Career Change!!

fraggle101

fraggle101

Not a mermaid
Suspended / Banned
Messages
4,648
Name
Tony
Edit My Images
Yes
Guy's, i need some help from some of you pro's out there..i think im going through a mid life crisis!! im not happy in my work.. (Who IS!!) and NEED a change.. Ok, years ago i worked in the phographic industry developing E6 and C41 for a commercial lab in the city.. Optikos (incase there are some old collegues on here). I loved it to bits but the money was rubbish so i had to leave..

Anyway, i would like to go into photography for a living.. it'll probably never happen but i want to try.. I like Landscape stuff a lot, id also like to try my hand at High/Low key stuff.. Im particularly interested in Art nudes but iv never done studio work..
What i need to know is where is the best place to start? i was thinking of doing some courses, i cant afford to do a year in college as iv got a family and need to work.. Would it pay to try to get a job as a togs helper?? i think i can take a photo, albeit not great atm but im working on it.. Have a look at my gallery to see what sort of level im at.. Im going to be upgrading my kit very soon too..
I was thinking of getting some images together on a web site and trying to sell there.. :shrug:

Ok, summarise, i need some teaching!! and a starting point.. If anyone has some pointers or just general good advice id really appriciate it.. Or if you think its all a pipe dream then tell me so.. I love photography.. it would be a dream if i could do it for a living...

Thanks for reading.. :thumbs:
 
Hi Fraggle,

you sure sound fraggled! How about keeping some perspective? Like in any endeavour, you start at the bottom, and it takes time. Read everything you can get your hands on regarding photography. If you can, get a tog's assistant's jobby to learn the ropes. Practice, practice, practice with your own gear. And then start all over again.

fraggle101 said:
Im going to be upgrading my kit very soon too..
Click to expand...

If you can afford a pro tog's gear it looks like there's no immediate time pressure. Good. Because there's no short-cut to success. You got to put in the hours, the effort, first.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the input..

I guessed it would take time to get A. good enough and B. noticed/established..

I like the idea of assisting.. id do that for free!! on a part time basis!! id love the experience!! maybe as a second tog at a wedding or just a bag carrier!! lol.. you still get to see how the ropes are tied..

Are there any good courses that are recognised in some way that'll give me a good start along the road??
 
I've yet to meet a client that was the slightest bit interested in qualifications or if I'm a member of some association. Two things count in getting the work, your pictures and your attitude. Ok, three - luck of the right time, right place variety. Erm, four - a good business head. The last two would be true for any business tho.

But now the reality check, you'd be better off buying lottery tickets than hoping to fall into a job as a landscape or art nude tog. There's hundreds of togs out there wanting the same and little work to go around. A living from photography will be lots of jobs you'll hate doing but will pay the bills.

Last week I did a portrait shoot of a Mum and her two kids, nightmare. Kids acting up, mum shouting, kids crying, etc. I got the shot in the end but I'd rather have been somewhere else.

Today I had a better job, a 5 piece band wanted some promo shots, it took 3 hours but was relaxed and good fun.

Tuesday I'm doing dog portraits for a canvas print as a xmas present for the owner.

Thursday a pre-wedding shoot and planning meeting.

Next Monday I'm shooting for a guy who's setting up a corporate catering business and wants shots of a job he's doing for a music video. This one could work out quite well because I'm hoping to blag some stills work for the video shoot as I know they don't have anyone booked so I can say that as I'm there why don't I shoot a few frames as a favour when in fact it'll be a good shoot for my portfolio.

In between I'm doing all the paperwork, ordering prints, processing shots, etc. that needs to be done.

I've got plans for dozens of semi-personal projects that also won't pay the bills but will (hopefully) lead to better paid jobs but take a lot of time to organise and set up.

I've also got plans for dozens of personal projects but they're firmly on the back burner as they don't pay the bills. These would be my versions of landscape and art nude jobs. I'd like to get one or two shot, maybe exhibited somewhere and sell a few prints which might cover my costs and let me do some more, maybe even bring a commissioned job.

In reality the personal plans are kept in a old shoe box which is half forgotten in the corner of a dusty cupboard - if I worked a normal 9-5 job I'd probably have more time and money to get them done.

Now I'm not saying it's a pipe dream and you should forget it but I am bursting all the bubbles. There are plenty of togs out there who treat photography purely as a business that earns money and have no dreams or desire to shoot purely for personal reasons or because they feel they have something to say through their photography. There's nothing wrong with that but if you do see photography as more than simply a way to earn a living you will, without a doubt, have to suffer for your art.

Ok, someone pass me a step ladder - I didn't realise this soapbox was quite so high... ;)
 
There are some people who do make a living out of Landscape Photography, but they are few and far between. A couple I've met tend to have a picture library that brings in the money. That takes years to build up.

If that's what you want to do why not spend some time building up a collection of images OK your not going to make money straight away, but it will give you a goal to strive for. Also it will help you gain experience and skills.

Plus you can test the water by setting up your own web site. Think though how are you going to let you prospective customers know that you exist. Do you know who your potential customers are? That's the tricky part

Get some books on the subject and try and reproduce the type of shots the authors published, but don't copy, develop you own style.

