# Ok pros, tell us your story...



## hippyatheart (Jun 9, 2008)

How did you get to where you are today?  How did you make the jump from hobbiest to professional? Tell us all the niggy gritty on how you got to where you are today!


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## im_trying11 (Jun 9, 2008)

i like the thread idea


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## bigalbest (Jun 9, 2008)

This job is not glamorous or exciting, and the pay isn't always that great. There are so many photographers around these days that I would highly recommend choosing a different career. Getting started is easy, anyone can slap a fancy logo on their pictures and call themselves a pro, which is why most people don't know the difference between a decent picture and and a professional one. If you still want to be a photographer, then go to school (college or university), and get a job with a studio or experienced photographer to learn the business and find out if this is really for you. _Only_ then will you be able to judge your ability to run a photography business.


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## hippyatheart (Jun 9, 2008)

Wow, what a downer!  I did not start this thread to get technical advice on starting a buisness ( Iam nt int that stage of life at the moment).  I just wanted to hear what your journey has been like!


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## bigalbest (Jun 9, 2008)

Sorry didn't mean to be a downer just trying to clue you in as to how hard it is to make it in this business. Good luck.


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## twocolor (Jun 10, 2008)

I just got my business license last week, although I've been shooting for 7 years.

My beginning was having a daughter born with thick dark curly hair.  She was beautiful.  I bought an $90.00 35mm camera, and just started taking pictures of that beautiful hair, beautiful chubby cheeks . . .

I developed those rolls of film and cried.  They were blurry, dark, yellowish . . . I thought what a jip, I just bought this nice new camera (hahaha) and this is what I got.

I started paying attention to what I was doing and where I was when I was taking pictures.  I started noticing obvious thing, like how much better the pictures turned out in the daylight, and how you really can't get as close as you might think to your subject.

Then I started studying why each of these things were happening.

THEN I bought a mid-level $400.00 Pentax ZX-30 35mm camera.  The pictures were obviously better, but not just because I bought a new camera, but because I concentrated on why my bad photos were bad.  The problem was, I still would get some dark photos, and I didn't quite know what all the lingo and jargon was Av Tv ISO . . . so, I started reading about all these things, and GASP read my manual. 

Then people started noticing my pictures.  They were just pictures of my family, scrapbooked or framed.  No official photo shoots or any thing.  Just my beautiful family.

One day a neighbor asked me to do her daughter's wedding.  After I stopped laughing, I actually told her no.  She said well, that's okay, my Uncle Joe just bought a new $100 dollar camera, I'll just have him do it.  They weren't planning on hiring a professional photographer.  That's when I thought well, I can defineately do better then Uncle Joe, so I took the job and charged only what I spent in film and developing.

The shoots were fun, and the pics turned out great!

Believe it or not, that same neighbor had another daughter get engaged 2 weeks after the wedding of the first daughter.  And this time I had a Pentax istDL in my aresenal, and again, continued learning and researching.  So, I took the job, charged developing, traveling, and $100.00 to do her next daughters wedding.  Again, I had a blast, and the pictures were great!

So, 30 weddings later, over 200 other misc portrait sessions later, not a dime spent on advertising (every shoot I've done has been from word of mouth or from someone I've already known).  I increase my wedding portrait sessions by $25 for every two weddings I book (I figure as I get more experience, I am worth alot more each time), I'll level off when I feel I'm priced at a level with my competitors.  I now own my own business, where I book around 2 shoots a day.  

I never went to school, but I do attend conventions, and read all the same course materials that are offered in some of the local colleges.  I spend hours on the internet finding the lastet in posing and developing options.  I get on forums and learn different technics to make my pictures stand out from others.

I know of two other photographers in my town with a degree, and I feel my photography is equal to if not exceeding theirs.

To me photography IS fun and exciting.  I love being in this field, I love being part of peoples greatest memories.  I love having a client return time and time again.  I shot one girl's senior portraits, then her engagements, bridals, wedding, then her baby son's newborn portraits, then her son's 6 month portraits, and have already booked his one year portraits. 

That's my story!!


