TooManyHobbies
3rd of October 2007 (Wed), 18:33
I'd like to consider myself a prosumer. I don't do photography for a living, but I want the quality of my work to meet or exceed that of many pros. Am I there yet, who knows? In some respects yes in others no. I'm often asked the question "What kind of photographer are you?". With a nickname of TooManyHobbies you can see how difficult it is for me to choose a photographic nitch since I like them all -- some more than others. When I think to myself "What kind of photographer do I want to be if I go pro?"; I start arguing what I like to do most and what could pay the bills and they don't seem to always be in the same arena. But one has to choose to focus ones efforts if one wants to become a pro eventually. The market is so saturated with pros and ammatures in so many areas it's hard to carve out a nitch and distinguish oneself. Several pros I've talked to have all come up with their own style or approach to pitch to clients and distinguish themselves from others. How can I do that when there are so many people who take top notch stuff. I'm very technically savy but my artistic skills are average. So I'm writing this to announce to the world that for now my philosophical debate raging inside my head has finaly ended, at least for the near future. So here it is, my focus......
Being technically savy I've decided to use technology to my advantage. I've used some funds to accumulate some great equipment that not a lot of people have. Although this doesn't garrantee that I'll take great images it sure does help making them easier. I've also always dreamed of printing very large scale in order to compete with other forms of art such as paintings, etc. So by going large on my MP, I'm getting the new Canon 1Ds MIII 21MP, and by being able to print 44"xwhatevery images, I again set myself apart from the crowd. Printing large on fine art materials allows me to use alternative mountings which can also increase your profit margin since the framers seem to be getting any money I get from selling a framed print. When it's that big people don't expect it to be in a frame under glass.
With that said, I've decided to go large scale fine art marketting towards gallery and corporate sales, but I'm also mixing that with weddings. Hey, I like parties. It's not to say that I won't do other things, but I'm trying to concentrate on just 2 in my marketting. I still love sports and performance photography, but the copyright issues boggle my mind. After a while I wouldn't mind adding in glam/fashion photography. Another pro laughed at the notion of fine art, saying there's no such thing. True, by saying that I'm not really chosing in some respects since I'll have so many types of images that I can use under that genre. So I'll narrow it down to abstract or artistically edited. Again using what I'm good at, my technical skills. So there it is, what do you think?
How did you arrive at your focus?
http://www.jeffmmiller.com/pinc/smf/Themes/SlickPro_Graphite/images/icons/modify_inline.gif
Being technically savy I've decided to use technology to my advantage. I've used some funds to accumulate some great equipment that not a lot of people have. Although this doesn't garrantee that I'll take great images it sure does help making them easier. I've also always dreamed of printing very large scale in order to compete with other forms of art such as paintings, etc. So by going large on my MP, I'm getting the new Canon 1Ds MIII 21MP, and by being able to print 44"xwhatevery images, I again set myself apart from the crowd. Printing large on fine art materials allows me to use alternative mountings which can also increase your profit margin since the framers seem to be getting any money I get from selling a framed print. When it's that big people don't expect it to be in a frame under glass.
With that said, I've decided to go large scale fine art marketting towards gallery and corporate sales, but I'm also mixing that with weddings. Hey, I like parties. It's not to say that I won't do other things, but I'm trying to concentrate on just 2 in my marketting. I still love sports and performance photography, but the copyright issues boggle my mind. After a while I wouldn't mind adding in glam/fashion photography. Another pro laughed at the notion of fine art, saying there's no such thing. True, by saying that I'm not really chosing in some respects since I'll have so many types of images that I can use under that genre. So I'll narrow it down to abstract or artistically edited. Again using what I'm good at, my technical skills. So there it is, what do you think?
How did you arrive at your focus?
http://www.jeffmmiller.com/pinc/smf/Themes/SlickPro_Graphite/images/icons/modify_inline.gif