Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Les- I recently (4 years ago) went from a career in the entertainment industry (comic/actor/whore) to a career in photography. Always been an avid, if imperfect amatuer. Went to a local photog school and took a night course in BASIC photo and darkroom skills- was immediately hooked! I also discovered that I was 'good'- others encouraged my development. I signed up for a 6 month intensive- the New England School Of Photography offers a two year "trade school" approach to the photographic career path- years ago they had an alternative; the two year course compressed into six months! I've wound up as a wedding and portrait photographer; do some commercial stuff on the side. It is not easy!! My years as a comic pay rich dividends in dealing with people. But it's ALOT of work; the shooting part is 'fun' (if you can call the pressure of wedding photography 'fun') but then there are the hours of post-production and albums and carding negatives into the wee hours- oh, yeah, then the paperwork, marketing planning, tax planning, I'm not trying to discourage anyone, but don't think that it's just "Taking Pictures." It's a complex job, that demands lots of time. You must be a businessman, or you'll easily be out of business. Now I have to go and put together wedding albums for the next three hours, then I have a meeting with the president of a large jewelry store to see if I can become the "recommended photographer", then I meet with two sets of potential wedding clients, then I will be trying to figure out some new promotional material. Oh, and I'll try to say 'hi' to my wife when she gets home from her job- the one that pays the bills!!! People ask me, "Why did you get married?" I reply, "Because it was a good merger for my corporation!" Good luck, and remember, when you're self employed you wind up with a million bosses! Bob Keene oh, yeah, I should also say that- YES, I DO LOVE DOING THIS! >Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 20:06:03 -0800 >From: lbonser@worldnet.att.net >Subject: [Leica] Making a living at this? > >Everyone, > >This isn't Leica-specific, but I'm guessing that there are enough >professionals here to possibly answer my concerns and, in addition, you all >seem like pretty nice folks. > >Okay, I've been doing the same work for about 15 years. I've just finished >up a large project and want to do something a little different. The one >thing in my life that I actually *like* doing is photography. So...I'm >thinking about a career change. > >Now, I'm not asking for a job referral. What I'm interested in is anecdotal >info from someone who's made this sort of transition before: a photography >buff who moved into the field as a profession. > >What sorts of issues are there in making such a move? Are there any pitfalls >that aren't obvious? Now that you're doing it for money, do you still enjoy >it? > >Any stories, advice, or thoughts would be appreciated. > >Thanks in advance. > >Les > > >PS: Just figured out my taxes for last year. I've got enough coming back in >a refund to almost get me that M6 I want!