Making Money From Photography.

[DrivenMind]

So I've been majoring in Photography in college for the past year now, and trying to get jobs in the industry, in hopes that I can at-least make money from something, that I was already relatively good at before I went to school for it. But it hasn't happened. I've got nothing but experience from all the shoots I've done, and not a penny to show for any of it. Every time it's just some other ******* who acts as though, they're doing you the favor by letting you shoot at their venue, at their party, or of their subject. Frankly I'm just tired of it, I haven't even broken into the industry yet, and I feel as though I'm wasting my efforts.

My schools a joke. With the amount of money I've dumped into my school I swear to god I could be a much better photographer just keeping the cash, and teaching myself from a few books, with a good camera. The most interesting, and applicable things I've learned were all relative to post production, in either film development, or alteration in photoshop. Large format photography was exceptionally interesting, though short lived.

I know there are others here that shoot as frequently as I do, and are trying to, or already have made a business of it; but I haven't the faintest idea as to how on earth I could possibly get paid for taking pictures.

Maybe it's because I'm so much younger than everyone I've ever worked with, or maybe it's because I just expect people to keep their word when they say they've got a paying gig lined up. But time and time again, I get the "privilege" of providing people with high res pictures for free. Any suggestions on how to change this?

Without a shadow of a doubt I know there is a way for me to make money doing this, even more so if I ever get my hands on a more serious camera; but I just haven't the faintest idea where to start.

[Killer]

give me your camera...

i'll show you how to make some money with it :) lol...

[changaroo]

i know where youre coming from, but if you plan on making a living on photography, i wouldnt count on it. it seems like these days everybody and their dead llama has a dslr around.

going to school for it is kinda pointless too IMO, either you have the eye or you dont, i dont think its something that can be acquired with practice. but it seems like you already know what i was trying to get at :)

what i would try to do is to get under as a second photographer and shoot a wedding. thats where the money is to be made.

as for people not paying you, maybe you should start making people pay a deposit. they are paying for YOUR services and time. if they bail out on you, thats ****.

but i know exactly what you mean about not getting paid after you have something lined up, its happened to me before, and it sucks!

[Tracy]

I say hang in there. This is a tough industry for everyone in it and that goes for photographers, too. I know a few peeps from the ATL area who are finally getting paid to take pics. The unfortunate part is that they had to do a lot of favors before they networked enough to get paid. Most photographers are freelance and have to sell their pics after they have already invested in their own trip out there with the hopes of selling their pics to someone. It's a job where you just have to pound the pavement and make connections for a while.

Good luck. I think you'll be alright if you hang in there...its what you love, which means you are probably good at it :)

[Jeff]

i say start ur own porn company and make ur money with those pictures.. . orr just start acting like and talking about things that youve done.. that maybe u really havent done.. build urself up and act like a pro... fake it till u make it... its more about acting like uve been there done that to make ppl think that ur not just an amature and then they wont feel like they can use u and get away with free ****. let them know up front u do this for a living so ur work isnt free.. lie a little if u have too lol. i know nothing about photography.. but thats just as far as ne thing in the networking/business world

[Bballjamal]

Bro this was my problem forever! The only thing that started getting money in my pocket, AND no it's not enough to make a living, is pass out biss cards around the campus and at childrens events. Parents are the biggest suckers for pictures (of their kid(s) next to someone who thinks they're pretty. Also, the deposit works. $50 deposit for coming out to anything to cover gas and food, shoot for free, show them 5-10 sample shots on disc in person or on a website where they can't right-click save. I have more tricks but those main ones usually work.

[crash331]

What you gotta do is build a premium brand. You are never going to be able to make money off of people who don't see the worth in you. I learned this the hard way. People either act like you say (they are doing you a favor by letting you be there), or they expect you to do a whole days work for $20, or they expect you to be their personal Walmart/Eckerd, and as a whole they just don't understand what it takes to be a photographer.

I have had several "customers" who are a total pain in my ass. They ask me to come do a shoot for them, and I used to do free sitting fees and just charge for prints, bad mistake, anyway I would spend all day taking photos, editing, croping, color correcting, uploading to my online ordering site and then they never order. They either steal the thumbnails and use on myspace, or they ask for 4x6s of every ****ing photo.

The only way to really make money in photographey is to add worth to your brand. If you do portraits, charge an assload upfront, have a nice studio, have a nice gallery, make everything as extravagant as you can. Charge enough to weed out the bargain shoppers and Walmart/Sears customers. This works with wedding photography, too. of course you gotta have the skills to back up the prices.

