Career Change?

[lankforddl]

So I'm a Biology major with a career in Computer Science. Weird? Sort of. I've recently become consumed with photography and can't stop thinking about it. It all started at the microscope in the lab and I shifted to macro photography. My wife makes reference to my camera bag (gear and all) as my mistress, in good humor of course. ;) I'll often leave the house with gear in hand and she gives me a playful how dare you look and then gestures to "go ahead".

I've considered going back to college for another degree that involves photography. This may be a pipe dream... but I just can't get it out of my head.

Would anyone care to share their experiences (good or bad) when switching their career to photography?

[MattMoore]

Honestly, it is hard to say.

I don't know if I'd enjoy photography if rent or putting food on the table hinged on my ability to sell myself/services, meet client's deadlines, and compete in a very crowded market?

But, I know how you feel (I'm sure a lot of us do), I was cursed with being good at something I've long since burned out on (CTI programming & routing architecture) and crappy at what I enjoy (photography).

I personally can not give up my current job b/c they *practically* throw money at me and the job security I have is hard to beat (I was fortunate enough to work & learn stuff that they really don't have books or classes for).

One alternative is to do it on the side. This is what I do and lately is how I've been able to finance many of my recent equipment purchases. You get the satisfaction of being a pro (well...semi-pro) photographer, but not so much pressure to make enough to pay bills, rent, food, emergencies, buy equipment, etc. (as that comes from your *"real" job).

[nicksan]

Unless I am making a killing...and I mean a KILLING on photography, I will never quite my day job. No way...pays too good. :)
Always good to get money on the side, but as dedicated source of income? That's a totally different ballgame.

But it depends on cost of living, your living standards, etc, etc...

[Park Street]

Truly famous photographers are suffering in this economy. Most of the photographers I know are making less than half of what they did before the recession and many of those did not make a lot before. I suggest you keep it a hobby as it is a great hobby but an incredibly daunting career choice. Also you realize I hope that there is no way to earn a living at macro work alone.

[shphoto32]

Photography is an awesome career, but it's one that is currently struggling. With the digital era in full force and DSLR's practically being given away online, everyone thinks they are a professional photographer. I'm just as guilty as everyone else, I started out with a Canon EOS Rebel XS and a 50mm F1.8 and started booking shoots. I've since bought all professional equipment, raised my prices and am trying to get away from amateur beginnings. As you try to become a Professional you'll get annoyed by all the craigslist ads that say "I'll shoot your wedding for $100 dollars all negatives included". Those people are losing money and ruining the photography business for the Pros until the consumer can understand why they need a pro and not a guy/gal with a entry level DSLR with the Kit lens and a $200 telephoto. I'm sure you'll see plenty of discussions about this around on these forums. Check this one out on TPF (http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-shop-talk/62984-getting-fedup-biz-2.html#post1865925).

[MJPhotos24]

Photography is one of the highest stress jobs with the least pay, as well as being one of the hardest careers to make it in. I have 3 college degrees collecting dust as a backup plan, glad I did it because you never know. This is a career that can be over quick where you have a great year and the next sucks you into debt. They (polls) used to say 9/10 photographers fail, I'd say it's more like 99/100 now because the market is heavily over saturated with bad photographers who call themselves professionals.

[theextremist04]

What does your wife do for a living?

[nicksan]

Those people are losing money and ruining the photography business for the Pros until the consumer can understand why they need a pro and not a guy/gal with a entry level DSLR with the Kit lens and a $200 telephoto.

It's not the consumer's responsibility to understand that. It's the "pro's" responsibility to convince the consumer this is the case. It is what it is and as you mentioned, you were one of those who practically shot for nothing right? So I am not entirely sure what your point actually is. Are you advocating the "you have to start somewhere right?" type attitude or something entirely different?

[skygod44]

Career change?

I wouldn't recommend it for a millisecond.
As said above, right now is a bad time if you expect photography to be your main/only source of income.

I have a photography business. It's quite young and makes me "some" money, but it's not my main source of income. I like it that way, because I want to stay "creative" on photo shoots. And, I have a mortgage, a wife, 2 kids and pensions/investments/savings/old-age in general all to think about, so I must have regular income.

By all means, start up a side-line. But keep the cash coming in from your main career choice.

