I would challenge the younger generation to make work with some meaning, work that is hyper authentic, raw and imaginative. Use the camera as a way to wander through whatever world you feel drawn to and do it with integrity, conviction and total disregard for money. Make it pure and the other things will happen.
via » 10 minutes with Christopher Churchill- this is the what.
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heating and cooling repair. you wont make a living a photography. period.
By all means but, as chad says, i’d have a backup job/plan. Not everyone has the nous or inclination to make photography pay and not everyone who can make photography pay won’t kill most of the enjoyment they had for it by doing so.
“hyper authentic” – I am already cringing, expecting my clients to start using that catch phrase any day now.
Total disregard for money is soooo 2007. Being a professional photographer is running a small business. Do not disregard that aspect. Follow your gut and heart creatively but leave room for your business head. Otherwise get an amazingly ethical rep/business manger/financial advisor. Not always easy to find. Especially if you’re a starving artist.
it’s great advise. have a backup gig to make a living, but if your love for the medium is pure, making a living within it doesn’t matter.
My advice?
You gotta want it.
Its not the fancy equipment. Don’t spend money on equipment, stay simple.
Everyone has a digital camera, your photos have to be better than any mom, dad or kid that has a point & shoot. So don’t fool yourself, knowing more doesn’t make you take better pictures.
As young photographers, you have something that more experienced photographers often lose: Stay fresh, stay positive, protect your vision, shoot all the time & continue to grow :)
What’s with everyone saying you won’t make a living? A certain famous music photographer once told me that a few years ago and it crushed me. You’ll make a living (maybe not a huge one, but a modest one) if you make good work and have a good business model. All this naysaying is a mega bummer, man!
@elizabeth, Thank you Elizabeth. All this pessimism is really sickening. Somebody is still making a lot of money in photography. I’d bet that those are the same people who aren’t complaining about not making a living in photography.
@Tim, Interesting that you and Elizabeth find it a bummer or sickening to have young people better prepared. No one except the first comment has given anything but wise advice. To be creative but to be smart and prepared. That is helpful…far from pessimism. And any fear it may provoke would only invoke the courage that it takes to prevail in this field.
@Sarah, Better prepared for what? Being a smart photographer who has a high talent level and keen business skills, or someone with a better paying gig who shoots for the love of it on the weekends? Just for what are you proposing we prepare young people?
The latter, the people who are not full time professional photographers, are the same ones that many blame for destroying the industry, no?
I’ve found the above statement to be true. Focus on doing really, really, really good work. Pour yourself into your projects with pure passion and the other stuff has a way of falling into place.
BETTER PREPARED with the knowledge of running a small business. That simple. Creating really really good work should be a given. The creative beast/passion isn’t drummed up…It just is.
@Sarah, I totally agree with you. So, why are we arguing? I don’t think that anyone is saying to just work without the expectation of making a decent living. What I think the author is saying, as am I, is for young people to focus on finding their own voice/vision and cultivate that. When they focus on that, they will get noticed and things will work out for them.
That’s all I’m sayin’.
@Tim, Not arguing at all. Just feel people neglect to mention very important aspects for sustaining in the business and life in general. I think there were some good suggestions. On another note as someone who is constantly in touch with working and aspiring photographers I do see a heavy duty amount of disfunction when it comes to money/finance & safeguards.
@Sarah, what are you talking about? i’m young as shit and i’m making it work. i said you need a good business plan and good work. relax
@Sarah, to clarify, i think people who are essentially saying “get a day job, pal” are the bummers and are not being productive. i never said anything about not being prepared. it takes a hell of a lot of work to make it happen. i was (and still am) in massive debt and it’s just now starting to pay off. and when i have a shoot day and realize i’m not behind a desk it is all worth it.
If someone had sat me down when i was a kid & said, “You’re going to have an incredible job: you’ll never know when you work, or if you’ll work, you going to be constantly hustling & trying to promote yourself,
but YOU are going to love it” i would have laughed but now that that’s the truth, i do love it because i meet the most amazing people & travel to the most incredible places & yes its hard but it’s completely totally worth it :) despite everything i love my job.
Follow your passion, couple it with a strong business head and never be afraid to embrace whimsy. Open yourself to the possibility of amazing.
This is great advice. Tara said it best, stay simple, you do not need the latest and greatest gear to make great images. Get a team together and up your production value. I am trying to do that now,get your hair and make up people or a designer etc. You can make a living with photography you just might not be shooting all the time, I shoot, assist and work in film all things I love. plus photography is 1% talent and 99% moving furniture.
Don’t be a fool. Disregarding money will put you into financial debt. The more you shoot, the more you are losing money because your overhead costs are FAR above what people want to pay for photography. They think its cheap, well its not. You may be hustling every single day for a $200 shoot but that doesn’t even come CLOSE to the real costs to run a business. Be Smart.
Ok dose anybody want to be my mentor? LOL!
First off I love this blog!
Second, I’m a young photographer. I don’t have any fancy equipment, been shooting for 2.5 years.
I have a situation I need some advice on:
Recently I have been given an offer from a MUA buddy of mine who is working in a hair show to shoot the hair show. I called the person in charge of the show, and she informed it is TF. (Trade for time, or whatever.) In order for me to do this show and get some quality images I need a 50mm lens, or another prime lens that is good in low light.
At the moment I can’t afford one. I have to save a couple pay checks up. This show is in two weeks.
Now my gut says leave it alone, because it is not a paying gig. But I could use the experience, and I could make some interesting contacts with models/MUAs/Hairstylists etc. since I want to shoot fashion. Plus some big fancy hair magazine people will be there.
I’d figure I’d just get in debt, buy the lens and do the show. But that would be dumb. OR is this the type of risk photogs make all the time?
@Chris Jay, Are you in a market where you can rent the lens? That would be a “better” option rather than buying it if buying equals debt.
@Sarah,
No I’m not, all of the surrounding photography stores are closed. I can only order one off line.
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