When did you realise that you were able to dedicate yourself to photography professionally?

Hi all!

I am curious as what made you decide to take the risk from going from an expensive hobby down the professional way. I am at the process of starting to charge people for some photo shoots, but I am nowhere near the quality level that you professionals display in the forum. I am not planning in jumping myself at all towards the professional level, just curious about what made you decide to go ahead.

Cheers!

Sergio

By professional, I mean to use photography as your main source of income

When your business plan and sales trends indicate that you're making enough net profit to support yourself.

Note that this is almost wholly separate from the quality and skill of one's photography.

I'm a crummy salesman, so I don't do photography full-time.

cubatahavana wrote in post #18063975
Hi all!

I am curious as what made you decide to take the risk from going from an expensive hobby down the professional way. I am at the process of starting to charge people for some photo shoots, but I am nowhere near the quality level that you professionals display in the forum. I am not planning in jumping myself at all towards the professional level, just curious about what made you decide to go ahead.

Cheers!

Sergio

By professional, I mean to use photography as your main source of income

Currently deciding when to do this myself. Things I would need are a reliable booked schedule for a year and enough savings for another year after that to go without any bookings.

In reality I like my normal 9-5 enough that I would do that part time for benefits like 401k and health insurance and then do photography the rest of the time.

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cubatahavana wrote in post #18063975
When did you realise that you were able to dedicate yourself to photography professionally?
By professional, I mean to use photography as your main source of income

When I realized that, for a time, I would be able to live on about $15K per year. If you can get your life down to where it's really, really cheap to live, then almost anybody can support oneself exclusively via photography income.

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18064368
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When I realized that, for a time, I would be able to live on about $15K per year. If you can get your life down to where it's really, really cheap to live, then almost anybody can support oneself exclusively via photography income.

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So ..... commit to poverty and jump right in.

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bpiper7 wrote in post #18064373
So ..... commit to poverty and jump right in.

If photography means more to you than anything else in this entire world, then yeah sure........no brainer, as far as I'm concerned.

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I have been doing it full time since the day I graduated from college in 1986. It has been a great ride. Taken me to places I would have never been and the bonus is I got paid to go. It has been truly a passport into other worlds. It is hard now to do it full time but if you have the persistence and the drive then you might have a chance. I took me 5 years to land my biggest client. You can't quite. To many times I have seen this; I contacted _______ but they still haven't called me back. HUH? You have to keep contacting and contacting. If you don't have that drive then don't even think about it. In the beginning especially most of your effort will be rejected. Most quit. Persistence is the key after talent.

I did it because I studied it in college and I had no other marketable skills and I had and still have a burning passion for it.

It's all in your priorities...how high do you rate the ability to provide for your family as opposed to personal satisfaction?

I've sold work, and I know that I certainly could work professionally. But I have relatively stronger skills in another field that pays better and I know that if I tried to make a living in photography it is probable that I would make less than I can in my current field.

I also have a sense that a lot of professional fields (especially the most directly commercially applicable ones like events and portraits) would probably kill my interest in photography and turn it into a job.

So I've never really wanted to change my profession and work as a photographer.

JeffreyG wrote in post #18065302
I also have a sense that a lot of professional fields (especially the most directly commercially applicable ones like events and portraits) would probably kill my interest in photography and turn it into a job.

I most wholeheartedly concur. For me, it would be absolutely horrid to have to do that type of photography. I'd rather rot in a prison cell.

Another thought: The OP didn't ask anyone to share why they don't do photography as a full time job. He directed his question only at those who do..
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For me I have my personal work and I have my professional work. The two are very different. My personal work is all mine. My professional work is usually a collaboration between other visual professionals and the client is the the final word on it all. It is not mine. I think of it as my professional work is like having any job it's just mine is taking photographs. My hobby is also photography. If it wasn't for my personal work I would have been burned out a couple decades ago but my pro work pays the mortgage, the car payments, the insurance, puts food on the table and pays for my equipment and keeps me very sharp technically. There is rarely a day that goes by that I am not doing something photographic. I am a photographer. It's not just what I do.

If I had to deal with the general public (weddings and family portraits) I would probably feel much different.

A couple of quotes from two greats.
"There’s always been a separation between fashion and what I call my “deeper” work. Fashion is where I make my living. I’m not knocking it. It’s a pleasure to make a living that way. It’s pleasure, and then there’s the deeper pleasure of doing my portraits. It’s not important what I consider myself to be, but I consider myself to be a portrait photographer." - Richard Alvedon

"When money enters in, - then, for a price, I become a liar, - and a good one I can be whether with pencil or subtle lighting or viewpoint. I hate it all, but so do I support not only my family, but my own work." - Edward Weston,

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18065316
I most wholeheartedly concur. For me, it would be absolutely horrid to have to do that type of photography. I'd rather rot in a prison cell.

Another thought: The OP didn't ask anyone to share why they don't do photography as a full time job. He directed his question only at those who do..
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Yeah, but once you start a thread you don't own it 100%. Comments as to why people decided not to enter the field are germaine and perfectly reasonable.

When you can begin to charge and earn enough to pay your bills.... Shooting professionally means that you can support yourself with the income coming from your photography. From a realistic and practical standpoint....

JeffreyG wrote in post #18065302
I've sold work, and I know that I certainly could work professionally. But I have relatively stronger skills in another field that pays better and I know that if I tried to make a living in photography it is probable that I would make less than I can in my current field.

I also have a sense that a lot of professional fields (especially the most directly commercially applicable ones like events and portraits) would probably kill my interest in photography and turn it into a job.

So I've never really wanted to change my profession and work as a photographer.

I'm with you.

I have a profession (in which I have far more skills than I do as a photographer) that pays extremely well and allows me to travel around the world - and it allows me to buy cameras for my hobby whenever I want to.

I was a musician in my youth and made money playing weekends in a group until I realized that to go any further in that field I would need to go professional - unionize, get an agent, etc. Music for me was fun - I didn't want to ruin it so I dropped out.

Since getting my first DSLR, I looked at ways I could leverage my photos into a graphic design spin-off of my business. But I soon got the same feelings about that as I did about music. There was going to be work involved in moving from hobbyist to selling a product. I have too much fun taking photos when we travel and sharing them with friends and family to get worried about taking marketable photos.

So I'm just a hobbyist. And still having fun.

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chauncey wrote in post #18064904
It's all in your priorities...how high do you rate the ability to provide for your family as opposed to personal satisfaction?

If one really holds photography as their absolute top priority, then it may not be wise to have a family.

Having a family could get in the way of my photography, and cause some of my time and other resources to go elsewhere.

Without a family, one could be more able to put a lot more of one's self into the photography that one is so very obsessed with.

I really don't see how having a family would make me a better wildlife photographer. Hence, no family. So you're right - it is about priorities.

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