Oh, and my advice is irrespective of any photographer's skills - right now, not enough people have enough spare cash to throw at us to make photographic income regular enough for you to continue enjoying, what is, in truth, a remarkable hobby/job. Some can make it, but it's a damn big risk if you have a wife.......
Regards,
Simon

[tim]

Nah, don't do it, unless you're exceptional you'll be on the bread line and unable to feed your family. I've been doing wedding photography for 6-7 years, I photograph 30 weddings a year at good rates (recently increased), and with overheads, camera costs, repairs, telecommunications, etc, etc, and all the massive numbers of expenses you have, I still barely turn a reasonable profit. I do IT in the winter, which is what pays my mortgage, photography in the summer just stops me from getting bored.

[ScottKCooper]

Keep the day job, and research and create a business plan. You may build a nice retirement job, but I bet you won't replace your computer pay. Take it slow, and keep the enthusiasm up! Oh, and pay attention to your wife too.

[PhotosGuy]

Keep the day job, & you'll keep your understanding wife? ;) You'll also keep your enthusiasm for photography, your house, insurance, & retirement benefits.
Photography as a full time job is WORK. My degree is in biology & chemistry, & when the biochem job I wanted didn't come soon enough, I looked for a fun photography job:
"Your pathway to today" (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=174508)
But I was single, had no debts or responsibilities, & was free to do what I wanted. I don't regret it at all, but obviously don't recommend it to someone in your position.

More: At a Cross Road (career advice needed) (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=496491)

[ssim]

It is a big decision and one that needs alot of thought and planning. This would, of course apply to any career change. I have seen quite a few people that fell in love with photography as a hobby and they were making some reasonable amounts of money doing it as just that and then went out on their own. Most of these people have since abandoned this dream for a variety of reasons, it became a job and not a desire, they couldn't sustain the amount of business they needed to be solvent and there were some other ones in there but these two were the most significant.

I would hope that you have some life goals set for yourself. If you want that house in the burbs and the typical two kids, your career choice has to be able to support that. If you can work for someone else doing photography and get paid a decent salary I would think that would be the way to start off. If you really want to start out on your own, make a business plan, take some business courses. It is tough sledding in this industry right now but it can also be rewarding. Think it through and it should be a family decision. I knew a fellow that made this decision without asking his wife. He came home and announced that he had quit his job and this is what he was going to do. He is now divorced.

I took a job in an unrelated industry and thought that I would hold onto that job until I found something better. In the meantime I came across photography and like many others fell in love with it. The lady that I was going out with at the time (who later became my wife) surprised me with a new medium format camera at the time and this only entrenched me more in the love of shooting. Through conversation I got to know the owner of a studio, who had several locations. He offered me a part time job which I gladly took and spent about 2.5 years working for him doing everything from darkroom to sweeping the floors to shooting assignments. It was some of the best experience I think I could have gotten at the time. I still never left that other industry and I took early retirement from it after 32 years and decided to shoot full time then. The kids were off on their own, the house is paid for and the only obligations I had were my monthly living expenses. Business has been good for me and I love what I am doing but I think it would have been tough going if I would have had to pay my mortgage, the kids university and everything else out of photography.

Take your time and make sure that this is what you want. At some point it is going to be just another job. I know that because now I hardly ever shoot just for fun but I still love shooting the assignments. Make a plan, a realistic one and then go from there. I can tell you that there is alot of stress involved in running your own business. I spend more time running the business than I actually do shooting, be prepared for that.

[PhilF]

well I got laid of 8 months ago and been doing freelance work. With the economy right now, freelance work doesn't even cut it. I just started photography and been planning to make it as a business to add as a source of income.... tough times right now. I however love photography... who doesn't , right?

[RWatkins]

Photography, computer science /repair and plumbing are three awesome skills to have when it comes to Biology. Rather then to forsake biology, why not parlay the photography desire to the lab? Well, except if it means making bands where they don't need to be (or erasing them from where they are).

[airfrogusmc]

I've been a full time photographer since 1986. I worked part time before that for 7 years. For the 10 of those years I was the staff photographer at a hospital. Before the hospital I had worked for a very high end wedding, portrait, commercial studio doing small table top catalog work, al the studios custom B&W and color printing, portraits and had my own wedding clients. When I went to work for the hospital I started shoot med to high end medium format weddings. 9 years ago I opened my own business full time doing advertising and commercial work mostly in health care. I no longer shoot weddings.

I think to do this successfully full time you really have to find a niche with a solid inside knowledge of that field. Your work has got to be top notch. And I can't begin to say how important connections are.

I survive on repeat business. I have some very large healthcare systems that are steady clients. Some of them took years to get. One system took me 5 years to get as a steady client.

