Transitioning from hobby to paid-service: How did you do it?

A few years ago, once I finally started my real career and made money, I jumped into the DSLR world after owning countless point and shoot, compact, and semi-compact cameras. I've learned alot, and still have very much to learn, but dare I say that I've become "good" at taking event pictures. I get the typical oohs and ahhs from people who don't know a darn thing about photography, but I've also had some professional photographers make positive comments on my pics.

Recently I attended a family wedding and spent maybe 45min total time taking pics throughout the night. When both I, and the paid photographer posted links to our pics on Facebook, they weren't all that discernible....to the point where the guy messaged me, asked if I had any prior experience and if not, if I was interested in gaining some with his business. Would have loved to accept, but didnt want to jump into anything.

I've been entertaining the idea of perhaps starting to make some money while doing what I love to do. I'm not necessarily looking to go all in and start a business...yet, anyways.

But I'm curious, how have others started out? Did you just go "all-in" and immediately call it a business, or did you start by working with friends/family/friends​-of-friends? Besides your camera and lens, what exactly do you need (or should you have) before starting to charge for your work? Any tips/advice on how to go about transitioning from hobby to supplemental income hobby?

The main thing you need to charge for your work is somebody wanting to pay you for it. The rest of it is easy. (Insurance, business license, book keeping, etc)

You can search the forum, I'm sure this question gets asked at least once a month. I don't understand why you'd tell a photographer you're not ready to jump into anything yet come on here asking for advice on how to jump in. Play second shooter for the wedding photographer, and you'll learn about the business.

My beginnings are similar to yours, in that I started sort of figuring out what I was doing with my camera (I had a background that helped me instantly understand digital editing and composition), but it wasn't until I took some photos at a friend's wedding with a rebel and kit lens that I thought about maybe trying to make some money with it.

I started by doing trade shoots with "aspiring models" to varying degrees of success, doing an engagement shoot for a couple friends... set up a pretty sub-par blog site but slowly built up my portfolio. Invested in a high end zoom lens (after much research although I really could have gotten by with a couple of cheaper primes). I ended up booking my first wedding a couple months after I decided to start "a business" and ended up investing in a new camera body and using my rebel as the backup.

All the while I was reading and reading and shooting and shooting and reading ad nauseum. I applied for 2nd shooter jobs but couldn't get any (no experience). So I ended up developing a portfolio of weddings as a primary shooter, oddly enough. Most people would advise against the path I took, but I took it very seriously and was always straight forward with potential clients about my experience. I also priced myself accordingly given that. As I gained experience and shot more weddings, I updated my website and pricing and it's going pretty well from there.

But to get to the root of your question, if I were you, I'd definitely jump on the 2nd shooter stuff--it's a lot less stress but great practice and I agree you'll learn a ton more about the business (I've done some more second shooting to get a better idea of the business side since I've started). In terms of gear as most people say, get a backup of everything and at least a couple of lenses that are capable in low light and/or flashes. Browsing through your Flickr, I think you have a greater knowledge of general photography than I did when I jumped into the business side and a better set of gear--you just need to get/rent a backup if you do any big events.

Once you feel like you're ready to strike out on your own to do work, just set up a focused website for photography work (which is a whole different thread) and see if you can get any bites. Doing work for friends isn't a bad idea either.

I still work my full time job, but I've been able to balance that with my photography work.

Good luck!

n0w0rries wrote in post #13189177
I don't understand why you'd tell a photographer you're not ready to jump into anything yet come on here asking for advice on how to jump in.

Well, because the former actually involves jumping, as the latter only requires the consideration of jumping.

Basically, I wasn't sure, and still am not completely aware, of what I may be jumping into. Part of it is ignorance and part of it is simply questioning my own abilities I suppose. So I was curious how others ended up getting into paid gigs when they started out as a simple amateur/hobbyist.

I didnt want to agree to the second shooter thing right away because I'm on call during the weekends, and even some week nights, so I didn't want to commit to this guy and never be available. Would be nice to be able to work on my own terms, although this may not be the best decision "business-wise"

Check out this site. I don't agree with absolutely everything he says, but it's got a lot of good information pretty well squared away for where you are.

http://parttimephoto.c​om/

How ut began for me.

Advice. Don't undercharge your work. Regardless as to how little or how much work you do as a pro do it all professionally. Have the insurances etc that you should have.

Stick to what you're comfortable with, allow the business to grow slowly through word-of-mouth referrals. Check the local market and price yourself competitively but don't give away your services. Maybe look for a niche that's not worth the time of the full-time pros who are trying to pay the mortgage. For me, this was community theatre. Finding an unserved market is one thing, making it profitable is something else.

If you're thinking about doing weddings, don't. At least not yet. build your experience with similar (but not mission-critical) kinds of gigs, like class reunions, anniversaries, awards banquets, baptisms, confirmations, etc. Gain experience working with people in environments similar to wedding venues, and build your confidence that way.

And however you land your first paid gig, don't start a thread titled "My first paid gig and I'm freaking out what lens do I need?" or we will come and stone you to death.

Good luck!

I'm thinking of making the jump to paid gigs next spring. I recently shot for fun at my friends' wedding reception and they're all freaking out about how fantastic the photos are. I posted them on FB and one friend who's getting married next August already offered to hire me for her wedding. I considered the free shoot just a nice way to generate some experience and have a fun evening. I presume it's tough to advertise for a particular type of event if you don't have some portfolio shots from that setting, no matter whether your other shots are great.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1100904

Thanks for the solid advice, guys. My girlfriend shot her first paid wedding last month and wants to push for more, and a lot of this advice really goes to her situation. Keep it coming!