How to be a professional photographer?

Dan Dozer · Jan 7, 2011

Hi All,

My wife's niece's daughter has a school assignment on choosing professions and she has chosen photography to write about. She has asked me a bunch of questions, but I'm not a professional photographer so I can't really answer them all. She basically wants to know what you need to do to become a professional photographer. Yeah - I know that's a pretty broad and general question.

So - for you Professional Photographers out there, do you have any advice for her like classes to take, University or specialty school degree, how to you find work, what is life like as a photographer, etc.

Her name is Olivia, she's from Wisconsin, and I'll be sending her a link to this thread so she can see what you all say.

Thanks loads for anything you can tell her.

Dan

guitstik · Jan 7, 2011

check this out.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

markbarendt · Jan 7, 2011

http://www.ppa.com/articles/search.php?category=5

Try here.

Pinholemaster · Jan 7, 2011

Helps to be born rich or at least with a decent size trust fund. Neither of which I have.

2F/2F · Jan 7, 2011

Be good at business, great with people, and somewhat passable at photography.

Colin Corneau · Jan 7, 2011

2F/2F nails it.

How do you make a small fortune in photography?
Start with a big fortune.

Rob Skeoch · Jan 8, 2011

I think the quickest way to success is attend a good photography college program. You don't have to get a degree but in Canada the colleges do a great job if you're interested in commercial, photojournalism, and studio work. I think it's a short cut to the top.
The other thing to realize is there are no jobs. Newspapers are cutting back, and large institutions like teaching hospitals have cut staff to the minimal.... all this means is that you will be working for yourself. If you don't understand business, budgets, "the books", or how to run a business you either hire someone who does or struggle for years. It helps to be a good photographer, but that isn't what will make you successful in the end.

-Rob Skeoch

guitstik · Jan 8, 2011

That's what I'm doing wrong.

Christopher Walrath · Jan 8, 2011

As to being a PROFESSIONAL photographer, I can offer these thoughts which would apply to anyone who strives to a be a PROFESSIONAL anything.

Be superior. Learn your job and perfect it. Be better than anyone else, or as close to this as you can get. Get it done correctly the first time, every time. And if you make a mistake, admit to it openly and apologetically. One must let their professionalism set themselves apart. It's all about service and not entriely being the lowest priced. Be the one that everyone thinks of first when they are asked their opinion as who to see about a certain service/problem. Advertising can get people in the door. But if they see you for a buffoon and a pretender, that door will swing the other way just as quickly. It is much easier to be superior at something you love. And one should not necessarily get into a line of work just because they enjoy it as a hobby. Sure, the knowledge will be there but one can easily burn out and then the work and the hobby suffer equally.

As to being a professional photographer, man, how many ways can one make money from snapping a shutter? As myriad as the pretenders that put up a shingle and call themselves a professional because they shot a friend's wedding last year and wanted to try it out. (Been there and thought better of it before I screwed up someone's day.) With the advent of digital photography and the industry's propensity for putting a camera in every hand in the world, it is getting to be more and more difficult to set yourself apart form the competition because the market is so watered down by the influx of wanna-bes. Not to sound down on this, but I kind of am. The best way in, IMHO, is to work with someone that is already in and to build and cultivate relationships from the inside. It is much easier than trying to bull on in from the outside.

I know, nothing model specific here, but maybe some thoughts that can help to tie things together. Hope it helps.

greybeard · Jan 10, 2011

Christopher:

Dead on, and extremely well said.

The only thing that I would add is that one distinguishing factor helping to separate the wannabe from the real pro is that the former is concerned with taking pictures, and the latter with making them. In the latter case, the actual exposure is an utterly negligible fraction of the time and effort which goes into the task; training and practice, not to mention marketing, customer service and business operations, utterly dwarf the "snapping of the shutter".

stradibarrius · Jan 26, 2011

Colin Corneau said:
2F/2F nails it.

How do you make a small fortune in photography?
Start with a big fortune.

This made me laugh!!!!

benjiboy · Jan 26, 2011

I never wanted to be a professional photographer, I always wanted to be a sex maniac but I couldn't pass the physical

Jeff Kubach · Jan 26, 2011

benjiboy said:
I never wanted to be a professional photographer, I always wanted to be a sex maniac but I couldn't pass the physical

Me too!

Jeff

lxdude · Jan 26, 2011

I'm sure you two old goats just succeeded in thoroughly grossing out the wife's niece's daughter.

Hikari · Jan 26, 2011

The question is very broad. Basically, there is no one way of being a photographer. Some of the greatest photographers started out as piano player, economists, or just happened to be sitting in a cafe and was asked if they would like to shoot some fashion models. But then the area of photography is broad. Part of my job is scientific imaging for research. That is what I studied at college. Many photographers go to photo or art school. There are photographers that did not study photography formally. How important the degree is depends on the type of career you take and the breaks you have on the way. Success is a product of how hard you work--talent is not such a large factor.

2F/2F · Jan 26, 2011

stradibarrius said:
This made me laugh!!!!

How do you make it in photography?

Easy; marry well.

benjiboy · Feb 3, 2011

lxdude said:
I'm sure you two old goats just succeeded in thoroughly grossing out the wife's niece's daughter.

Your wife's niece' daughter, or mine ?

John Koehrer · Feb 3, 2011

IMO, it's not the talent or technique used to be a success it's the ability to sell yourself and convince the client that what they see is the best thing since sliced bread.
I've seen both side of this equation, very good photographers starving & schlockmeisters raking in the dough.

Stuggi · Feb 7, 2011

Christopher Walrath said:
As to being a PROFESSIONAL photographer, I can offer these thoughts which would apply to anyone who strives to a be a PROFESSIONAL anything.