If your going to shoot weddings I would say the high to medium high end is where you want to be. Most of those that work in that client base don't get hurt by the low ballers and uncle Joes out there. My old boss at the high end studio I used to work for is still a very good friend. He is in the $12,000 starting point range and he has seen a down turn in business but as bad as some of the lower end wedding shooters. He works mostly with wedding consultants and those clients would never think of getting a cheap low end photographer.

I know so many friends that have started their own businesses and have failed. Its tough out there for sure.

I have a B/A in photography and hear all the time how useless that is but I can tell you that without it I wouldn't be working in the field I'm now in. I also hear how important business classes are. Well I learned more in 6 months working in a that studio I mentioned about how to run a successful photography business than all the business and marketing classes I had in college. Those are great if you going to go to work at IBM. But thats not a successful photography business.

Concentrate on being the best photographer technically you can be and learn about art and color theory. Most of the very successful commercial photographers I know are all outstanding photographers but have reps to do their marketing, very good accountants and office managers to run the everyday stuff. that leaves them to do what they are good at.

You are probably going to take a hit the first 2 tears so be prepared to loose money and be careful not to get buried in bad debt.

I hope this helped and is what I've learned personally over the years. Oh and one other thing persistence. You will experience a lot of rejection especially early. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I mean to get up everyday and get paid and in some cases handsomely to do what you love to do and would be doing anyway for me was worth all the stuff I've mentioned.

[iAMB]

How do you feel about your current career? If you enjoy your current job and love the things you do, why not take your newfound photography passion and help encourage and promote your interest in your career. Even do some photography jobs to earn some extra cash for you and the family, while retaining your current job. I am not discouraging your thoughts on the move, but try to use both of them to your advantage. Photography will always be there, your job right now might not always be.

My reasoning: I am an architecture student with a passion for photography. I know that I cannot make a living or future just on photography alone, but rather I will use photography to benefit my love for architecture. Maybe in the end both of them might help my career in the future, but for now photography is my daily release from the stress.

All this is said thinking that you like/love your current job.

[airfrogusmc]

How do you feel about your current career? If you enjoy your current job and love the things you do, why not take your newfound photography passion and help encourage and promote your interest in your career. Even do some photography jobs to earn some extra cash for you and the family, while retaining your current job. I am not discouraging your thoughts on the move, but try to use both of them to your advantage. Photography will always be there, your job right now might not always be.

My reasoning: I am an architecture student with a passion for photography. I know that I cannot make a living or future just on photography alone, but rather I will use photography to benefit my love for architecture. Maybe in the end both of them might help my career in the future, but for now photography is my daily release from the stress.

All this is said thinking that you like/love your current job.

You certainly could make a very good living shooting architecture. ;) and like I said having a good inside knowledge of the field is a big plus and having a niche is also a big plus so ya never know. :D

[lankforddl]

Hey everyone, Your ideas and input gave me some things to think about. It seems as though a specific career in "something" that gets one close to a photography subject is a good idea. OR, maybe teach biology and have 3 months a year off for photography! lol My wife would love the salary drop.

[Broncobear]

It is great to do something you love but you have to understand that photography is a fierce business, wedding and commercial photography is a business and gets boring, art makes no money, fashion photography is saturated with many outstanding photographers.

You have to be realistic to what pays the bills. At the same time I think incorporating photography skills to what you do or just doing it on the side is not a bad idea.

[zagiace]

come on in! the waters fine...
unless you want to retire someday.
lol
When I started out, I didn't care about the money, just didn't matter.
Now, I have 3 kids. And now the money happens to be very important.
It is fun though....

[PhotosGuy]

You are probably going to take a hit the first 2 tears so be prepared to loose money and be careful not to get buried in bad debt. Great post, Allen, & I think this part of it qualifies as an appropriate Freudian slip? ;)

[airfrogusmc]

Great post, Allen, & I think this part of it qualifies as an appropriate Freudian slip? ;)
:lol::lol::lol: Thanks Frank. Now you know why I'm not a writer. I get typing (really more pecking than typing) I forget to put an s on the end of words, constantly use there instead of their, your instead of you're and I'm the king of run on sentences.:lol:

It is painful in the beginning with lotsa tears. I would never want to go through those early years again. It even gets a bit scary these days. I have a client right now thats really late on an invoice. A really large invoice and we counted on it being paid a month ago.
OUCH.

