Becoming a Professional Photographer

[Kym]

Web Presence

You may wish to have a web presence, and the first question to ask is what sort of site you want (or need).

Consider the following options:

• A brochure site - just the basics about your capabilities and contact information
• A portfolio site - This is a brochure site with a gallery added on to show your best work, organised by Genre
• A commerce site - this type of site allows online booking and product sales,
  this is not recommended until your business is well established as it has costs in terms of money and time

Regardless of what sort of web site you have, you will need to keep it fresh and
up to date or it will soon become and anti-promotion rather than something positive.

Other web considerations:

• Domain name - you need something easy to remember and relevant to you
  
  
• Site styling (look and feel) aka Branding - you must get this right
  
  
• Web Hosting - where will your site be server from and which technology will be used. This is a big topic, get help!
  There are two main platforms that affect what you can do with your site.
  
  1. LAMP which is Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl - this is the most popular option with many low cost or free software add-on options (AP runs on a LAMP server)
  2. Windows Server with SQL Server (.Net) - the next most popular option, tends to cost a bit more and the add-on software is often at a price
  
  
  
• Australian or US based hosting
  Australian hosting will mean faster access to the site, but cost more than US based hosting providers
  
  
• Web site software - CMS (Content Management System eg. Joomla), Gallery, Forum, Blog, Wiki, and Commerce are all options for your site.
  These can be integrated if you select the right combinations.
  You will need to do a lot of research, and again, will most likely need professional help especially if you lack technical skills.

Web sites can cost from nothing to $10,000+ to set-up and from $10/month to $1,000/month to run depending on many factors.
Do your homework before deciding that you want a web site.
Have a good business plan related to what you want to get from the web site and the budget you will work to.

[Bonnie]

Thank you so much for your insight I am so determined to make a career out of my passion for photography. I have taken your advise and am currently learning more about my camera and its functions, and as much as I possibly can about composition and editing!

Perseverance and Determination

[ricktas]

Thank you so much for your insight I am so determined to make a career out of my passion for photography. I have taken your advise and am currently learning more about my camera and its functions, and as much as I possibly can about composition and editing!

Perseverance and Determination

So join in and show us some, you have 3 posts in 6 months on AP. One of the best ways to gauge if you are ready is to get some reviews/critiques on your work from your peers (fellow photographers/ AP members)

[HughD]

OK so we have heard from the "oldish" pro's, now a comment from the other side.
Photography is a hobby for me, one which I have recently regained a passion for. I am, however, a professional Marketeer of some 30+ years. The guy with the money that you folk would desperately like to get your hands on.
Professional photography is not deceased, it has simply evolved, along with everything else. A few years back I joined a company as Marketing Director for A&NZ. One of the first things I did was ditch the thousands of product shots they had been using and brought in a Professional. The same Professional who had worked for me over many years and multiple companies. The majority of the pics went onto an e-commerce website with all the limitations that imposes BUT my customers were making a decision to purchase primarily based on the picture or short video displayed. The Professional I contracted knew what I needed and delivered with her usual minimal fuss. She worked with the Product Managers, the web site company and the advertising agency seamlessly without me becoming involved.
Two things drove me as a client.
Was I going to get ROI (return on investment) for the $$$'s. This applies for everything from product shots to events.
Do I have confidence in the Professional to get the job done and deliver the result I want (i.e. do I have confident relationship with this person).
So, the way for a true Professional to compete is really very simple, build confidence in the client that you will make them money and deliver on the promise.

Someone starting out needs to find a client who they can nurture to the point where they will pay the rent before giving up the day job.

[ricktas]

OK so we have heard from the "oldish" pro's, now a comment from the other side.
Photography is a hobby for me, one which I have recently regained a passion for. I am, however, a professional Marketeer of some 30+ years. The guy with the money that you folk would desperately like to get your hands on.
Professional photography is not deceased, it has simply evolved, along with everything else. A few years back I joined a company as Marketing Director for A&NZ. One of the first things I did was ditch the thousands of product shots they had been using and brought in a Professional. The same Professional who had worked for me over many years and multiple companies. The majority of the pics went onto an e-commerce website with all the limitations that imposes BUT my customers were making a decision to purchase primarily based on the picture or short video displayed. The Professional I contracted knew what I needed and delivered with her usual minimal fuss. She worked with the Product Managers, the web site company and the advertising agency seamlessly without me becoming involved.
Two things drove me as a client.
Was I going to get ROI (return on investment) for the $$$'s. This applies for everything from product shots to events.
Do I have confidence in the Professional to get the job done and deliver the result I want (i.e. do I have confident relationship with this person).
So, the way for a true Professional to compete is really very simple, build confidence in the client that you will make them money and deliver on the promise.

Someone starting out needs to find a client who they can nurture to the point where they will pay the rent before giving up the day job.

Thanks for the thoughts and views, but demand-supply also comes into play. Since 2000 the number of weddings in Aus has decreased each year, such that we are down about 20,000 weddings per annum on 2000 figures. Yet in that same time we have seen a huge growth in the number of photographers offering themselves up as Wedding photographers. yes there is good work to be had, but from a photographer point of view, the market is evolving and changing, but the number of photographers seeking to take up those jobs has increased dramatically (thanks to digital to some extent), so people need to be made aware that supply/demand is out of whack as well, and not every person who wants to become a professional photographer is going to succeed and be able to earn a good/decent living off being a photographer alone.

[HughD]

Hi Rick
Good point on Weddings. I know a Professional video guy who does some Weddings on weekends to pick up a few extra dollars. He says that the money is poor per hour and competition is high. I guess it would be the same for Wedding Photographers.
My real point was that I believe that there are new opportunities for the right Pro.
Thanks
Hugh

[Dez0106]

Was great help in making some things more clear to me. thanx

[WillumGee]

Like the quote - you have to be good! really sums it up!