Getting Started In Photography

Doing photography as a living is a dream for many and a reality for a few. Photography is a highly competitive field that is constantly changing and requires dedication and constant study to stay current.

Photography is one of those fields you can starve for a long time before getting established and, once you finally get there, you discover a constant stream of low-cost competitors trying to chisel away at your business. That constant background of new people trying to bite off a share of your market at a discount never goes away. It is a permanent background reality, ready to trip up your business at the most inopportune times.

One aspect that makes photography interesting as a profession is that it's usually fairly easy to get your foot in the door and get some work. Since you don't have anything else to do but market yourself, getting those first few jobs is relatively easy. That early success can lure many into a false sense of security. Hey, this is easy! Not really.

What happens after that first blush of success is that you have to get legal with a business license, insurance and taxes; on top of that may be studio rental and other expenses. Now there's more to do than just marketing yourself and you have bills to pay.

If you don't plan for overhead, it has a tendency to spring itself upon you both inconveniently and overwhelmingly. There's a reason that three years after opening their doors, the vast majority of photographers are in another line of work. Most often the early casualties are related to neglecting overhead and failing to obtain liability insurance.

Making it past those early critical few months is the first big hurdle, getting to the next level will involve finding ways to market yourself both effectively and continuously. Marketing is probably the biggest ongoing challenge faced by professional photographers. The need to focus on paying work, balanced by the need promote yourself and answer questions from potential customers.

Getting to the point your photography business pays a living wage is a challenge all by itself. Once you get there, you'll discover it's a fantastic amount of work to stay there. Days that stretch to 12 and 15 hours are not unusual. Sole proprietorships are some of the most difficult businesses to navigate successfully.

Hopefully this does not dissuade anyone from pursuing their dreams, just be aware that the dream of being a professional photographer will require more work and dedication than you may realize right now.