[PhotosGuy]

You might want to include this provision in future contracts. I put it at the bottom of my invoice, too:
"3. Grant of Rights. Upon receipt of full payment, Photographer grants to the Client the following nonelectronic rights in the Work..."

[ChrisMc73]

Keep the day job, and research and create a business plan. You may build a nice retirement job, but I bet you won't replace your computer pay. Take it slow, and keep the enthusiasm up! Oh, and pay attention to your wife too.

This is what I'm doing after facing a similar situation as the OP.

[airfrogusmc]

If you can get into the right niche with the right clients you can make a really good living as a photographer. But it ain't easy.

[Biffbradford]

Photography is one of the highest stress jobs with the least pay, as well as being one of the hardest careers to make it in. I have 3 college degrees collecting dust as a backup plan, glad I did it because you never know. This is a career that can be over quick where you have a great year and the next sucks you into debt. They (polls) used to say 9/10 photographers fail, I'd say it's more like 99/100 now because the market is heavily over saturated with bad photographers who call themselves professionals.

I wouldn't go that far. I've got some stories for 'ya from a nursing perspective! ;)

[zagiace]

I wouldn't go that far. I've got some stories for 'ya from a nursing perspective! ;)
mmmm,
I have never been a nurse so take this with a grain of salt. I would say its more difficult to make a living at photography then nursing. All of the nurses I know are doing pretty well. All of the photographers I know struggle and are stressed out. Most of my stress comes from the money related aspect of the job. If every client paid my rate and I had jobs coming in 4 or 5 times a week my stress level would drop dramatically.
I read an article that put commercial photographer in the top ten most stressful jobs out there, along with photojournalist.
If you google it you may find a few articles that are similar.

[airfrogusmc]

Most of my work is in healthcare and if I screw up theres a reshoot if a Dr or a nurse makes a mistake it can cost someone their life. Nothing I do or any photographer for that matter is near that important or near that stressful.

[MJPhotos24]

I wouldn't go that far. I've got some stories for 'ya from a nursing perspective! ;)
I didn't say that, it was USA Today (?) or Yahoo (?) One of them ranked it, and believe nursing was in there to but don't quote me. Just know photography was and want to say 8th...the link is somewhere on here.

As for the above...I think it was reference to knowing you have an income/benefits/etc vs. not knowing - not the actual job duties, we're confusing the two. Nursing is a great profession and only growing it seems, the country is starving for good nurses...good photographers are becoming a dime a dozen almost.

[morthcam58]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/business/media/30photogs.html?scp=3&sq=photography%20&st=cse

It's not an encouraging article...

[zagiace]

Most of my work is in healthcare and if I screw up theres a reshoot if a Dr or a nurse makes a mistake it can cost someone their life. Nothing I do or any photographer for that matter is near that important or near that stressful.
excellent point.

[tiffanyjay]

Sage advice by all here. Photography reminds me of the music business. A few enter the golden kingdom and the rest stand at the fence wanting in. Getting in is by no means the sign of a life in paradise it means the stakes and expectations are higher. The pros I know are constantly hustling to keep things moving and times change, careers peak and wane. The only thing that keeps me sane is crafting an image. Same with solo guitar. I know players who are legendary and constantly hustle to keep the bills paid. Have to do it for the love of it because making a living gets less feasible every day.

Now that's the way to put it!bw!

[Park Street]

Sage advice by all here. Photography reminds me of the music business. A few enter the golden kingdom and the rest stand at the fence wanting in. Getting in is by no means the sign of a life in paradise it means the stakes and expectations are higher. The pros I know are constantly hustling to keep things moving and times change, careers peak and wane. The only thing that keeps me sane is crafting an image. Same with solo guitar. I know players who are legendary and constantly hustle to keep the bills paid. Have to do it for the love of it because making a living gets less feasible every day.

Absolutely correct! I know both famous musicians and photographers whose income has dropped off a cliff in this economy and with the changes that have happened in their industries. Just be aware that it has always been hard to succeed in these career paths but now it is even harder.

[Biffbradford]

Most of my work is in health care and if I screw up there's a re-shoot if a Dr or a nurse makes a mistake it can cost someone their life. Nothing I do or any photographer for that matter is near that important or near that stressful.