With event photography, I am not sure how that would work. But use what you know about the events and try to apply the same way of thinking.

[crash331]

Oh, btw, I kinda gave up on making money as a photog. Just didn't have the money and time to invest in it. I still love taking pics and every once in a while someone will contact me for services and I get a gig. It's nice making an extra 200-500 bucks every month or two.

[Nemesis]

Simply put, trying to make money off photos locally or on a website such as this is proposterous. People want something for nothing. I went through the following stages with photography and I find myself at the last point:

1. Taking photos for free. I offered to take photos all the time to anybody who wanted it. Man, nobody could tell me anything, I whored my photos everywhere and it was something prideful to have it on a forum and people compliment you. In the meanwhile working on your craft to become a better photographer was a big plus!

2. The realization that your time is more important than, "free". Knowing this, your regular job during the week starts to take a toll on your mind, body , and soul. The weekends are your "recoup" period where you rest or do things you want to do. So many times have you gone to a photo-shoot for somebody, hit up many different locations, and then its over. You've wasted a half a day doing something you like, yet in the end not really gaining anything. Maybe its just my personal feelings towards the subject.

3. Start getting recognized for your photos. This probably was the high point for me. I never intended to "be on staff", or shoot photos full time. However, I got many gigs for my photos. 80 percent of my photos were used in an Enkei Wheels Catalog, I had a 3 page feature spread in a National "Shelf" publication (DSport), all with my photos, and most recently photos used in a Brian Crower ad. And my photos were used in a good bit of ad's for other magazines. It was great, and they paid me well for them, and even paid for trips to other events. I made a lot of connections I still keep in touch with today. But when all was said and done, I achieved what I wanted to. But to be completely honest, Ive done quite a few weddings and personally that is the most rewarding. If I had the time to invest in such an endeavor full time, Id personally choose this. Countless numbers of people get into wedding photography, only to quit later on down the road. They do a few gigs for friends or family, and then make the leap into "unchartered" territory then get a glimpse first hand at the hell that wedding photography can be, and they quit.

4. At a cross roads. Personally I think each every person in here will reach that time where theyll ask themselves, is it worth it? We all know that making a living taking photos is next to impossible for many. We are like painters and other artists that try to sell their paintings at shows/exhibitions , except our craft involves a camera for a paintbrush. Personally this whole "photography" fad is becoming overcrowded, overcrowding an already saturated field.

Personally man, do it for yourself. Dont do it for the money, dont do it to be "cool". If you love what you do then that's all that matters. Sounds kind of cliche but it is true. Im sure someday Ill get back out there and shoot, hell youll see me at a few events next year. I had a coworker tell me one time, "you need to find friends and clients that actually have money". Sounds kind of funny, but its true. I remember when I first started wedding photography one lady asking me to shoot at her wedding three hours away from where i live, and she told me she didnt have a lot of cash. I told her my lowest rate and Ill even help her out and give her more of my time. She said she couldnt afford it. Being the nice guy I am I said, then just cover my gas. Probably around 100 dollars. Since I was new at it, I would have been fine with it. She said no. She wasnt that poor either, she wanted to get something for nothing basically. I always get a kick out of people that skimp on photographers for their "one special day".




By the way: I am by no means a photo "god", despite how some feel that I have this mentality. There are tons of amazing photographers out there that do what they do because they enjoy it whole heartedly. So the above statements are my personal experience, so take it as you will.

[changaroo]

/end thread.

nemesis to tha mofakin point!

do it cause you like photography, if youre in it just for the money, youre going to start to hate it.

[crash331]

/end thread.

nemesis to tha mofakin point!

do it cause you like photography, if youre in it just for the money, youre going to start to hate it.


Yeah, that is an other reason why I stuck to my day job. Photography is something I enjoy, but when you mix it with nightmare clients and do it during weekend recoup time it becomes just like that day job that we all hate so much. Wasn't worth it to me.

[sleepys4]

Nemesis well put! I know a few photographers that make a lot of money but they are celebrity photographers. One of my friends David Rams, makes a few dollars but he has been doing this for a while.

[DrivenMind]

I never said I was in it for the money, but what you guys fail to realize, is that despite my young age; I've been doing this for about four years now, and have made maybe a total of $60 off it.

It's not like I'm new to taking pictures, or just looking to make a buck. I was shooting every single thing I could, before I had even graduated high school.

