Many amateur photographers dream of turning their hobby into a thriving business. It’s almost a natural progression. Some may even call it a noble pursuit. Who doesn’t want to get paid to do what they love doing? If you happen to be one of those amateur’s it’s important you fully comprehend all that goes into running a photography business. Being a professional means you have to be good at taking photographs and be a very keen businessmen. See this infographic for more perspective:
So, You Wanna Be a Photographer? (Click to See Larger Size)
The infographic, provided by Fotoseeds, is helpful to professionals and coming professionals, alike. It is not meant to be dissuasive, but offer insight and advice on how to build a successful career for yourself and keep the industry striving and lucrative for future photographers. So, before you commit to being a full-time photographer, make sure you pay heed to the advice the graphic provides. It could help make or break or our business.
Like This Article?
Don't Miss The Next One!
Join over 100,000 photographers of all experience levels who receive our free photography tips and articles to stay current:
This is an interesting look at the makings of a professional “pure” photographer. But I’m an artist (and author), and for me, photography is one of several media that may result in an independent work (an “art” photo), or work in tandem with my other media (illustration for my books, photosketching for paintings, mixed-with-other-media artwork, etc.) Essentially, my other pursuits are “clients” for roughly half of what I shoot. How’s your cute pie chart work in THAT?
The difference between hobby and pro is getting paid…
iPhones have cheapened the traditional value equation for photography considerably.
There are many more hobbyists who think they are pros and pros are having more difficulty emerging.
Still, there will always be a need for pros. Particularly in commercial realms.
The private market for photography on the other hand is being butchered.
This summarized hobby vs business beautifully.
It should be “a very keen businessMAN” not “a very keen businessmen”.
Well every “professional” was once a beginner … or an amateur. Period. Go for it folks dnt back off.
Great….Article……
I am doctor and always passionate towards photography….You answered many of my questions…..
good article! having worked for myself in another industry I can say there is pros and cons to self employement. Understanding the ups and downs will help plan for the more challenging times. A valuable lesson I learned is to never say, “that’s easy”, easy equates to cheap, low cost, or not taking alot of time. Something can be easy but time consuming. So, what I learned to say is, “that’s doable” or something along those lines.
Arun,
How is sharing hard lessons learned demotivating people? If people feel demotivated, then they never really thought about what it takes. Every pro (person making a living) has gone through this process.
The competition comes from ‘amateurs’ charging peanuts for their photos. Never mind that they might be worthless photos, but clients become acclimatized to these prices not considering that they are truly getting what they paid for: garbage.
Pros will always find that there are amateurs that are better photographers. Pro doesn’t mean you are the best, just that you’ve figured out how to make a living doing it: better business trumps better photos when looking to make a living. Of course you still need good product, it just doesn’t need to be the best.
Jarring to see something you recognise in yourself- insecurity. I’m at the start of my journey to do what I love for a living and one of the most difficult things for me is setting a price for any clients, as I have the overwhelming fear that my photographs will not meet their expectations. Still, I have a wedding photography gig booked in with plenty of time to work on my confidence.
Nicely explained. With no offense just want to make one comment: Ofcourse these are hard facts what majority of people face when then land in a business process. But sometimes I feel that professionals make this kind of articles to demotivate the beginners or to protect their business by keeping it less competitive!
This is a nice depiction…
Great article. I’m in the process of going through this myself as i prepare to retire from the military. I have over a year to get it all together though.