+1

There are different levels of stress, and once you've been forced to cope with high levels of it for whatever situation (medical, military, police, fire), believe me, photography is an absolute JOY to suffer through. ;) Not that I'm making enough to live off of (yet), but I'll trade this profession's troubles for those others any time, any day. :D

[unique one]

I know how you feel
I also wanted to have some sort of photography career, but I decided just to work with it on the side
I'm planning on becoming a teacher, and if I could, I would love to teach photography on the side like over the summer or something to earn extra cash

[Biffbradford]

Well, being a foreign corespondent where you choose to be in the line of fire would be very stressful, but I would label that person a journalist, or soldier. Not a photographer. Still, taking a picture is a whole different ballgame than 'getting your hands dirty', if you catch my drift.

[airfrogusmc]

How about traveling with troops at Omaha beach in WWII or today in Afghanistan or shooting an earthquake scene in Haiti or starvation and poverty in 3rd world countries or a lengthy expose on inner city gangs? The physical responsibility may be less than a 1st responder but I am assuming that aside from the more pleasurable forms of photography there are psychological tests within certain circles of photography that may be as just as stressful.

Well those are certainly high stress fields but they are extremely small compared to photography as a whole and not the norm. The majority of Drs and nurses do deal with life and death or decisions that effect that almost daily.

Sure not knowing if you can make payroll or if theres enough to pay the bills as a photographer is stressful I know I live it but if I screw up no one dies. I re shoot. They might take my house if the client doesn't pay or I don't get work but thats certainly not as important as life.

[Biffbradford]

+1.

[airfrogusmc]

Absolutely correct! I know both famous musicians and photographers whose income has dropped off a cliff in this economy and with the changes that have happened in their industries. Just be aware that it has always been hard to succeed in these career paths but now it is even harder.

+++1

I don't know if I would try and get into it today. It was hard enough building a business when things were a lot better.

[airfrogusmc]

Sage advice by all here. Photography reminds me of the music business. A few enter the golden kingdom and the rest stand at the fence wanting in. Getting in is by no means the sign of a life in paradise it means the stakes and expectations are higher. The pros I know are constantly hustling to keep things moving and times change, careers peak and wane. The only thing that keeps me sane is crafting an image. Same with solo guitar. I know players who are legendary and constantly hustle to keep the bills paid. Have to do it for the love of it because making a living gets less feasible every day.

Good analogy Joe. I would add Its like any artistic career. Its not always about talent or being more creative its a lot about connections and luck. You have to have the chops but it takes more than just having chops. You are constantly selling yourself on every job you shoot. Its about your professionalism and the way you deal with your clients. Its about keeping steady clients that you've built trust with. Its tough out there and if your not aggressive it sure ain't coming to you.

[sfaust]

If you are consumed with photography, but not also consumed with the idea of running your own business and everything that goes with it, it may not be for you. Running a successful photography business is about 70% business and 30% photography.

Most of my time is spent on marketing, sales, networking, accounting, forecasting, education on copyright issues, usage trends, industry outlook, along with maintaining the studio, reviewing my insurance policies, finding good talent (assistants, crew, models, stylists, etc), down to the mundane tasks of maintaining the archive, keywording, filing copyrights, painting the cyc wall, waxing the studio floor, and taking out the trash.

Then there is the actual photography part, about 30%. Sometimes is fun, others it boring. It can be exciting, or a simple job that doesn't even begin to tax your skills. You could be shooting a huge machine in a factory one day, a studio product shot on another, a CEO portrait, or hanging out of a helicopter. Some days you wonder if you can pay your bills and if the phone will really ring, then others great projects come on and you're flush with cash.

Being in business for yourself and dealing with all the crap that comes with it should be the primary reason to go into the industry since its the majority of the work you'll do. The secondary reason should be the love of the visual arts. If its reversed, I think many photographers get discouraged when they find their job is as a business person first, with some photography mixed in.

There is plenty of good advice in the previous posts. Yea, there is good money to be had in the right areas. I know several commercial photography that are paying mortgages and putting their kids through college on what they make. They know the business and the industry, understand how to market and sell, and can negotiated decent day rates and usage.

But there is also a downward pressure in the industry. As so many are trying to make sideline income from photography, a lot of the easy bread and butter work is now being done by them at ridiculous rates (what we would get $300 for people are giving away for $50 to get a new lens) because they have no overhead. So the pros are moving higher up the ladder and its getting more crowded and competitive there for choice jobs. The recession doesn't help either.

As the heard thins out at the top, things will get better at that level. But the low end of the industry is gone to sideline businesses, microstock, etc. So to make a decent living at it for the near future, your business and photography skills need to be top notch, and experienced enough to entice the larger corporate accounts and agencies.