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## craig (Jun 10, 2008)

Always wanted to be a photographer. Never considered it a hobby. I studied photography at SVA in NYC. I was an assistant the whole time I was there. That is another story, but suffice to say it was a learning experience. By my 4th year I was heavy into shooting home fashions for large studios. Stayed in that field for 5 years. Then I visited my brother in Jackson, WY one Christmas. Literally changed my life. I packed my bags and moved to Jackson. I was feeling pretty burned out in NYC plus Jackson is like no other place on earth. After about a year in Jackson I landed a full time job at the local paper. Started off in the pressroom and moved my way into shooting advertising and editorial work for them. I was able to get a lot of freelance clients with out even trying. That lasted 10+ years. 

I recently moved to Southern California. Again. That is a whole other story. In the few months that I have been here I have shot 3 TFP fashion deals, I will be shooting 2 graduations this week and I am working on a bid for a catalog. I am psyched to be in the SoCal market. 

Love & Bass


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## abraxas (Jun 10, 2008)

I started as an art student turned technical writer, turned civil engineering tech/designer, turned programmer, turned systems manager, turned website designer that ended up being a combination of all the previous, that now does mainly photography. 

An odd set of circumstances that got me to where I wanted to go originally.  I didn't have a plan because over the last 35 years most of the stuff I've done hadn't been invented.

Life is strange and shows no indication of changing.


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## hippyatheart (Jun 10, 2008)

Thank you for your stories!  I am really enjoying reading them!


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## mr_baseball_08 (Jun 10, 2008)

bigalbest said:


> This job is not glamorous or exciting, and the pay isn't always that great. There are so many photographers around these days that I would highly recommend choosing a different career. Getting started is easy, anyone can slap a fancy logo on their pictures and call themselves a pro, which is why most people don't know the difference between a decent picture and and a professional one. If you still want to be a photographer, then go to school (college or university), and get a job with a studio or experienced photographer to learn the business and find out if this is really for you. _Only_ then will you be able to judge your ability to run a photography business.



Hate to disagree with what this guy is saying, but these days it doesn't take much "talent" to be a "pro."  I will agree that there are a lot of them out there, and I'll go as far to say that they shouldn't be getting paid for their work.  

But the sad fact is I see a lot of photographers that ARE getting paid, and getting paid well for their shoddy work.  Perhaps more people need to come shoot in the south.


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## craig (Jun 10, 2008)

Let us try and stay on track. This is not the thread for general comments on photography. Please read the original post.

Love & Bass


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## bigalbest (Jun 10, 2008)

This is the happy smilie thread where everything is good and nice.


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## Bthornton (Jun 10, 2008)

I grew up in a B&W darkroom, don't ever remember not having camera, parents were photographers, started shooting weddings in HS. Had a dual major in college, photography and bio physics. Ran out of college money, went and got a job as a trainer for a national retail "portait" studio. Did that for 10 years while shooting my own stuff on the side. Worked as a shadow for a very talented photographer for 2 years. Had a child, got burnt out on photography other than as a hobby) and did not shoot for almost 8 years and got into marketing and sales for that time. About a year ago stared a photo studio with another photographer and have been BUSY BUSY BUSY shooting ever since. All my marketing and sales exp has served me well with this new company.


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## Rhys (Jun 10, 2008)

Hmm...

At 7 my aunty and grandma gave me a Kodak instamatic 126 camera. Later I joined a government funded camera group as I studied computing in college. I did a few odd jobs none of which paid much if anything although I did manage to sell some newsworthy photos because I was in the right place at the right time. 

I kinda meandered along, fixing computers and teaching English as a Foreign language. Photography kinda died for about 10 years as I concentrated on travelling. Then I was writing some software and needed images so I bought a cheap digital compact secondhand. That re-ignited my interest in photography and I sold it then bought another, sold that when the parallax error (batteries were too low to use the LCD) caused me to cut the top off the Arc de Triumph. Then I bought a Nikon 995 and later a Nikon 3100 (still have those).

I met a girl online and we enjoyed chatting. She decided to fly over from the US to see me so I asked her to bring a Canon S1 IS. She did and gave it to me as a gift. Eventually I went over to the US and we got married. I had my parents give me a Canon XT as a wedding present.

Then I started a photography business after a year or two of working off and on for my wife and her family (my wife has her own business). I've not advertised much and only today found my meta tags weren't up to much and found I have a 100 character limit on them too! Thus far I've had a few casual enquiries but no serious bookings. I had a free booking but that was thrown back in my face. I'm currently working on improving my website, prices, products and services. My prices look much clearer and I'm working on my contracts next.


