To Aspiring Photographers: A lot of people in the last year have emailed requesting information about mentoring, classes, my equipment, locations, editing and general advice which has prompted me to write this post to answer just a few of these questions with brutal honesty. Most of these emails start like this, I want tips on better photography will you mentor me and show me all that you know?... First off, my camera, spare and 3 lenses alone are worth over 20k; my props and trailer over 9k, my editing software $2.1k and I have 23 years of experience off and on taking pictures since I was 16. I spend $700/month on lab and trailer fees, $75 on insurance which doesnt cover accidents or water damage and 1-3k each month on additional expenses such as props and replacing clothing for maternity sessions, etc. I spend 2 or more hours per session with each client (even though I advertise for 1 hour sessions), 2-3 hours prep time choosing and printing posing cards and preparing my truck or trailer with appropriate props. I spend 1 hour driving to and from my sitter not including drive time to session. I spend $40 per session for my sitter. I book only 3 sessions per week earning a total of $675/week before all of my expenses. I get my husbands help loading and unloading heavy props which costs me in untold ways favors back to him and justified frustration on his part driving to locations to meet me and spending his down time off work helping me. Expect 2-3 hours answering emails and texts per day, feeling overwhelmed that it is 10pm and you still havent spend a single hour editing and now need to stay up all night to make up for it. 5 hours per client (for me) is spent editing because I chose to perfect each picture. I earn $5.00 or less an hour. If you put forth any creative images using photoshop future clients will to come to you with lists of special requests that will take you an additional 4+hours per client of editing and some regulars will come to you disheveled, wrinkled with mismatched clothing expecting you to provide an additional 5 hours editing. Every aspiring photographer in your area will email you with innumerable questions, send you friend requests, copy your locations, exact ads, steal images of your page and place them on their budding business pages expecting you to think thats cool or demand you be there to teach them everything you know then call you rude if you dont happily oblige. Local photographers will friend you just to ask for your locations and will book with you then stand you up because all they really wanted was the location you are using. All those amazing photographers out there with unlimited unique props, phenomenal photoshopped images who are currently teaching classes are NOT offering this quality and uniqueness to everyone. They made little money as actual photographers because they are artists and their passion led them to give 100% and expect minimal return. They are only making money NOW because every doe eyed photographer including myself wants to be like them until they realize how much time effort and money is involved in keeping this up for years. Photography can cause heartache between extended family who secretly wish you would gift them with hours of free sessions and editing work; heartache between your immediate family who resent your late night editing, daytime comas, dirty house and your comments like but Im still investing back into my business or but I told my client I would spend $250 on stock images and spend 6 hours to edit their child into a fairy for $20.00 pay. My husband loves my work and is proud of what I do but he honestly wishes that I actually made money and he has on numerous occasions offered to put me through school to pursue any other career just PLEASE NOT photography. So, before you invest time, money and energy into a photography career please look around at how many dissatisfied photographers in your area are barely making it, wishing they earned more or at least as much as someone flipping Mcburgers and if you plan to proceed no matter the cost financially, physically and emotionally read Lisa Holloways wonderful, eloquent and somewhat humorous article I have a life. ihavealife/blogposts/2014/8/3/lisa-holloway I would say the biggest advice for aspiring photographers that I can impart is to evaluate what is important to you. Im not sure I will keep this post up but here it is for now and I hope that it helps others to have more realistic expectations of creative photography as a career.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 05:25:51 +0000