Photography, a Hobby or Profession? One Man's Story
Discussion
14 replies
Posted by Josh Anderson on August 30, 2006 at 11:55 AM
I will make this quick and to the point. Hopefully it will be a little inspiration for today.
(This was written quickly so please forgive any mistakes)
First of all, my love for photography began a little over 10 years ago while attending Ohio University. While majoring in science education I began taking photography classes, which I found to be enjoyable and exciting.
I went ahead to earn a degree in education. I put the camera down and did not pick it up again for another 10 years. About a year and a half ago during a day off from work, thanks to a snow storm, I picked up my wife’s point and shoot and headed outside with the intent of capturing images of icicles which were forming on the edge of our roof.
Those few minutes with the camera in the freezing temperatures evoked an emotion that had been hidden away for quite sometime. Since then I have gone on to purchase a DSLR (Canon 20D) and an assortment of lenses including the Canon 600 f/4 IS USM.
I have had a few images published, but what has really been the most profitable are the images that I have sold as fine art. It started out being to friends and family and before I knew it, I had been contacted (thanks to my website and my portfolio on NPN) by a regional hospital who wanted to purchase 100 prints to make as gifts to pass out to doctors at a conference in NY.
Since then the hospital decided that they wanted to feature my work throughout the new cardiovascular wing which will be completed early next year. The offer was too good to resist. It also has opened up so many doors and print scales have begun to sky-rocket.
I love traveling for my photography, but have found out that if most of your clientele is local, than you will want to make sure you have lots of local images.
Photography is something that I have always loved, but it is something that I never imagined I could actually make a profit from. Too often the stories you hear are negative in nature. With a lot of hard work and a little luck it is possible to make a few bucks.
And one last thing. NPN is a great place for general discussion and a place to share your work. I used to get frustrated because I might not receive many comments on a particular image, but some of my most popular images ($) had received very few comments. Just remember that critiques are only an opinion of a person. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to get the technical aspect of an image correct, but the composition is very subjective.
Happy Shooting,
Josh
Posted by Nathan Buck on August 30, 2006 at 12:01 PM
Great story Josh! Congratulations too. I think another thing to remember is that critiques that we receive here are some other photogs, and are very valudable...they are not, however, necessarily the opinion of the viewing and purchasing public. I have gotten very different responses from photogs viewing my work and a 'normal' person viewing my work.
If I can paraphrase Nathan in agreeing with him, our fellow posters on web sites don't comment with their checkbooks. Feedback from other photographers is immensely valuable, but not necessarily a measure of marketability.
Posted by Josh Anderson on August 30, 2006 at 12:15 PM
Thanks Nathan and Hank
I'm not sure I explained myself as clearly as I should have in that last paragraph. I greatly value the opinions that I receive on NPN. It has a tremendous amount of talented photographers. As you said (ie, paraphrasing), it is just not a good indication of the financial value of an image.
Posted by CLINTFAILE on August 30, 2006 at 1:15 PM
Joshua
what is the best way to get images published? Do you just mail samples to lots of magazines?
I really want to make some money doing this, mostly to purchase more equipment.
I don't have a web site but I do have alot of photos on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintfaile/
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Josh. Congratulations! As a footnote to the harsh critque vs. saleability of an image, I too find that if I get a harsh critque or few critques on an image it is sure to sell. I personally love fine art photography, simply because it has more of "me" in it, and they seem to be the ones that sell faster than the technically correct image.
P.S. If the hospital puts up another wing....
Posted by Gary Crabbe on August 30, 2006 at 1:30 PM
I love hearing all the different stories of how people "take the plunge". This is no exception; thanks for sharing. And, Congratulations.
I think these types of stories from some of the pros and semi-pros here would make a great thread if anyone else is equally interested...
Cheers,
Posted by Josh Anderson on August 30, 2006 at 1:34 PM
Usually for an image to sell (published or as fine art) it does have to be of excellent quality, technically. The composition on the othehand is more subjective.
Posted by Richard Wong on August 30, 2006 at 7:12 PM
Congratulations Josh. You're a talented photographer so I wouldn't worry about lack of comments. Eye-popping is generally popular on the net, but isn't necessarily a reflection on meaningfulness. It's certainly meaningful when you're images are being used for a noble cause.
Posted by Stacy Egan on August 31, 2006 at 1:33 AM
Thank you for sharing, Josh. Your story is inspirational. For me it's a reminder to keep seeing the beauty (and photographing!) the local stuff. Congratulations on your success!
Posted by Jim Erhardt on August 31, 2006 at 4:54 AM
Josh, congratualtions - and thanks for sharing your success story with us!
Discussion
14 repliesI will make this quick and to the point. Hopefully it will be a little inspiration for today.
(This was written quickly so please forgive any mistakes)
First of all, my love for photography began a little over 10 years ago while attending Ohio University. While majoring in science education I began taking photography classes, which I found to be enjoyable and exciting.
I went ahead to earn a degree in education. I put the camera down and did not pick it up again for another 10 years. About a year and a half ago during a day off from work, thanks to a snow storm, I picked up my wife’s point and shoot and headed outside with the intent of capturing images of icicles which were forming on the edge of our roof.
Those few minutes with the camera in the freezing temperatures evoked an emotion that had been hidden away for quite sometime. Since then I have gone on to purchase a DSLR (Canon 20D) and an assortment of lenses including the Canon 600 f/4 IS USM.
I have had a few images published, but what has really been the most profitable are the images that I have sold as fine art. It started out being to friends and family and before I knew it, I had been contacted (thanks to my website and my portfolio on NPN) by a regional hospital who wanted to purchase 100 prints to make as gifts to pass out to doctors at a conference in NY.
Since then the hospital decided that they wanted to feature my work throughout the new cardiovascular wing which will be completed early next year. The offer was too good to resist. It also has opened up so many doors and print scales have begun to sky-rocket.
I love traveling for my photography, but have found out that if most of your clientele is local, than you will want to make sure you have lots of local images.
Photography is something that I have always loved, but it is something that I never imagined I could actually make a profit from. Too often the stories you hear are negative in nature. With a lot of hard work and a little luck it is possible to make a few bucks.
And one last thing. NPN is a great place for general discussion and a place to share your work. I used to get frustrated because I might not receive many comments on a particular image, but some of my most popular images ($) had received very few comments. Just remember that critiques are only an opinion of a person. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to get the technical aspect of an image correct, but the composition is very subjective.
Happy Shooting,
Josh
Nathan
If I can paraphrase Nathan in agreeing with him, our fellow posters on web sites don't comment with their checkbooks. Feedback from other photographers is immensely valuable, but not necessarily a measure of marketability.
I'm not sure I explained myself as clearly as I should have in that last paragraph. I greatly value the opinions that I receive on NPN. It has a tremendous amount of talented photographers. As you said (ie, paraphrasing), it is just not a good indication of the financial value of an image.
what is the best way to get images published? Do you just mail samples to lots of magazines?
I really want to make some money doing this, mostly to purchase more equipment.
I don't have a web site but I do have alot of photos on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintfaile/
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. If the hospital puts up another wing....
I think these types of stories from some of the pros and semi-pros here would make a great thread if anyone else is equally interested...
Cheers,
Clint; submit, submit, submit.
That is a great story. Thanks for inspiring others who hope to follow a similar path as you and many of the other talented people on this site!
Michael