No doubt, you need to be good with a camera and have a strong creative voice to find success as a professional photographer, but there is a lot more to that life than simply taking images for money. If you aspire to be a professional photographer, check out this great video that will show you the ins and outs of a typical photographer's day and everything it takes to keep a business running.
Coming to you from Scott Choucino of Tin House Studio, this insightful video will take you behind the scenes of life as a professional photographer. This is the kind of video I think it is really important for aspiring professionals to watch. When you are an amateur, the beauty of it is that you can take photos of whatever you want, whenever you want. As a professional, of course, you will often be taking photos of things you might not choose to, but more importantly, you might be surprised by how little you will actually be behind the camera. This is because running a photography business requires so many skills beyond using your camera: marketing, client communication, invoicing, etc. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Choucino.
I haven't seen it yet, but did they talk about the 5 to 10 hours in front of a computer for every hour of shooting?
These days pros spent much more time on computer and other things than in film days. Shooting for stock agencies and local news and cultural/historical agencies, I just shot the slides I was looking for for the stories, previewed the lot and sent in what I considered my best ones. Sent a few extras to let them decide if they were up to their standards. Most all my work was in Russia and other European countries and almost everything was in slide with few B&W. I didn't have to worry about editing as they took care of that aspect. Sometimes I had to spend more tome on writing the story properly to fit the narrative of the photo, but nothing near what is being done these days. Scouting areas to be phoyographed was necessary, but not as bad as it seems. I miss those days, to tell the truth. Now I just shoot whatever I like or happen to see as worthy and sometimes send them some. Don’t even care about being paid. Being retired allows me to shoot as I like and to just give them the product. Only thing I ask is for recognition. I don’t envy these new professionals these days. Leep up the very good work. I have my eyes wide open o. You guys and I see fantastic photos out there. Thank you. And thank you for the article.