State of the Photography Union :: Advice For New Photographers

Here’s an email I recently received from a photography student named Jessica. She’s a student at Amarillo College, the same place I went to school for photography. Amarillo College is a great school and they have a wonderful photography program.

This isn’t really about the entire state of the photography industry. That was just one question Jessica brought up in her email. But it’s a catchy title, right? I receive a lot of emails from photographers but I usually don’t share them here. I really like the questions Jessica asked. I think I may start posting some of the photography questions here on the blog. I really love photography and the photography business. My wife will tell you that most of my phone conversations have to do with photography. Perhaps, if you love photography like I do, I can share something that will help you too.

Here’s my answers to Jessica’s email:

On Feb 10, 2012, at 9:36 AM, jessica wrote:

Hello, my name is Jessica. I am currently a student at Amarillo College in my last semester of classes before I get my associates degree in photography. I am working on a paper for my portfolio class and I am trying to get a little information from area photographers. I know you are very busy and I appreciate your time. I just have a few questions and I would greatly appreciate your feed back. What is the future outlook for this career field? How did you get started in this field? What do you like/dislike about it? What salaries are earned for this field? What advice would you give for someone entering this field? Again, thank you for taking the time to help me.

What is the future outlook for this career field?
1) The outlook for the photography field is great, but changing. Major businesses like Kodak are filing bankruptcy. This is because of digital. Many photographers are failing now too. Many others are experiencing a high level of success. The secret is to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry. The lesson here is to study what types of business models are successful and mimic only those models. You have to disregard 98% of what most photographers are doing-ask one question before you take advice: Is your business profitable?

How did you get started in this field?
2) I started as a painter. One of my art teachers gave an assignment to shoot a whole role of film and bring the pictures back to paint them. I fell in love with the camera and decided that I wanted to pursue photography. I kept going with the camera and never finished my assignment to paint them.  After that I enrolled at AC in photography and great teachers like Ken Pirtle and Joe Walsh guided my career.

What do you like/dislike about it?
3) I LOVE everything about being a family photographer. Its is the greatest job ever! I love spending time with people, learning their story and translating that into memories that they will cherish for years to come. I love everything about it!

What salaries are earned for this field?
4) I’m not sure what salaries are earned in this career. A few years ago the national average salary for a photographer was $24,000 per year. I’m not sure what it is today. (I just found this link about photographer salaries)

What advice would you give for someone entering this field?
5) My advice for someone entering this field would be to find the successful photographers and do what they are doing. Everyone has to start somewhere. Pick up your camera and start shooting as much as possible. Read and study as much as you can about marketing and business management. We as photographers love the cameras, fstops, settings and photoshop techniques. We don’t love the business and marketing part of photography. In fact, most want to avoid the business side of things like a plague! In order to be successful and make a better living than the average photographer, you must learn business and marketing. Focus as much time on marketing as you do on photography and you’ll do great!