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## Dave127 (Jun 10, 2008)

Bthornton said:


> I grew up in a B&W darkroom, don't ever remember not having camera, parents were photographers, started shooting weddings in HS. Had a dual major in college, photography and bio physics. Ran out of college money, went and got a job as a trainer for a national retail "portait" studio. Did that for 10 years while shooting my own stuff on the side. Worked as a shadow for a very talented photographer for 2 years. Had a child, got burnt out on photography other than as a hobby) and did not shoot for almost 8 years and got into marketing and sales for that time. About a year ago stared a photo studio with another photographer and have been BUSY BUSY BUSY shooting ever since. All my marketing and sales exp has served me well with this new company.


 
I would like to hear more about your marketing and advertising stratagies in a seperate thread when you have time. I and I'm sure others will find it very helpfull if you don't mind.


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## Nicole (Jun 11, 2008)

Thanks for all of the stories, I am just finishing up my senior year as a photography student in college and am scared to dive into the "real world", your stories have both inspired me and reassured me that everythings going to be ok!!! Thanks again!!


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## guitarkid (Jun 13, 2008)

bigalbest said:


> Sorry didn't mean to be a downer just trying to clue you in as to how hard it is to make it in this business. Good luck.


 
Agreed


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## Nimitz (Jun 13, 2008)

I am not a full-time pro (my primary source of income is not from photography) so my journey kinds of winds around ...

My interest in photography started in High School where I ended up being the photography editor of our yearbook - including having my own B&W darkrook in my house. My oldest brother was also the photography editor of his High School year book as well as his college news paper (Columbia University). This is where I learned the basics.

Then for many years I did not do any photography at all. In 1996 I began writing for 2 national sport fishing magazines. In the magazine feature story business you can make a lot of money by doing your own accompanying photography so I purchased Sony's first high end 5MP digital camera and starting shooting again. I stopped doing that about 2 years ago but decided to combine my interest in dogs and cats with photography and began an in-home pet portrait business. I bought an Alien Bee studio strobe setup (3 AB800s + light modifyers, etc) and a Nikon D200.

I now travel to client's homes and conduct a 3hr in-home portrait session. There are lots of photographers who say they do pets but no one but myself specializes in it within 200 miles. There are also a lot of unique aspecst to shooting pets which pros who do not does this very often have difficulty with.

I don't shoot anything else. My mentor is a 40 yr nationally recognized glamour photographer who told me when I first started " don't ever waste your time shooting things you're not interested in, you won't be that good at it and it will show". I've taken his advice and turn down paying assignments for things which don't interest me and/or I have no experience with

On rare occassions I entertain one-time shoots for projects that look intriguing but I have the luxury of turning down work.

If it ever stops being fun I'll shut the business down in a heart beat ...


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## onedayillknowbetter (Jun 13, 2008)

June is the first full month since I started my (what has become a photo-blog, but started as simply as a website), that I can call myself a professional freelance photographer (meaning my source of income is my photography).  So far, it's going, and pretty well it's going, I have to say.  In the winter of 2007, I got a job working in nightclubs taking pictures of the guests.  Little did I know, I had to be 21 and I wasn't at the time.  After about 2 months (and 2 weeks away from my 21st bday) the owner of the company I was working for realized I wasn't 21...I guess it didn't occur to him to look at my birthdate on my DL or passport when I copied them for him.  
Either way, I got my foot in the door with taking pictures in dark environments, and finally took my camera off Program mode for more than one photo.  I began taking more photos for myself and got a few jobs shooting weddings and other photography gigs, and continually striving to improve my work.
  The camera wasn't used in Program much anymore, and my photos improved daily.  I realized it was time to upgrade my camera because of the nature of my work (pushing the iso and shutter speed).  When I upgraded, I decided to NEVER use any of the automatic settings on the camera, and got a nifty fifty to re-learn what I learned in Photo I.
  Since then, I've spent time experimenting, reading, looking on forums, and especially at other photographer's work, and my photos have received great praise.  Before I started depending on just my photography, though, I went out and planted seeds for myself.  In March, I started going to parties and events and clubs with my camera (always talking to the organizer/promoter first, to ensure I could get in for free and have a drink or two at no charge) and handing out business cards for my website that have a URL where they can find the images to save, on the back of the card.  It worked great getting me jobs in the future, and making connection after connection.
   Of course, nightclub photography isn't for everyone, and it takes very vivid images to get noticed that way. (there are usually at least 5 people with expensive cameras at clubs when I'm out, and believe me, I'm not the first to do this either.)  
....But to say that you NEED a degree to be a successful photographer...that's just not true.  What you NEED is a passion for learning, whether it be in a classroom or in your room with the same textbook the class uses, or on the computer reading the thousands of forums that are out there.  And then, you just need to DO IT!
Don't dream it, be it.
Put an ad on craigslist for  TFCD modeling sessions so you can build a portfolio for yourself, and then get a website together.  That may be one thing you do _need:_ a website.  There are a million and a half free photo servers out there, but the fact of the matter is no one will take you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously.  Get some business cards made, and keep them with you at all times.  When something associated with photography comes up or at the end of a conversation with someone, give them a card.  You can get cards printed for free, but they say that they were free on the back.  You can't expect anything back if you don't give anything yourself.


