends, and my girlfriends friends. So far i have 6 portrait sessions already signed up. I would find a pro lab to do your prints, Shutter fly may be cheaper, but you will get more quailty out of a pro lab. I get all of my prints done at Wolf Camera, granted i work there and get a percentage off, but i like the prints that we have compared to other places.
 
I mainly just want to be able to get experience. Some extra money would be awesome but I know that's not really how photography careers seem to start. I have a really great opportunity to work with a couple of my friends who are very reputable wedding photographers, and I will of course persue anything they throw my way.

I'm just exploring different opportunities and trying to take the initiative and build my own. I've been looking for jobs as a photography assistant for the last couple months and nothing has really come up. Ideally, I would like to work for someone who doesn't do portraiture, it just seems like the easiest and most common way to start in the field. I'm wide open to suggestions here.
 
I'll hope you'll let us know how things progress for you.
 

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