If you've ever watched any of Gordon Ramsey's programmes, he's always saying 2 out of 3 restaurants fail. I'm sure it's the same for photographic businesses. It isn't always as glamorous as it seems from the outside

Good luck:thumbs:
 
I have to agree you do have to sometimes do jobs that while they may not particularly interest you they do pay the bills. It is a very demanding job and as said its not 9-5 theres always someone to see or something to do or something to worry about :) There are lean periods as well where it goes quiet and you have to plan for these and get out there promoting yourself to get more work. You have to double up on your equipment which is expensive, have all the correct insurances. I agree your photos will be what keeps your business flourishing because at the end if the day thats what clients are interested in and thats what they are paying for. If you cant deliver the goods your business will very quickly go downhill.
I think you need a definite business plan and an idea of where you wish to progress with your photography i.e what area you wish to specialise in then you can move forward with conviction.
Good luck anyway :)
 
I think it could be a good way to ruin a hobby you enjoy, taking the fun out of experimenting and shooting the things you enjoy and turning it into a slog of annoying family portraits and weddings. Lets be honest how many people who love photography really think that shooting weddings is living the dream. I'd steer clear unless you really sure I turned my computing hobby into a career with the end result of no longer like computers I could see this going the same way.
 
I think what pxl8 has said is right on the money, to be successful you either have to treat it purely as a business (in which case most of the joy goes out of it) or have something very special by way of talent.

Have a look at some of the pro's websites, Colin Prior as an example http://www.colinprior.co.uk/ His work is everywhere around this neck of the woods, many shops carry his posters and he sells via his website, if you have the skill/talent you could maybe do this in a small way in your own time to begin with. Don't spend money on better equipment until you're sure you need it, it won't make your pictures better, only you can do that.
 
Thanks to everyone thats responded so far, its all very helpfull..

Im already aware that to get started is very difficult and im under no illusions at all.. This is why im after some good courses to build my knowlage aswell as experience, im not at a professional level by ANY stretch of the imagination! and even if i didnt want to go pro at some stage then id still want to improve my technique and upgrade my equipment! after all.. im a bloke!! blokes like gadgets.. :thumbs:
I also know that the work wont all be the most interesting either, at the moment im working as a Tube driver.. its got to be THEE most boring job in the world!! but i dont do very long hours and it pays well, so i have time on my hands to some extent to get booked onto some courses and learn as much as i can.. Im interested in all areas of the trade, i absolutly loved working in a photo lab a few years ago.. i find the whole industry interesting.. much more so than the one im in atm.. so that said, i intend to work upto a high level if i can and look into it very seriously, even if i dont do much payed work to begin with, id be happy to do it part time along side my day job, in fact this would be the best option to start with.
Thanks again for the insight, its very much appriciated.. but i still want to do it!! :thumbs:
 
Good!
 
Right.. Now Giz a job!! :lol::lol::lol:
 
I think I was very lucky (right place, right time) when I got my work doing property stuff.

The company was a small start-up at the time employing just 3 'togs and a handful of office staff. Now 2 years later we have 10+ 'togs and 3 offices. From the feedback I had, I got the job on the strength of my interview technique and the quality of work in my portfolio. They certainly weren't bothered that I didn't have a professional or educational qualification.

My main problem is that I'm a terrible businessman. Something I've made a promise to myself to improve on. I'm also blindingly lazy, but that's another story.

I too would love to make a living from my landscape stuff, but my recent experiences have made me realise that it's going to be a very lucky break, or a lot of awful hard work to get this to happen.

If you look at the more famous landscape 'togs, colin prior, the light and land guys, Joe cornish et al then you will see that they have many income streams. Books, calendars, posters, prints, tutorial holidays, workshops, magazine commisions. There is money to be made there but it aint easy. The hardest thing is getting your name out there and having it associated with quality work.

I think it was Daz on here who said the first 2 years of his business was basically 10% photography and 90% cold calling/marketing monkey.

If it's what you truly want to do then I would suggest keeping your day job as it obviously provides enough money to pay the bills and gives you time to devote to your photography. Work on getting a portfolio together of some amazing shots and then start finding places to sell your work. Approach calendar manufacturers, poster printers, art fairs, galleries, craft fairs, leaflet drops, magazines, travel companies and so on. You're going to get a lot of rejections so a thick skin & belief in yourself is going to be a prerequisite. I for one get a litttle dis-heartened when I'm told for the umpteenth time that 'we are happy with our current 'tog' or 'your work isn't quite what we're looking for' or 'the images are great but they're not technically good enough/wrong equipment etc.'

Do it though. You won't regret trying and failing, but you will regret not ever giving it a shot.
 
P.s. I'm far from a brilliant landscape 'tog but if you ever want to come out with me when I'm doing landscape stuff then you're more than welcome.
 
Ghandi, thats a very kind offer.. and one id be more that happy to take up.. Give me a shout anytime and if im not working then it would be a pleasure to come out and give you some advice!! ;) (Joking!!)
I need to getmyself a portfolio started.. so far all i have are a load of pics on my putta!! its time i started organising myself and getting some great images and not just ok ones.. BTW, iv just bought a new 17-40L !! so im on the way to great ness!! lol.. and im going to goto a book shop today and getting some Togs books to dream and get inspired over..
Anyway, Whenever your able to drag a noobie arround i'll be willing.. i'll even carry your bag for ya.. cant say i wont run off with it though!! :shrug: hehe..
Thanks again everyone for your advice.. :thumbs:
 
fraggle101 said:
This is why im after some good courses to build my knowlage aswell as experience,
Click to expand...

I am doing a City & Guilds 7511 photography course. Details here http://www.candi.ac.uk/courses/factsheet.asp?coursechoice=BT6X05A07, although it's at a different college and being done over 2 years. It's about A level standard. It gets daunting the more it goes on, but it's interesting and I've learnt lots.

More details of additional modules here http://www.dppro.co.uk/readarticle.php?article_id=7

JimLin :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top