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## hippyatheart (Jun 13, 2008)

oneday-  Very awesome and sound advice!


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## JIP (Jun 13, 2008)

Well lets see I am not sure if I can remember a time in my life that I did not have a camera in my hands. I have always been into shooting pictures the big trigger for me was when I was like 13 or 14 when my dad gave me a Canon TL. I really did more then shooting all the time. When I got to high school I got into skateboarding and shot millions of frames of that and my friends on bicycles. My interest in photography grew and when someone from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh came to my school I made my decision on what to do.

               I sort of stumbled through school I had a bunh of freelance jobs while I was there I also assisted for a couple of studios one who did all of the furniture shots for the local department store at the time. After FINALLY finising school I kind of went wild personally for a while and left almost everything behind. I met my wife and started working for Ritz and shooting alot more again and after a while decided to send out some resumes and got takers from almost all of the ones I sent out. I started freelancing for 4 weekly newspapers after a while I narrowed it down to one and worked for them for several years along with Ritz. At that time I had gear issues and ended up losing that job because of them. One of the reasons i decided to leave that job is because I started weddings. I met the photogrpher of my SIL's wedding he knew my experience and told me "get 2 sets of medium format gear and you can work for me". Hence the reason for leaving the newspaper job because at that time I could only afford to buy gear for one job so I chose weddings. Through all of this I continued to work at Ritz and of course mintin a full time job.
After doing weddings for the same studio for about 5 years I did a few on my own and then strted working for another place as well. I worked for both places at the same time for about 3 years. I really enjoyed shooting weddings and figured that would be my photography future. My second higher paying job said they would be going all digital so after another ultimatum I decided to make the transition and i figured if I got the right gear I could get back into the newspper biz. At the waning end of the weding season and my like 6th or seventh year in weddings I bought my current list of gear and officially went digital. I rode along on several wddings and then second shot a couple and then the season ended.

                                      Well, and here's where it gets fun the following January while working my main job as landscape supervisor I was struck by a car and severly fractured my right leg and whacked my head pretty good as well. I went through what I thought was a year of recovery and ended up on a cane so I decided to try and shoot a couple of weddings I did them got paid and regretted both of them. After this time I developed a ase of osteomyelitis (bone infection) in my leg and 2.5 years later I have shot nothing but about million frames of my little baby who was born several months after my acident. I still have the osteo and still am on crutches and am waiting till I can shoot again. The irony is I am doing more studying and reading and learning since my accident than I ever did before so I guess aomething good came outof it. Ok so that is the end of my long saga for now I will quit boring everyone.


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## John_Olexa (Jun 13, 2008)

hippyatheart said:


> How did you get to where you are today? How did you make the jump from hobbiest to professional? Tell us all the niggy gritty on how you got to where you are today!


 
For me it was finding something that not everybody else was shooting.
It seemed like everybody was shooting, wildlife /nature, people ect ect.
so I checked around and _at the time_, not a lot of people were shooting weather! So I started shooting the good, bad & ugly of weather. Also didn't need fancy gear.

