Should I start charging?

raeanne wrote in post #11635097
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those pictures were on auto- all the ones of the baby were on auto, for good reason. It was a once in a lifetime chance to photograph him and his little details.

That is actually the exact circumstance where I advocate shooting in auto: when you would otherwise miss the shot if you took the time to fiddle with the settings.

Normally, for me it happens when children are involved. As you get more and more familiar with your camera, it happens less and less. Most people can turn the dial to green box faster than they can set the settings. So, when there is something happening right now, that if I delay, I will miss, I go to the green box. Note: there is next to no agreement with this opinion of mine on this forum; the consensus is auto should never be used (there is little consensus on what should be used: Av or M, but most agree on green box = never). As you get more and more familiar with the camera, resorting to auto will happen less and less. I find myself there only a few times a year, but when you need it, it is invaluable.

Once you turn your hobby into a business, you have to look for another hobby.

ironchef31 wrote in post #11635559
Once you turn your hobby into a business, you have to look for another hobby.

This. I don't take photos for fun any more. I enjoy taking photos for the business, but if i'm not working or practising my cameras stay in their bags.

ironchef31 wrote in post #11635559
Once you turn your hobby into a business, you have to look for another hobby.

On another message board, the topic came up about writing a story with 25 words or less. One of the members wrote this:

A boy, the dream to fly.
A man, his dream come true.
Arival, departure, always right on time,
A dream matured is just a job.

It took a minute for me to truly grasp the meaning. The boy's dream of flying came true. But now, it is just a job. I think that I will keep photography as a hobby for now. I already have a job.

Your links are now broken. Nonetheless the truth is your pictures don't matter. Let me explain. A successful business is 80% marketing and 20% product. People go into business to do one thing: make money. I've seen lot's of businesses that produce crappy products, yet are very successful as business people. On another note there are people who are extremely talented at what they do but are not good business people and their business fail.

My question to you would be this. If you want to make money from your photographs then start a business and change your thinking to 'how do I take a better photo' to 'how do I gain customers in the photography I'm going to specialize in'. If the answer is no, keep it a hobby and enjoy it.

tim wrote in post #11635599
This. I don't take photos for fun any more. I enjoy taking photos for the business, but if i'm not working or practising my cameras stay in their bags.

Ain't that the truth. Once you do it over and over again a million times over the excitement goes away.

Mossman6 wrote in post #11635844
Ain't that the truth. Once you do it over and over again a million times over the excitement goes away.

I would agree but I since I started only shooting weddings for work I have got back into shooting other stuff for fun.

amfoto1 wrote in post #11635365
A pro has to shoot what the client wants, the way the clients wants it shot, on a schedule that meets the client's deadline.

I think that would apply more to the high end commercial photographers whose clients have specific requirements and maybe the low end wedding/portrait guys and gals who don't demonstrate to the customers that they should be trusted because they're the professional.

When I do a portrait session, they seldom have ideas even when I ask them. They pay me to do what I do, not to tell me what to do. I choose the location and the time of day. Sometimes I even choose what they wear, although that is usually collaborative. The only thing we have to "debate" is the date. I set my own deadlines, so if I'm rushed it's only because I procrastinated.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #11635920
I would agree but I since I started only shooting weddings for work I have got back into shooting other stuff for fun.

I just got asked today if I did weddings and would I be willing to shoot a friend of a friend's wedding. I happily said no! Photography is a fun hobby for me and just a hobby!

amfoto1 wrote in post #11635365
revisit the idea of doing it as a profession in a few years when you can put together a portfolio of 12 to 20 absolutely stunning and jaw dropping images that are completely unique to you and your skills as a photographer. You might just find that you don't want to spoil all the fun by becoming a "working pro".

I am on a similar path. I am slowly working to get a business started and I feel this is the strongest piece of advice for me. Until I can have a handful of STUNNING
images I really need to hold off on investing my time and money into the business side of this and keep this as a hobby until I am consistant and getting amazing shots. I need to grow more so I can also be paid for the type of work I know I can achieve instead of getting paid for the type of work I might produce now.

Taurance wrote in post #11641661
Until I can have a handful of STUNNING images

You should hold off until you can produce really good images consistently.

Can you produce good images on a consistent level? If you're a professional you needs to be able to do that.

Mossman6 wrote in post #11635844
Ain't that the truth. Once you do it over and over again a million times over the excitement goes away.

Time to mix it up, IMO. I have yet to find it repititious.

cdifoto wrote in post #11641961
Time to mix it up, IMO. I have yet to find it repititious.

Your correct. Thank you for that

zagiace wrote in post #11634669
before considering starting any business the first thing that should come to mind is whether you are good at business.
It can be a big surprise to learn how little of your time in the photography business is actually spent with a camera in your hand.
My questions would be-
Are you good at sales?
Are you good at marketing?
are you good at accounting?
Do you know how to run a business?
If you answer yes to all of these then your are ready to work on improving your photography to a level that the average gwc can't compete with. If you answered no or were not sure then you have some studying to do.
Being able to take a great picture is 10% of the battle ahead.

And if you're not good at all of those things you will need to hire people that are. Most of the really successful photographer I know that are really good photographers (most are commercial) have reps to do their marketing( they work on commission) all have great accounts( to help with the money and to give them financial advice) and the ones with studios have studio managers to free them up to do want do best photography.

I can't understand why photographer think they should do it all. A good chef for instance will either partner with a business person ot hire a restaurant manager to take care of the things he's not as strong at and the one key is they all have good accountants.

Usually if you are a very creative person you are probably not going to be very good in the business or money end of things. Of course this isn't always true but it is a lot of the time. If you really want to be successful do what you do best and get help from those that are very very good at what they do. That will free you up to do what you love to do and give you real expertise (those that are the great at what they do) in the areas you are not good in and really don't want to do but can be way more time consuming than photography.

If you do this you are probably less likely to fail and less likely to get burned out because you will probably not be able to do it all well.