Despite my usual rants about not being a professional photographer, I think about it now and then. What would it be like if I left the corporate job behind and set out on my own? What would I gain? What would I lose? Would the trade ultimately make me happy?
Right now, I have a good job with excellent salary and benefits. When I go on vacation, I’m paid. I know the schedule I’ll keep and when I’ll be paid. All of that would probably go out the window if I tried self-employment. You’re paid for your work and work isn’t guaranteed; you have to hunt for it and earn it. There are no benefits; things like insurance are additional expenses. Paid vacation? Hardly, but there’s a chance you can work on your trips. Maybe you can keep a schedule, but probably not. It’s more likely you’ll be on your subject’s schedule.
There’s always the other side of the coin. My job involves a lot of meetings, conference calls and PowerPoint presentations. Those aspects have become rather mundane. I’m always in the same environment and my view never changes – except perhaps a business trip about once per year to have meetings with PowerPoint presentations in person. Photographers may meet with clients, but the players change far more often. Instead of sitting in an office or cubicle, your work location may vary every day. It could be a studio session, an environmental portrait, landscape, wildlife, a concert or sporting event. The challenges of hunting for your work may be frustrating if it’s not forthcoming, but the assignments could be really cool.
A lot of things you take for granted in a day job won’t happen on your own without some attention. Who finds the paying customers? Who takes care of the money management? Who keeps your resources ready for work? Do you buy or rent gear? The actual photography in your photography business could be a small percentage of your activities, but that’s the part that brings in the money.
When you compare the challenges to the benefits, is it worth it? It depends upon your ability to adapt to change. Can you seek out opportunities to do what you love? Sure. Can you seek out opportunities to do what you love while knowing you may earn significantly less than your current job affords? That’s a tougher question to answer.
I started dwelling on this topic over the weekend after reading another forum thread about how hard it is to start a photography business in this economic climate. Most folks seemed to think it was a bad time to be a photographer, they told stories of woe, opportunities drying up, friends who went out of business, etc.
For some people, it’s always a bad time to start a business. The reasons change, but they always have a scapegoat. I’m one of them, and maybe, so are you.
Those amateurs are ruining the market. They’re giving it away!
When something new comes along and threatens your livelihood, I can understand that many people’s first instinct is to fight it. There are tons of hobbyist photographers who are uploading images to microstock. Images that were once the province of professional photographers who could command higher prices. Now those buyers are under pressure from other forces. Why should they pay for a custom shoot by a professional photographer when a microstock photo will illustrate the story well enough? Isn’t that the problem, people are settling for “good enough” images instead of great images? That’s what I read this weekend.
There are always obstacles to success. That’s why we refer to the people who overcome those obstacles as “successful.” The professional delusion is believing that the obstacles are unfair just because the circumstances have changed. Obstacles are neither fair or unfair. They’re just obstacles and you have to figure out how to overcome them.
It’s not easy for anyone. One of the most interesting aspects of attending Photoshop World is listening to some of the instructors discuss the challenges they’ve faced, and continue to face. Listen to Moose Peterson, Joe McNally or Zack Arias. They aren’t telling you it will be easy, or that it will all work out. They’re telling you, based upon their own experience, that you have to go out and make it happen for yourself no matter what gets in your way. They give their own stories of setbacks, but yet, we look up to them because of their abilities and successes.
Adopting photography as a career may not make you rich, but if you don’t accept defeat, it may satisfy your soul. That’s why I’m still thinking about it. Maybe after vacation.
