Lost my way!

Derek.Laurence

Derek.Laurence

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Derek
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Please feel free to reassign this to another thread as i had no idea which forum to put it in.

I think i am after some life advice more than photography advice.....

Grab a brew, get comfy in your chair and let me tell you a story.....

Ill start with the obligitory background information.

I have been into photography for a long long while. My mother would tell you a story of how, back in the day, when we went on holiday to yorkshire i came back with 5 spools from my old 110 camera all of ducks at a pond. I then came across my dads old slrs which i used to love pottering about with, before getting my own Fujifilm s3000 and now my Sony a230.

If you were to follow my career history you would see 9 years as a window blind salesman that made me truley miserable, 5 years working on the Harrier aircraft for the Royal Navy which i loved, 6 months unemployed 1 years postie work and then came to work at home with the wife as an assistant childminder!
Varied, im sure youll agree!
The wife has now gone back to work as a manager at a nursery and for the meantime im playing househusband with . I would gladly go back to work but a) it would need to be a job i truley loved and/or b) would need to be worth my while monetarily.

The trouble is that through all this time i never really developed a "craft" or did any proper courses/training. My life has always lacked a true direction and in recent months whilst doing some soul searching i have realised that photography has always been there and would be a great job ( that old adage of " Make your hobby your job and you never have to work a day in your life")

So a few months ago me and the wife sat down and came up with the plan practice practice practice, get good, start up a small portrait studio in my barn out the back and go from there. Simples!

until life gets in the way.

I joined this forum and quickly realised that even talented people struggle and that photography as a trade is dwindling.

Wife back at work and im at home with three kids. 1 at school, 1 in nursery and 1 only 2. First day was a piece of cake. Second day we got a new puppy! (oh my word....most stressful day of my life).
Basically i cant get out to practice and after the wife comes home obvioulsy i need to spend some time with her and the nights are drawing in!

So i was dismayed, basically thinking of the long game. Over time improve my skills and look to the future.

Until last wednesday....

School photo day!

I wasnt paying all that much attention to the tog if im honest but he looked a grumpy git. fair enough. his assistant wasnt brilliant with the kids either. fair enough. I wasnt holding out much hope for the pics as my youngest was on a no smile mission.
His setup looked fairly standard for a school pics day. Background, umbrella, softbox.

I got the pics back yesterday. The pics theirself look reasonable. Pretty standard school pics. I took issue with his brochure as the image on the front for me never had pinpoint sharp eyes ( although couldve been print process).

My point being, if this grumpy man with poor assistant who sells himself with a less than perfect brochure which even i can criticise can make a living then surely couldnt I? I did a trial school portrait the other day with my 7yo and it turned out ok ( bar the sheet i quickly substituted for a background) even with my entry level equipment.

My apologies for going round in circles but I really dont know where im at.
Do i, Dont I, Could I, Couldnt I?

My heads burst even editing this so im going to leave this post as is and add any information that i need later!

Any help, no matter how small is greatly appreciated guys.....

Derek
 
3 cliches I think may assist!
1. Better to have tried and failed than not tried at all.
2. If you don't ask you don't get.
3. Work hard- get rewarded.

You have to make things happen-don't wait for them to happen!

Would you rather your kids go in school and say 'my dad is a house husband' or 'my dad is a photographer, works his socks off and he is my hero'

I'm on my phone so cannot write a huge message of support but you have a blank canvass it's up to you to make it happen.
 
you already think you can produce as good if not better also your not doing anything apart from being a house husband so go for it, you will need a crb check and I'm not sure wether you need a license from the local authorities that allows you to go into the schools, I'm saying this because my team leader at work does jack sparrow lookalike and he needed some certs for it.
You could always try the local football teams for a season (team photos) to hone your skills
 
Can I give a piece of advice ? From the moment that is being going round in your head ...I would say go and do it. But not what you have in mind. School photography. You are entering an area where there is huge competition . Just came into my mind another theme.

But you must put all your energy and talent and innovative photo skills. And you will be there.

Pets. !!! yes pets. Think about it :)) You live in a country where pets are loved and adored like humans. And If I am not mistaken there maybe few good photographers on the subject its definitely not school where the market is heaving.

At the end of the day.. If you love photography and you do not have any other alternative I should think you should give it a try.
 
You can keep waiting until the right moment comes along or you can make the moment for yourself.

Choose.




;)
 
Why not combine a part-time start up job with a photography education but done as a virtual course.

The OCA run a photography degree and even if you didn't go the full way there may be a module that appeals to you. This may help you develop specific skills.

May be consider product photography for the many websites now selling their wares on the internet
 
What have you got to loose? Go for it, if it doesn't work out you are no worse of than you are now and at least you would have tried.
 
Thanks for the replies people.

Im sat here trying to put things in order in my head. I tend to be a bit of a realist which can come across as if im quite negative but i just like to cover every eventuallity before it happens.

If one was to put together a chronological strategy; what would you say?

Practice / Hone skills ( like the local football team idea btw)
Invest in better kit (see note 1)
convert barn to studio
Go for it...

Note 1). I know that the equipment doesnt make the photo but if i turned up at a photographers and he was rocking an entry level dslr and basic equipment id be asking myself questions.

Although i brought the school photographer into my original post i wasnt necessarily stating that would be my aim.

The pet photography is certainly something that can be explored. Cant think of anyone around my locallity that does it. It would certainly be another selling point.
 
Just remember the saying about working with animals and kids?
 
I just posted a reply but its gotten lost in cyberspace somewhere so accept my apologies if similar posts appear twice!

lol@ bruno animals and kids very true!

