Question for those who do photography for a living, or on the side

[Mum2J&M]

How did you start out? Did you get a formal education? How many years did you do it prior to "working" in the field? How did you know what area you were best at - did it just become evident the more you shot? For those who have studios, did you learn on your own, or did you have any formal education, etc.?

I've always wondered these things. As I've worked mostly in the corporate world in offices (besides the newspapers I worked for), I was curious as to how one knows he/she is ready to do it for money. I feel, personally, even if I were to get "good" at photography, that I would likely never have the confidence to do it for money. I might offer to do it for free, but it seems like an awful lot of pressure.

Thanks for your input. ;)

[Mark_Cohran]

I was self- educated at first, then did NYIP in the early '80's (learned a lot, much of which is still applicable). Once I felt confident in what I was doing, started building a portfolio and began showing my work to others (this was well before the days of the internet), finally got hired to do a few wedding and modeling portfolios, and sold a few prints to various collectors. Over the years I've tried to keep up with the craft by attending classes, seminars and reading everything I can get my hands on. When the Internet came along, I got very interested in digitial photograhy, started my own websites and advertised on line.

Photography is not my primary source of income - it's just not lucrative enough for that - but I do pay for my equipment and some travels with the income (or with what Uncle Sam leaves me).

Mark

[Mum2J&M]

Thanks Mark. I went to a couple classes at the NESOP (New England School of Photography) in Boston in the 80s (not early 80s though). I wish I'd stuck with it and done that instead of receiving my BA in something I don't use like English. :p How did you get the confidence to do that first wedding? Weren't you nervous?!

[Mum2J&M]

Sorry to be miss 20 questions here, but I forgot to also ask... did you study studio mostly at NYIP, or a full range and just fell into the niche you were good at?

[Mark_Cohran]

Yes, I was nervous, and the talking to the father of the bridge gave me before the wedding didn't help much.....but I had done my research, had the right equipment, and pulled it off pretty well (at least the bride and the mother-of-the bride were happy), and I had a new shots for my portfolio.

I don't do wedddings now except for very close friends and family. They're just more stress and logistics than I care for. I did one for my daughter's best friend three weeks ago and I was reminded by the experience of why I don't care for them. :)

Mark

[Mark_Cohran]

Sorry to be miss 20 questions here, but I forgot to also ask... did you study studio mostly at NYIP, or a full range and just fell into the niche you were good at?

NYIP is a complete course by mail. That's what I did. As I got more involved in photography, I began working more with aspiring models and actors/actresses who needed shots for their portfolios. Some of these I did for TFP, but afterwards these became paying jobs.

During the internet boom, I did quite a bit of stuff for websites - product shots for online stores, Bed and Breakfast shots for the owner's websites, shots for models' online portfolios, etc.

I don't shoot so much anymore. My job and my family take most of my time, so I primarily concentrate of faire and festival photography, event photography, and sometimes I still help models and actors with their portfolios. I don't need my photography for income and if I want new equipment I can generally pay for it out-of-pocket, but it's nice to be able to get a new lens or gadget every once in a while knowing that it can pay for itself.

Mark

[Mark_Cohran]

Oh, by the way, the best class I ever took was one on studio lighting. Although I knew the basics from my courses, the class really helped me put everything together.

Mark

[Mum2J&M]

Thanks again Mark. Wow. So you did courses by mail? That sounds really difficult. I would think you could so easily get distracted from it with other things in life going on. I found the couses I've taken to be great because I'm in the classroom with other people doing the same thing and it really keeps me motivated to do better. What did you do - have homework assignments and post your images for critique? Did you have to scan stuff in then? How does that work? Woops, there I go again, lol...

[Mark_Cohran]

Thanks again Mark. Wow. So you did courses by mail? That sounds really difficult. I would think you could so easily get distracted from it with other things in life going on. I found the couses I've taken to be great because I'm in the classroom with other people doing the same thing and it really keeps me motivated to do better. What did you do - have homework assignments and post your images for critique? Did you have to scan stuff in then? How does that work? Woops, there I go again, lol...

Yep, there was homework, reading, tests and assignments. No scanners, everything was sent in by mail (prints or slides) and the instrutor returned the assignments along with a cassette tape critiquing your work and giving your pointers on how to do it better.

No scanners back then, I'm afraid.

Mark

[Mum2J&M]

Holy cow. Sounds like a lot of work - and money involved. Amazing how much things have changed. I had to stop my hobby when film and processing got too expensive. So I guess digital has been a help. It's just all the damn time I spend "developing" my pictures now. At least I've had some Photoshop education (certified in web development), so that has helped me a lot. Little did I know I'd be using it for photography at the time.