Those of you who sell your photography of flora, fauna, avian, and landscape (notecards...not included...say, enlargements only larger than 8 x 10...) and you do photo tours and workshops, which pays more?
Let's just keep it simple....comparing gross income from selling enlargements ...verses... gross income from tour/wkshops?
Ken, I have a more than full time non-photography job, but engage in photogrpahy as a business on a part time basis, selling prints (framed and unframed of all sizes up to 20 x 30), notecards, and calendars. I personally do no workshops or tours because of the scheduling committment and because of my time constraints. If I am out shooting, I want it to be for me. I do plan to expand into workshops when I retire from my full time job in a few years. However, the workshops will probably remain pretty limited as the interest in nature photography is not that great in Youngstown, Ohio, and I have no plans to move. I'll focus (no pun intended) on flora/garden workshops and nature subjects of local interest.
As a full timer, for me workshops provide more income for me. Having said that, there are a lot of us out there and every day there’s someone else who thinks they can start a workshop company. It takes a lot of time, effort and expense. My profit after the end of a workshop is a lot less than most might think. The print business is OK but not consistent enough for me to count on as monthly income. I'll have a good month then a bad one.
You might want to check this article out I wrote a few months ago about the Business of Nature Photography
Jack and Scott, thanks for the replies. Jack, I read your article....eye-opening. I am less ambitious than you or Scott. Clearly my plan is to continue in my day job. Enjoy photography, explore, experiment, ...as only a hobby allows. Marketing and accounting ...doing all that goes with a successful photo-business would ruin my impulses. My analyzing curiosity was piqued seeing the number of workshop ads. I began to wonder if there is a upward demand for workshops driven by the number of dslr's and general lack of knowledge. I suppose community college photo class enrollment numbers would tell that story too.
Ken,
Maybe I shoukld have includd that I don;t really look at what I do as a "job". I love what I do, have a great wife and am not atall complaining. It just takes a wile to get to the point that you can run a business, and still loe everyday in th ield as well as the office.
JG
The good thing about starting a photo business is the opportunity to focus on what you love to do. But it's a huge leap from hobby to business. If you want to make a living at it, business decisions can drive your photography more than your preferred photography drives the business. My wife is the business sense in our company, and she accurately observes that "A photo business is 95% business and 5% photography."
We might prefer producing art prints, but low sales potential relegates it to hobby status for us, probably no more substantial than your own efforts. Other forms of photography generate more income for us. We took a long, hard look at workshops including my teaching community college classes and an array of our own workshops, "trial balloons" if you will. We decided they were nonstarters in our locale after weighing income against effort and expense.
Our business evolved into a focus on selling photos that don't exist- contract photography in other words. Stock photos are available today for less than foofoo coffee drinks, and customers buy them only as a last resort if they can't get them for free. Their ploy is to offer "photo credits" rather than cash to photo hopefuls. But they pay us architect rates to take photos they can't get anywhere else.
That's a reflection of our corner of the business and the globe, and our assessment of the cold hard business facts. A handful of folks make their living on workshops and art prints today, but for us the income and effort just don't balance out. The very next photographer to nose up to the professional feed trough will have a completely different business assessment.
The sale of fine art prints has dropped drastically in the past five years or so. Workshops and classes have always paid better for me. I recommend starting out small and teaching for the local community, build a base of students, develop a teaching style. Staying local keeps cost down. I always hook up with a local organization, having them handle insurance and permits and often the taking of money.
I am still doing well selling to magazines though, even though others are not.
Carl
Discussion
6 repliesLet's just keep it simple....comparing gross income from selling enlargements ...verses... gross income from tour/wkshops?
Just curious. I do neither.
As a full timer, for me workshops provide more income for me. Having said that, there are a lot of us out there and every day there’s someone else who thinks they can start a workshop company. It takes a lot of time, effort and expense. My profit after the end of a workshop is a lot less than most might think. The print business is OK but not consistent enough for me to count on as monthly income. I'll have a good month then a bad one.
You might want to check this article out I wrote a few months ago about the Business of Nature Photography
BUSINESSofNATURE_PHOTOGRAPHY
JG
Maybe I shoukld have includd that I don;t really look at what I do as a "job". I love what I do, have a great wife and am not atall complaining. It just takes a wile to get to the point that you can run a business, and still loe everyday in th ield as well as the office.
JG
We might prefer producing art prints, but low sales potential relegates it to hobby status for us, probably no more substantial than your own efforts. Other forms of photography generate more income for us. We took a long, hard look at workshops including my teaching community college classes and an array of our own workshops, "trial balloons" if you will. We decided they were nonstarters in our locale after weighing income against effort and expense.
Our business evolved into a focus on selling photos that don't exist- contract photography in other words. Stock photos are available today for less than foofoo coffee drinks, and customers buy them only as a last resort if they can't get them for free. Their ploy is to offer "photo credits" rather than cash to photo hopefuls. But they pay us architect rates to take photos they can't get anywhere else.
That's a reflection of our corner of the business and the globe, and our assessment of the cold hard business facts. A handful of folks make their living on workshops and art prints today, but for us the income and effort just don't balance out. The very next photographer to nose up to the professional feed trough will have a completely different business assessment.
I am still doing well selling to magazines though, even though others are not.
Carl