Be superior. Learn your job and perfect it. Be better than anyone else, or as close to this as you can get. Get it done correctly the first time, every time. And if you make a mistake, admit to it openly and apologetically. One must let their professionalism set themselves apart. It's all about service and not entriely being the lowest priced. Be the one that everyone thinks of first when they are asked their opinion as who to see about a certain service/problem. Advertising can get people in the door. But if they see you for a buffoon and a pretender, that door will swing the other way just as quickly. It is much easier to be superior at something you love. And one should not necessarily get into a line of work just because they enjoy it as a hobby. Sure, the knowledge will be there but one can easily burn out and then the work and the hobby suffer equally.

As to being a professional photographer, man, how many ways can one make money from snapping a shutter? As myriad as the pretenders that put up a shingle and call themselves a professional because they shot a friend's wedding last year and wanted to try it out. (Been there and thought better of it before I screwed up someone's day.) With the advent of digital photography and the industry's propensity for putting a camera in every hand in the world, it is getting to be more and more difficult to set yourself apart form the competition because the market is so watered down by the influx of wanna-bes. Not to sound down on this, but I kind of am. The best way in, IMHO, is to work with someone that is already in and to build and cultivate relationships from the inside. It is much easier than trying to bull on in from the outside.

I know, nothing model specific here, but maybe some thoughts that can help to tie things together. Hope it helps.

Well, said, and might I add that what really sets the pro apart from the wannabes are the little things. I for example work as an ICT-consultant, and therefore gets to see quite a bit of contractors. The real pros are the guys that come in and shake hand with everybody, act nice and pleasant without being greasy, and then get to work quick. I personally always act this way when meeting new clients, and always try to lock on to the clients pace. If the client want to spend billable hours talking over lunch or coffee, fine, but I always try to slightly push for getting to work, this way I avoid accusations of just sitting on my ass and racking up huge bills. And when I get to start working, I try to be calm, fast and efficient, continually working, no matter if the client stand beside you, you never stop doing something. This is part of acting "professional", and in the end; it's more about style than about work done, the guy that's rude and takes a gazillion coffee and smoke brakes might be just as fast as I am, but he gets on the clients nerves and therefore might not be called back, while I usually have the opposite problem, I sometimes find it hard to get rid of clients.

lxdude · Feb 7, 2011

benjiboy said:
Your wife's niece' daughter, or mine ?

The OP's. Along with any others who might ever read this thread.

M Stat · Feb 7, 2011

Many years ago I got started in commercial photography by assisting professional photographers in and around the Los Angeles (California) area. It helps if you live in a city where a lot of work is being done and it doesn't hurt if you know (still) how to load a film camera.

jerry lebens · Feb 7, 2011

Christopher Walrath said:
As to being a PROFESSIONAL photographer, I can offer these thoughts which would apply to anyone who strives to a be a PROFESSIONAL anything.

Be superior. Learn your job and perfect it. Be better than anyone else, or as close to this as you can get. Get it done correctly the first time, every time. And if you make a mistake, admit to it openly and apologetically. One must let their professionalism set themselves apart. It's all about service and not entriely being the lowest priced. Be the one that everyone thinks of first when they are asked their opinion as who to see about a certain service/problem. Advertising can get people in the door. But if they see you for a buffoon and a pretender, that door will swing the other way just as quickly. It is much easier to be superior at something you love. And one should not necessarily get into a line of work just because they enjoy it as a hobby. Sure, the knowledge will be there but one can easily burn out and then the work and the hobby suffer equally.

As to being a professional photographer, man, how many ways can one make money from snapping a shutter? As myriad as the pretenders that put up a shingle and call themselves a professional because they shot a friend's wedding last year and wanted to try it out. (Been there and thought better of it before I screwed up someone's day.) With the advent of digital photography and the industry's propensity for putting a camera in every hand in the world, it is getting to be more and more difficult to set yourself apart form the competition because the market is so watered down by the influx of wanna-bes. Not to sound down on this, but I kind of am. The best way in, IMHO, is to work with someone that is already in and to build and cultivate relationships from the inside. It is much easier than trying to bull on in from the outside.

I know, nothing model specific here, but maybe some thoughts that can help to tie things together. Hope it helps.

That sums it up, although I'd add that too many newbies think that professional photographers are expected to be 'creative' to the max.

Creativity comes into it but, more important, is the ability to understand a clients needs and the ability to turn the images they already have in their heads into photographs. (Sometimes, a pro will get an 'open brief' and is allowed to break loose, but in my experience it's very rare).
Yes, it's a pro's role to advise the client on how they might improve their vision but, in the end, the client is always right and always has the final say.

This is why many excellent photographers are unsuited to becoming pro's, they're too concerned about their own aesthetic and they forget what they're getting paid for.

Regards
Jerry

removed account4 · Feb 7, 2011

being a professional photographer takes
mostly connections as well as mediocre skill and creativity.
being able to complete a task on-time, and not mind being "controlled"
by the creatives on the project ( working well with others ) is part of it too.

if you have a niche market, it helps.

Marcus S · Feb 7, 2011

Olivia, learn as much as you can about photography, as well as business & marketing.
Do not imitate everybody else and learn to develop your own style.
Never think that you are to good for the small jobs. Even small jobs sometimes lead to very profitable assignments.

Good luck!

benjiboy · Feb 10, 2011

Why does everyone and his brother want to be a professional Photographer ?, I'm retired, but if I had my time over again I'd rather be a professional plumber most of them earn much more than photographers, and they have much less hassle.

How to be a professional photographer?

Advertiser

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency