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climberxterra
Nov 30, 2005, 4:52 AM
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This is a question directed for professional photographers, students or future students. I was wondering what made you choose photography as a career. What I'm trying to say is that I really enjoy photography and I am currently look at a school in Chicago, but I'm not really sure if its what i want to do with my life. So I was just wondering if anyone could give me any insight into your decision to follow the photography path.
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roy_hinkley_jr
Nov 30, 2005, 5:12 AM
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Don't consider any photo school that doesn't place a strong emphasis on business and marketing classes. Making good images is the easy part. The most important thing to learn is protecting your rights, avoiding bad contracts, efficient workflow, knowing your CODB, and how to negotiate. Then learn about light, it is your medium.
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montereymiles
Nov 30, 2005, 5:17 AM
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roy_hinkley_jr is completely correct, also if you are going to try and make a living from extreme sports photography make sure you are in it because you love it. Their is not much money to be made from the extreme sports market.
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akornylak
Dec 10, 2005, 2:34 AM
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In reply to: I was wondering what made you choose photography as a career.
... Funny, I was just wondering that myself!
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chunky
Dec 13, 2005, 3:39 AM
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If you love photography, choose something else for a career (where you will likely make a more comfortable living) and keep photography as a hobby. This way you only shoot the photos that you WANT to shoot rather than shooting what sells or trying to capture what someone else has in mind as that perfect image...
just my $.02
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karma
Dec 13, 2005, 3:54 AM
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This is exactly what I deal with as a freelance writer. I love writing and do so (for my pieces anyway) from an emotional level, but it won't support me at this point. Its also tough to sell stories without photographs so now I'm finding myself becoming a photographer as well. I have much appreciation for those who do it well, my hat is off to them for having an eye and imagination for being able to put us there with a great photo.
My advice: Have a good day job and pursue photography as a passionate hobby because you'll enjoy it more in the long run. Making a career out of a hobby can (but does not always) make it stressful and less fun. A lot of that depends on your personality though, too.
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guangzhou
Dec 13, 2005, 7:47 AM
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I turn my hobby into a profession for awhile. I ran a guide service in the SOuth East. It was fun, but I eventually sold my bussiness and became a school teacher. I now enjoy climbing more than I ever have; those who have known me for awhile may find that hard to blieve.
I also enjoy writing and Photography and have publish a few stories and photos. Of course, I would never want to be a full time writer or photographer , freelance or staff because of the pressure of having to produce the work.
I enjoy writing about climbing and my travels. I have been taking photos for years and sometime I get lucky.
I feel lucky, I love my full time teaching job (Middle School), I get to write and photograph what I want, and I climb evry weekend, holiday, and summer.
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nrsbrown
Dec 13, 2005, 3:57 PM
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I had the opportunity to take a workshop with a professional adventure photographer - most of the money comes from stock sales, meaning that for every day he gets to shoot, he spends four days in the office, and that is with people staffing the office for him at the same time!
The business side of things is the key to the whole thing. I am 'testing the waters' so to speak, but the self-promotion and marketing is so crucial.
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kixx
Dec 14, 2005, 2:38 PM
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Registered: Nov 23, 2005
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I went to a great photo school and had great potential, then I got into climbing. It ruined everything.
I got a job with a flexible schedule that allowed me to travel and now I'm trying to get out of my job and get back to what I love - Photography. The job has been great,but I've discovered that what I really enjoy is climbing and I'm now working to merge my climbing with my photography and writing. My best friend and frequent partner is a very gifted writer and he got a job working trails in Yosemite and The Cascades to live while he writes. My point is that to really enjoy doing what we love we must set aside what consumerism has taught us and find our own voice, ignorant of what you think will sell.
Read some of the writing by Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, Brad Washburn, Hunter S. Thompson, David Roberts and the like. They were fueled by their passion to communicate what others could not, and most importantly they threw away every expectation and found their own voice. Don't try to make up a person or voice in your work, simply be yourself.
BB King once said that he was encouraged by a friend who told him that he didn't need to be like any of the "big" musicians of the time. Just be himself because he was no good at being like anybody else. The only thing you're good at is being yourself.
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guangzhou
Dec 14, 2005, 11:50 PM
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Nice post Kixx. Follow what evr route you ant, even if it's a first accent
Eman
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roy_hinkley_jr
Dec 15, 2005, 12:16 AM
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OTOH, while pie-eyed "do what you love" posts are cute, they often don't mesh with the real world.
In the past decade, the world of freelance photography and writing have taken a severe turn for the worse. Pay rates have not gone up at all while expenses are considerably higher (checked what health insurance costs lately?). And then you're lucky to get paid within a year of doing the actual work.
Digital photography has introduced the double whammy of making it easier for more people to enter and greatly increasing the cost of being a pro (all told, digital is *way* more expensive than film). On top of that, terms in contracts are harshly against freelancers -- most of the rags are now run by lawyers and the ones that aren't have to compete with those that are. Meanwhile outdoor companies prey on clueless newbies to contribute catalog photos in exchange for schwag, then abuse them more by giving those photos away to rags, using them for posters, tradeshow exhibits, etc. with no further compensation.
So yeah, do what you love. But know that the reality is entirely different from Galen's day.
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healyje
Dec 15, 2005, 12:38 AM
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Registered: Aug 22, 2004
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I was photographer in Vietnam for several years and in the commercial world on my return to Chicago. I got published pretty much everywhere I wanted (Time, Life, NYT, AP, UPI, etc.) and had ad agency clients. But I found it all to be less than fulfilling; particularly from a technical perspective, but also from a general interest level one - I got bored with it essentially. I ended up going back to sciences and then into the software world where I've been a been a consultant for many years. Ironically my software career led me back to very large scale photo/media workflow and streaming media projects and I have to agree with the post above that it would be a difficult time to be a photographer now.
You'll need a lot of digital technology classes and you really should know about databases, digital asset management, digital rights management, presentation technologies, traditional and digital printing technologies, image manipulation (photoshop), site design, web development, content management, digital media workflow technologies, compression/encryption technologies, networking and media file transmission, etc. And that's on top of a heavy emphasis in business and marketing. The photography is actually the simplest part of being a photographer. That, and you really need a personality and verve to hustle, promote, and sell. I suspect R.I.T. and Brooks are still the deal as far as schools go...
Edit: Oh, and you really should make sure you have solid writing skills...
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guangzhou
Dec 15, 2005, 12:50 AM
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Solid writing skills and solid photo skills are only the start. The bussiness end of both writing and photography are extremely dificult.
Persoanlly, I like having a carreer I enjoy (Teaching) and being to write and photograph what I want when I want. When I create something that is worth publishing (Photos or Writing) I submit it. Overall, I have had good results.
Find a carreer you love, find a hobbie you also love, and do both. Some people can mix the two, but often, turning you hobbie into your carreer will often leave a bad tast in your mouth at the end of the day.
If you do want to be a pro phtographer, make sure you don't focus exclusively on climbing/adventure sport. The market is to small to make a good living.
Money is not evrytihng in a carreer, but it sure helps us do what we want when we have Free time.
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