I have always been very sceptical of photography degrees and the like. Is it not always the case that you end up writing lengthy essays on influences of 16th Century French photographers and the like, which i have no interest in. I have seen a thread on here about an OCA course and the different modules but i get the impression it is designed more to develop your own philosophy of photography and where you sit in the genre than develop your photographic skills. I may be 100% wrong on that thought and apologise if i am.

I am slightly confused by everyones positive approach here. I am glad of it, and wish it was just that simple to get on and do it; but this is contrary to what i have read in the past that it is very very hard to make a living in photography these days?
 
Practice on your kids and compare your shots to ones on the websites of local competition

If they compare or are better then go for it, get some business cards printed and stuck up in busy areas, contact local schools, colleges businesses etc etc and see what happens

Conversely if your shots don't compare then realistically you're not ready to sell your photos
 
Derek.Laurence said:
School photo day!

I wasnt paying all that much attention to the tog if im honest but he looked a grumpy git. fair enough. his assistant wasnt brilliant with the kids either. fair enough. I wasnt holding out much hope for the pics as my youngest was on a no smile mission.
His setup looked fairly standard for a school pics day. Background, umbrella, softbox.

I got the pics back yesterday. The pics theirself look reasonable. Pretty standard school pics. I took issue with his brochure as the image on the front for me never had pinpoint sharp eyes ( although couldve been print process).

My point being, if this grumpy man with poor assistant who sells himself with a less than perfect brochure which even i can criticise can make a living then surely couldnt I? I did a trial school portrait the other day with my 7yo and it turned out ok ( bar the sheet i quickly substituted for a background) even with my entry level equipment.
Click to expand...

Derek, lots of people think a career as a professional photographer is a great idea. There is the belief that the world of self-employment, doing something you "love" will be the answer to your dreams. Reality is usually a little different - it takes a certain mindset to cope with the world of self-employment and the many responsibilities and risks this encompasses. There are two main hurdles, the first is being a competent photographer and the second is being and excellent marketing and business person. You won't just be doing the role of photographer, you will also be bookkeeper, retouching, marketer, IT person, driver, administrator, salesperson, graphic designer ..... and the amount of time you spend behind the lens might be far less than you might imagine. You'll probably also need to make quite a few sacrifices when it comes to having any free time, especially in the early years.

With respect to your comments about the school photographer - school photography is very challenging indeed, and it's stressful if the comments of some of my photographer friends are anything to go by. You don't have enough time for each subject in order to create your best work, and some of your subjects are likely to be reluctant to put it mildly. And your income will be based largely upon the volume of sales. So I think it's little wonder that the guy you saw appeared to be a bit grumpy! It's very easy to look at somebody and think to ourselves "I can do that so much better" but once again, the reality might be very different.

To succeed you don't have to be the best photographer, you either have to be good enough at getting a high volume of clients or else your work will need to be uniquely desirable if you intend to charge higher pricing and work with fewer, more discerning customers.

If you're at the point where you're producing consistently merchantable work, and if you have a huge amount of energy and drive, and business knowledge, then there is no reason at all why you can't give this a go. But if you're feeling unsure and if you don't yet have a very clear vision for your photography business then I would advise doing some other kind of work while you're laying the ground for the photography side of things. It can take quite some time before you turn a profit, and overheads are often much higher than you might realise. I would say take things slowly because that can help you to avoid costly errors.

I'm sorry if I sound like a killjoy, I'm not, but I am well versed in the reality of doing this as a sole source of income. I think combining photography with another job is often a very good idea, at least in the beginning.
 
Thanks all.

Not a killjoy at all Lindsay, its nice to hear the flip side of the coin.

Ive been working self employed (albeit childminding) since November so i would not be entering into that side of things completely blindly.

I take on board what you say about the guy at the school, but on the flip side if it were me id be wanting to make the best impression to ever single parent that walked through the door, knowing that they are potentially my next phone call for other work. Maybe thats just me.

I thank everyone for their contributions. I think ive got a lot of thinking ahead.

If I ever make a firm plan ill be sure to let yall know :)

See you in the forums.

Derek
 
Right............

so if anyones still reading this thread....

After much deliberation I have formed a plan

I have looked into the Diploma in Pro Photography through the Blackford centre. I thoroughly read the thread on this forum about peoples experience with it and it looks good. I appreciate that its basically a "nothing qualification" but feel that the structured approach with no time restraints would suit my needs.

If i was to complete it in the "recommended" 9 months then that takes me up to roughly the point where my youngest will be starting nursery and so free up some time for me to i) build up a proper portfolio ii) hopefully start up a business.

I am entitled through an Enhanced learning credit through the Military which will cover 80% of the course fees, which would leave me to pay a managable £100ish pounds. If im really lucky then i can use my ILA to cover the bit the ELC doesnt cover (any knowledge/experience here?)

Looking at it like this it is a no brainer. Nothing to lose? Please tell me if anyone can see any pitfalls!

Any further advise still really appreciated.

Derek
 
Just thought I`d update everyone.

I sent away for my funding for the Diploma in Pro Photography through the Blackford Centre. Hopefully the modules will further enhance and develop my Photography skills and the fact that a part of my funding means i NEED to complete the course or pay it myself ensures that Ill remain motivated to set time aside to get out with the camera as much as i can.

Like some have said, Nothing to loose (sic) ;-)

I know this might not seem like a big thing but for years now I have been frustrated at having no direction / end goal. I feel that this is hopefully me heading in the right direction and thank everyone for their input.

Derek
 
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