I started working for a media company at 17 where I was lured in by the promise of making money doing something I love to do, but I haven't gotten **** to show for it except experience.

I think one of my biggest problems is thinking that this could be a full time job. Doesn't matter how educated you are on the subject, because people are forever trying to exploit creative individuals. I've never expected to get paid for anything on this forum, I simply took to posting my photos because several of the photographers here, have in a way somewhat grown up together photographically.

Over the past few years while we've been bull****ting on IA, a lot of the same guys who were posting pics with shiity point and shoots; are now the very guys who come back from a shoot somewhere, and upload their pics to IA to see what their fellow Atlanta based, visually inclined, gear heads have to say about their photos.

I hate photography, almost as much as I love it, because no matter how much I grow as a photographer, or spend on a "professional education"; people simply refuse to acknowledge the fact that my services might be worth paying for. It's as though most people know they can the shots they want out of me for free.

Who knows, maybe I'll just say **** photography, and look into audio production.

[dartingd]

I never said I was in it for the money, but what you guys fail to realize, is that despite my young age; I've been doing this for about four years now, and have made maybe a total of $60 off it.

It's not like I'm new to taking pictures, or just looking to make a buck. I was shooting every single thing I could, before I had even graduated high school.

I started working for a media company at 17 where I was lured in by the promise of making money doing something I love to do, but I haven't gotten **** to show for it except experience.

I think one of my biggest problems is thinking that this could be a full time job. Doesn't matter how educated you are on the subject, because people are forever trying to exploit creative individuals. I've never expected to get paid for anything on this forum, I simply took to posting my photos because several of the photographers here, have in a way somewhat grown up together photographically.

Over the past few years while we've been bull****ting on IA, a lot of the same guys who were posting pics with shiity point and shoots; are now the very guys who come back from a shoot somewhere, and upload their pics to IA to see what their fellow Atlanta based, visually inclined, gear heads have to say about their photos.

I hate photography, almost as much as I love it, because no matter how much I grow as a photographer, or spend on a "professional education"; people simply refuse to acknowledge the fact that my services might be worth paying for. It's as though most people know they can the shots they want out of me for free.

Who knows, maybe I'll just say **** photography, and look into audio production.

a little advice...people don't usually buy from "younger" people...i am a truss engineer, and before this, i sold commercial carpet...when i would go to measure jobs, the older contractors didn't want anything to do with me..now that i'm a truss engineer, the contractors usually call an order in, email in archs, or w/e...i do the job and get it done right...then when they come in to pay and meet me, they look surprised, but do come back afterwards...speaking from experience, it's really hard to get that foot in the door...on another note, we paid our photographer 500 bucks to take our photos..maybe it was 600, dun remember, and they turned out great...you could make good money if you got your networking down...

[GIXXERDK]

Never realized it was difficult to succeed in this business. I have one friend in photography and he makes awesome money, hes married and just bought a GS350.

[blaknoize]

It may also just depend on the market "here." Granted, Georgia IS growing rapidly. I would assume (because I'm not in that field, I.T. is mine and school is required to make 20-50 an hour) that N.Y. and Cali are very good places for things like that. And well, the beach areas or GA, FL, TX and others. But thats my take on it, just because u ALWAYS see that BS on tv and so on.

Only other thing I could mention is try checking out the news outlets. They almost always need photographers.

[Danny]

I used to do a few paying jobs and i still do on occasion. But i hate it, i can make more money with the hours of BS you go through doing a shoot at somthing else.

Photography has everyone and their brother in the industry. The motorsports industry is littered with great photographers, so in my mind there is no sense getting into that industry. Just this site alone has at least a half dozen talented photographers.

Find a niche that is not the norm, a industry you dont know anything about. Or be like the rest of us and realize its fun, but not worth trying to make a living on.

take your photography skills and toss in some CS clasess and try getting an intership with the local police force doing CSI. Pays well, and no post processing photos (waahooo). haha, just a sugestion.

Bottom line, economics 101: in an industry thats easy to enter, competition will drive profits down to nothing. And thats exactly what photography is.

Sorry if i have a gloomy outlook, its just my opinion :D

[Danny]

ps. there is a photography website where u bid on jobs. let me see if i can track it down.

[DrivenMind]

That'd be cool. I've been looking into more serious jobs as of recent, that can provide the bank to support my various creative obsessions; but nothing for sure as of yet.

At this point I really wouldn't be surprised if my Rebel crapped out before I got paid for anything I've done, but hopefully in a few months I'll be able to step up to a more serious camera.