You make fantastic shots with your phone and your friends constantly tell you that you should become a photographer and make a living out of it. There is a fat chance they are correct, and you might have found your passion and destiny in life.
Here are the main reasons why you should consider a career in photography:
Money
Let’s face it, no matter how much you might love something, if you have nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep, your survival needs would take over your passion. So income is important, very important.
You can make a decent living with photography career. It requires a lot of work, and/or connections, and some luck. But if you are good at your craft of capturing the moment, you know how to post process your work, you good at working with people, you are reliable and resilient, with some effort you can definitely substitute your average office salary. If you are on the lucky side then you definitely can grow into six-digits salary (I’m talking euros here ;-)).
Fitness
Photography is a physically intensive work. Besides carrying your gear (your camera, several lenses, tripod, flashguns or other lighting equipment), for outdoor shoots it’s a lot of working, in general you’d make somewhere between hundred and two hundred squats during a single shoot. Being always on the move definitely helps with staying fit. But keep in mind it also comes with necessity to treat your body properly, getting enough rest, doing stretching as a bare minimum to avoid any injuries.
Travel
Of course it depends on type of photography, but in general if you are in people (portraits, street, weddings, events) or landscape photography then you would be travelling a lot. And quite often on the expense of the client. So you get to see new places, get new experiences and also get paid for it. Isn’t it a dream job?
Learning
You always have to learn so stay ahead of the competition and to make sure you provide the best service possible. In photography as a craft (not business) you’d learn new techniques (working with light, reflections, surfaces, angles etc.), equipment – cameras are progressing super quick, software – Adobe tools like Photoshop and Lightroom or whatever if your preference for post processing, people skills – how to engage with your models to get desired emotions.
On top of that, looking at photography as your own business, you have to learn basics of accounting and bookkeeping, marketing and sales, web development, social media.
Meet new people
If you do people photography, whether you shoot in a studio, or outside hosting an Airbnb experience, you will meet a lot of new awesome people from all around the globe. And if you are social, find it easy to break the ice, curious about other cultures and experiences, then photography can give you plenty of positive emotions and lots of new friends.
So, still excited and convinced that photography is the right choice for you? Of course, what’s there not to like right? You travel, meet new people, look and feel awesome, make tons of money – it’s a dream job! Here is a dash of bitters to bring you to reality, or at least set the expectations.
When you work as a photographer you:
- work during weekends and holidays – when all your friends are off, chilling at home, or dining in the restaurant, you’ll be working.
- live with lots of uncertainties – photography work is very seasonal and depends on many factors (events, weather, politics).
- have to love any weather – if you do outdoor photography, you’ll have to sooner or later face some terrible conditions (too cold, too windy, rainy, too hot). And you cannot bail, you must be there for your client, no matter what.
- carry heavy backpack all the time – yes, it makes you stronger, but it is exhausting as well.
- spend a lot on equipment and training – your hardware (camera, lenses, lights, laptop or desktop, extra storage), your software for post processing, online courses, photo workshops. It does require quite an investment (financial as well as your time).
I’ve covered more things you should consider before committing to your photography career in my post about disadvantages of being a photographer. But if you are not scared of some challenges and potential lifestyle alternations – then welcome to the fascinating world of photography! And let’s connect, I’ll be happy to hear back from you.