To start out in commercial photography, now is a real bad time. But if you've been doing it for long enough and have a reputation and decent client list, things will get better again. I can't comment on the retail end (portraits, weddings, etc) as I don't have any experience in that segment. But from all those I know that do, its not a pretty sight with lots of competition charging bottom dollar.

With all that said, if you can truly rise above your competition and dominate your market with savvy business and photography skills, there will always be room in the industry and money to foot the bills. Be honest in your self assessment, due diligence, and business skills and research your market very carefully.

[airfrogusmc]

I'm a photographer because I have no other marketable skills. :lol: Sad but true. But photography is my life. Its my hobby, its my job and I still love it. Theres usually not a day that goes by that I'm not doing something either shooting for clients or myself or working on files I've shot. I've been lucky to be able to find very good people to help in those areas I'm weak in and I've been paying the mortgage put the daughter through school have even survived a divorce that wiped me out financially (12 years ago) and started over. Like Stephen mentioned it can be very rewarding in many different ways but don't think its easy. Most fail.

[nduralt]

If you are consumed with photography, but not also consumed with the idea of running your own business and everything that goes with it, it may not be for you. Running a successful photography business is about 70% business and 30% photography.

Most of my time is spent on marketing, sales, networking, accounting, forecasting, education on copyright issues, usage trends, industry outlook, along with maintaining the studio, reviewing my insurance policies, finding good talent (assistants, crew, models, stylists, etc), down to the mundane tasks of maintaining the archive, keywording, filing copyrights, painting the cyc wall, waxing the studio floor, and taking out the trash.

Then there is the actual photography part, about 30%. Sometimes is fun, others it boring. It can be exciting, or a simple job that doesn't even begin to tax your skills. You could be shooting a huge machine in a factory one day, a studio product shot on another, a CEO portrait, or hanging out of a helicopter. Some days you wonder if you can pay your bills and if the phone will really ring, then others great projects come on and you're flush with cash.

Being in business for yourself and dealing with all the crap that comes with it should be the primary reason to go into the industry since its the majority of the work you'll do. The secondary reason should be the love of the visual arts. If its reversed, I think many photographers get discouraged when they find their job is as a business person first, with some photography mixed in.

There is plenty of good advice in the previous posts. Yea, there is good money to be had in the right areas. I know several commercial photography that are paying mortgages and putting their kids through college on what they make. They know the business and the industry, understand how to market and sell, and can negotiated decent day rates and usage.

But there is also a downward pressure in the industry. As so many are trying to make sideline income from photography, a lot of the easy bread and butter work is now being done by them at ridiculous rates (what we would get $300 for people are giving away for $50 to get a new lens) because they have no overhead. So the pros are moving higher up the ladder and its getting more crowded and competitive there for choice jobs. The recession doesn't help either.

As the heard thins out at the top, things will get better at that level. But the low end of the industry is gone to sideline businesses, microstock, etc. So to make a decent living at it for the near future, your business and photography skills need to be top notch, and experienced enough to entice the larger corporate accounts and agencies.

To start out in commercial photography, now is a real bad time. But if you've been doing it for long enough and have a reputation and decent client list, things will get better again. I can't comment on the retail end (portraits, weddings, etc) as I don't have any experience in that segment. But from all those I know that do, its not a pretty sight with lots of competition charging bottom dollar.

With all that said, if you can truly rise above your competition and dominate your market with savvy business and photography skills, there will always be room in the industry and money to foot the bills. Be honest in your self assessment, due diligence, and business skills and research your market very carefully.



2¢... I have read through all the posts prior and I agree with most, although being consumed with something, photography in this case, is a great, you will need to pay the bills eventually. For you, I would highly recommend one of two courses of action. 1) Do the photography as a 2nd job (keep in mind you'll be up late at night editing photos for people). 2) Work for a studio in a p/t fashion (2nd job), but don't work for nothing.

There are a lot of opportunities to make money at this, and you don't necessarily need to be the man who gets the business... Personally I find that working with about a dozen different photo/video studios keeps me plenty busy when I want to be outside of my normal job (which is also as a freelance computer trainer/consultant). All I do is show up, shoot, edit, and do it all over again another weekend. I usually shoot 20-30 gigs/year and get paid anywhere from 800 and up to show up and work hard for the day (editing not usually included). In this capacity don't be afraid to turn down work because it is not your rate... always keep in mind that if you charge less once, you've just established a new rate (one that is lower).