[Leica] pro or not to be?

["Rod Fleming" <rodfleming@sol.co.uk>]

Hi

Martin Howard wrote


>I am not a beleiver of the old saying: get paid for doing what you do
anyway.
>It doesn't happen.  You'll get paid for doing, not what you are already
doing,
>but for doing other things


Sorry, Martin. I'm really sorry. And you know I shouldn't be telling you
this, just in case you join the competition, but you are totally wrong.

Professional photogs actually do get paid to do what they like doing. At
least if they're any good they do. And it takes all types; I know
cruise-ship photographers- and that's a sphere of the business that I could
not for one minute imagine myself working in- and they don't find it a
drudge- they love it! Another friend and colleague does wildlife stock
photography, and sells very well- he divides his time between travelling and
taking pictures, and writing up articles and selling his stock. From this he
makes a handsome income- go on, tell me he's suffering!

I remember when I got my first job as a trainee photog on a  very small
local paper, the staffer in charge said "This will kill your love of
photography." It had obviously killed his, and it showed in his work, so I
learned the lesson, worked hard and moved on.

Since then I have come to believe that when pro photogs start to not like
what they're doing, or it stops suiting their life, the best thing to do is
to go and do something else. Sometimes within the business, sometimes not.
For example, when my wife and I wanted to start a family, I gave up my staff
job as Picture Editor on a national Sunday and restarted my freelance
business. I loved being a staffer, but it was very demanding in terms of
time and effort- and I knew too many older colleagues who couldn't wait for
their kids to have children- because they had been too busy working at the
paper to see their families grow up.............

Since then my office and darkroom have been in the house, and although I'm
away a lot, I'm around a lot too. It balances. Sometimes the family don't
see me for days, but today is quiet and my wife is tired out after all the
work of a full family Festive Season, so I'll nip out in about 1/2 an hour
and pick up the kids from school and go for a walk with them. Sometimes I'll
stay up till 2am finishing up some prints- but then sometimes I'll just say
to my wife, "Let's take the day off together."

And I certainly still spend plenty of time taking pictures for myself. In
fact, I think every picture I take is for myself- it's just that a lot of
the time somebody is paying me!

I think that in order to be any good as a pro photog, you really do have to
love it. I know there are plenty of duff pros around- maybe they lost the
love. (Or maybe they were never any good- who knows?) If one final bit of
evidence was needed to convince you, try this- every single person I have
known who gave up another career to become a photog thinks it the best
decision that person ever made.

Best


Rod