Right off the bat I sold some images to Weatherwise Magazine. I now shoot for Getty images. A lot of my weather images have been published in books, Magazines , newpapers, and TV ( The Weather Channels show "Storm Stories")


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## firebird1984 (Jun 13, 2008)

I didn't go to school for photography but I always had an interest in it.  I actually went to school for Biology.  But I moved to Jackson, WY about two years ago and bought a nice Nikon point and shoot camera.  I started taking wildlife and nature photos and started paying attention to lighting and composition and then after about three months with the point and shoot I bought a very nice Canon Dslr.   I met Craig on this forum as I saw that he was from the same town.  I did a little freelance on a large editorial job for Craig.  Then I returned to my day job as a manager at a local tourist shop, all the while working on my portfolio and honing my skills along with the help of my mentor (a local established photographer with a gallery in town).  In the end of January Craig called me and told me he was moving to SoCal and asked me if I would be interested in applying for his old job.  I jumped at the opportunity and now I am the Advertising photographer for the local newspaper along with some editorial work and a lot of freelance jobs.  I love the work I do and hope to continue to do this for a while.  My ultimate goal is to own a gallery in Jackson in the future.

Brent McWhirter


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## craig (Jun 13, 2008)

firebird1984 said:


> I didn't go to school for photography but I always had an interest in it.  I actually went to school for Biology.  But I moved to Jackson, WY about two years ago and bought a nice Nikon point and shoot camera.  I started taking wildlife and nature photos and started paying attention to lighting and composition and then after about three months with the point and shoot I bought a very nice Canon Dslr.   I met Craig on this forum as I saw that he was from the same town.  I did a little freelance on a large editorial job for Craig.  Then I returned to my day job as a manager at a local tourist shop, all the while working on my portfolio and honing my skills along with the help of my mentor (a local established photographer with a gallery in town).  In the end of January Craig called me and told me he was moving to SoCal and asked me if I would be interested in applying for his old job.  I jumped at the opportunity and now I am the Advertising photographer for the local newspaper along with some editorial work and a lot of freelance jobs.  I love the work I do and hope to continue to do this for a while.  My ultimate goal is to own a gallery in Jackson in the future.
> 
> Brent McWhirter



Now that is an amazing story! You are in a great position with great people. That gallery is getting closer every day.

Love & Bass


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## Do'Urden's Eyes (Jun 17, 2008)

Im really enjoying this thread. Im in business school right now with no real interest in it at all but i feel obliged to go through with the four years. And i think i will and if my interest in photography is still as strong then as it is now im thinking ill study that at a local college or something. i really dont like business, but i guess itll lend me a hand knowing alot of it in the future.


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## Mike30D (Jun 17, 2008)

bigalbest said:


> This job is not glamorous or exciting, and the pay isn't always that great. There are so many photographers around these days that I would highly recommend choosing a different career. Getting started is easy, anyone can slap a fancy logo on their pictures and call themselves a pro, which is why most people don't know the difference between a decent picture and and a professional one. If you still want to be a photographer, then go to school (college or university), and get a job with a studio or experienced photographer to learn the business and find out if this is really for you. _Only_ then will you be able to judge your ability to run a photography business.


 

School is not a must. I know of plenty of full time professionals who do amazing work and they don't have a degree in photography. What will help you if you want to go to school is classes in business. So many talented photographers go out of business because they aren't good business people. As the cliche goes, "Photography is 90% business and 10% photography."


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## schumionbike (Jun 17, 2008)

Well, I'm not a professional photographer in the sense that I have my own photography business or that I have lots of gears but as of right now, I am making money from my summer job by taking pictures.  I started to have an interest in photography only a year and a half ago when my mom bought me a Kodak point and shoot camera with all the manual setting that you would ever need.  I love playing around with the setting, took lots of pictures, read online articles, visit this forum alot.  I began to understand how the camera and use it to my best advantage.  People began requesting pictures from me.  I'm not ready to be a photographer as I still have a lot to learn and a point and shoot camera wouldn't be enough for a serious photography business.  Anyway, I decided to sign up to work for FanFoto and got the job as a photographer for their sourvenir photography business.  Eventhough FanFoto does not require that you are train in photography, being knowledgable about the subject certainly help and a decent amount of their photographers are photography students from local colleges.  Let me tell you, I certainly learn a lot since I work there for week and a half ago since you're always taking pictures and you really have to get every pictures right since you don't get to take 100 shots of one person.  You always get a chance to learn from fellow photographer too.  I definitely learn alot about the Nikon D40.  It's also a nice thing to know that your boss like your pictures.


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