Talent or money?

Adey

Adey

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I would like to propose something hypothetical for you guys to consider. What path would you rather have in photography;

1) Grow up poor, with lots of talent, and spending years working hard, saving for the equipment and becoming a really successful and widely respected photographer.

2) Be well off, with mediocre talent, but buy all the gear you could ever need straight off the bat and live the trendy photographer lifestyle, not famous but people think your the big cheese when you are driving down the strip in your soft-top.

So....be poor, struggle and become really successful - or be rich, lazy and enjoy pretending to be a success?

Me?, im split to be honest, somewhere down the middle would be good.:shrug:
 
No 1 is reality (bar the talent) so Gimme number 2 for 12 months and I'll give you an honest opinion!
 
If given the choice, I'd go for number one :)

Although reality would probably be more alike to number two :lol:
 
Since it's a hobby for me and I have no interest in making money out of it, I'll quite happily be a rich and lazy photographer. :D
 
everyone would chose number 1 surely if you had the insight to know that you'll eventually become a successful photographer. The fact is at the start of that journey you don't know that will happen so you'd find more temptation in number 2
 
in which scenario do you get the girl? i'll have that one :thumbs:
 
I have the lazy bit sorted where do i collect the money?
 
I have neither talent nor brass,but i`m not unique on that score.......:lol:
 
I was going for #1 until you mentioned driving down the strip in the convertible. Gimme Vegas :naughty:
 
Have been doing No.2 for years. Bored with it now!:cool:

OR

Too old to be driving a soft-top any more, bald head gets too cold! Lets try No.1 for a change.:D

OR

No.1, No.2......sounds a bit too public school to me. Whats wrong with the doughnut in Granny's green house?:naughty:
 
Since I already have the mediocre talent bit sorted I guess I'd better take the cash :D

Surely everyone would take talent over mediocrity, though that's not really the question you're asking.
 
joescrivens said:
everyone would chose number 1 surely if you had the insight to know that you'll eventually become a successful photographer. The fact is at the start of that journey you don't know that will happen so you'd find more temptation in number 2
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Exactly! Most if not everyone here has a talent for photography, we have to because its an expensive hobby and we have to use our hard earned cash carefully. But we also know that no amount of talent is enough to become successful, whereas i think money will always get you what money is worth, money is more objective. If you got money you can buy a studio and all the gear, do exactly what Marc Wallace does on his youtube videos and charge people a fortune. People are so impressed with image and facades, i took my SILVER 400d to a football match and people asked me what news paper i was with, or people asking me to do their weddings because i've had a Dslr for a few weeks and took some nice pictures of the cats.:bang:

/tangent

Thanks for your opinions guys ;)
 
No 1 = David Bailey. The talent is in the tog, not the kit.
 
Adey said:
If you got money you can buy a studio and all the gear, do exactly what Marc Wallace does on his youtube videos and charge people a fortune.
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I feel qualified to comment on this part of your last post. I have been fairly loaded for a long time, and financially, opening a studio was a drop in the ocean. No real financial impact on me or my family, yeah things sometimes got a little nerve wracking, but more or less the Studio costs me pocket money.

If you think therefore its a walk in the park, an easy ticket to earn a fortune, and something which anyone with money can make work - think again. I am now working 14 to 16 hours ON AVERAGE per day, I get about 7 hours in total per week at home (excluding sleep), and I spend every single woken moment thinking about my studio, how to improve it, how to try and tweak sales and lately, I am searching for that balance of life vs work - so far it's eluded me.

I know guys in Edinburgh who have spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on studios, they are struggling, and one has just gone / is going bankrupt.

It's by no means an easy thing to do.

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
I feel qualified to comment on this part of your last post. I have been fairly loaded for a long time, and financially, opening a studio was a drop in the ocean. No real financial impact on me or my family, yeah things sometimes got a little nerve wracking, but more or less the Studio costs me pocket money.

If you think therefore its a walk in the park, an easy ticket to earn a fortune, and something which anyone with money can make work - think again. I am now working 14 to 16 hours ON AVERAGE per day, I get about 7 hours in total per week at home (excluding sleep), and I spend every single woken moment thinking about my studio, how to improve it, how to try and tweak sales and lately, I am searching for that balance of life vs work - so far it's eluded me.

I know guys in Edinburgh who have spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on studios, they are struggling, and one has just gone / is going bankrupt.

It's by no means an easy thing to do.

Gary.
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I asked for that didnt i?:lol:
That was a bit of a lazy statement by me, i know it wasnt really accurate.
I just wonder, if someone with the money could formulate at least a financially neutral business, given they have at least some common sense too, they wouldnt necessarily have to be particularly talented, anybody with common sense can become technically proficient at most given tasks. In some cases this seems to be enough, is that fair to say?

But in your case, i think you are different. You want more than to be just mediocre, you want to be the best, you constantly strive to improve your photography, your workmanship and business skills......oh and you have talent.

Would your business survive if you were just happy to plod along, neither going backwards or forwards, happy just to have your own studio/business?
Do you have any feelings about how your friends happen to be struggling?
Are they less talented than you?, have less business skills than you or is it just bad luck?

I never intended this thread to be definitive or concise, i admit im kinda of confused about how i feel about it all, thats why i ask these questions.;)

Thanks for your very honest reply:thumbs:
 
BazEP said:
Talent + ambition = money
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Very true. I am lucky enough to get paid for something that I love doing. The money is obviously nice, but I would rather be doing this any day of the year than stuck in an office and yes I have tried it. To be successful does take a lot of hard work and like others have said finding a good working/life balance is hard to achieve. I have been known to be working on my website at 3am, it is hard to switch off sometimes, but I wouldn't change it for the world. If it makes myself and my clients happy it can't be a bad thing.
 
BazEP said:
Talent + ambition = money
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I with you too :thumbs:

... but still its not enough I feel ...little bit of luck, being in the right place at the right time ... fiends and connections are also key stages ... Money isn’t the clincher to success, it certainly help a great deal but overall I reckon you've got to be very smart to succeed on talent and ambition alone.

...Just think of the music industry, which, if you’ve ever delved outside the popular music side into the less famous artists ... the talent is abundant ... more so than the popular side I'd suggest.
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
I with you too :thumbs:

... but still its not enough I feel ...little bit of luck, being in the right place at the right time ... fiends and connections are also key stages ... Money isn’t the clincher to success, it certainly help a great deal but overall I reckon you've got to be very smart to succeed on talent and ambition alone.

...Just think of the music industry, which, if you’ve ever delved outside the popular music side into the less famous artists ... the talent is abundant ... more so than the popular side I'd suggest.
Click to expand...

If you have enough ambition you'll find a way (assuming the talent is there).
 
Not much hope of either for me, I'm afraid....
 
#1 doesn't appeal to me at all to be honest. I've never been keen on the theory that you have to "suffer for your art". Neither am I interested in having widespread recognition or respect so I wouldn't go for that option.

#2 sounds just about as bad, I hate wasting time on stuff, there's little enough of it as there is.

Sorry :(
 
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