Why Having a Regular Day Job Could Improve Your Chances of Being a Successful Photographer

It doesn't matter what stage your career is at, having a non-photographic job could increase your chances of getting better clients and earning considerably more money.

I am continuing on from last week where I talked about how printing could make you a better photographer. Today I wanted to share my thoughts on not quitting the day job and how that too could actually benefit your career.

So you have decided that you want to be a photographer full-time. You have been patiently buying a kit, doing tests to build up your portfolio, and carefully studying the market you want to break into. Hopefully, you have done a few paid photography gigs on the side and now all that is left to do is tell your current boss to stick it.

Sound familiar? For a lot of professionals, this very generalized sequence of events is probably how things played out. There is nothing wrong with this age old progression, but taking the leap in this way could actually damage your photographic career in the long run.

As much as it might pain a lot of you to read what I'm about to say, keeping your regular job could actually be the best thing to do. Now before you dismiss such a bold statement, hear me out as I have a compromise and that is to go part-time instead.

Going part-time is a great way to phase a photographic career in and minimizes many of the risks. Even if you already are a full-time photographer, you could also help accelerate your career by having a different job on the side. So without further ado, here are the benefits of having a part-time job.

1. A Part-Time Job Gives You a Guaranteed Regular Income

This might be an obvious one, but having at least some money coming in regularly will not only keep your bank manager happy, but it will take off a lot of psychological pressure. Once you actually go freelance the stress of knowing when the next photography paycheck will come in is something you just have to learn to live with. There are times when invoices are months late, or worse yet, the clients never pay at all. At least with a small job on the side you give yourself some protection and minimize the sleepless nights.

2.You'll Be Able to Filter the Bad Clients

That guaranteed income from your part-time job also allows you to turn down photography work, and this is actually a good thing. If you're not familiar with Pareto principle then I recommend you read about it, but in a nutshell, this concept states that for a lot of things in life, roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. This 80/20 rule really can be applied to many areas of the world of photography. So for example if 80 percent of your headaches are coming from only 20 percent of your clients then filtering those bad ones out will not only make your working life a lot happier but it also makes space for more good ones. Having that buffer of a part-time income really does allow you to say no to jobs. Quality, not quantity, is what you're after with clients and this concept can be hard to practice when photography is your only source of income and you haven't been paid for a few months.

3. You'll Be Able to Demand Higher Rates of Pay

In the same way, the safety net of a part-time job allows you to filter out bad clients, it also allows you to hold out for the better rates of pay. This isn't about being greedy but being paid what you deserve. There is a real danger with accepting low rates of pay that it tends to stick. If you do a job for someone at a low rate you can quickly be known for it and before you know it you are railroaded into that price bracket which is almost impossible to break out of. Having money coming in from somewhere else allows you to stick to your guns when someone tries to hire you for less than the going rate.

4. Having Less Time Actually Makes You More Productive

Believe it or not, having some form of punctuation in your working week is a good thing. It is a cliché but tomorrow never comes and when you are doing photography full-time you'll postpone personal projects because technically they can be done at any time. When you have a part-time job taking you away from photography for a percentage of the week you become more conscious of time passing. As a result, you'll somehow manage your life better if you want to get things done. It really does focus the mind.

5. Working in a Completely Different Industry to Photography Will Enhance Your Practice

Being a freelance photographer can be quite solitary. You'll spend 80 percent of your time alone doing paperwork, chasing clients, answering email, and all the other office housekeeping that is crucial to keep your business going. You're in a photography bubble and the 20 percent of the time you are actually shooting it's with other people in the same industry. With a part-time job in another sector, you'll meet all kinds of people and be exposed to different walks of life. Maybe a co-worker is a talented artist who you could collaborate with or your place of work has an awesome space which you now have access to for a shoot. Just being outside of that bubble, even for a short amount of time, will really help stop you getting stale, open up doors, and put you in contact with things most photographers are not. In such a competitive market such as photography being able to come at things from a different angle than most is what will help you get noticed.

So there you have it, just a few reasons why going part-time might be a good idea. Obviously, parts of this argument will be more relevant to some people than others. It just depends on which part of the industry you are in. If you think doing something other than photography could damage your brand than it is probably a good idea to leave it off your LinkedIn page, but don't let that stop you as I do think there are lots of benefits to having another job. It also goes without saying that it's important that a second job doesn't take up too much time or energy from your real career either. If you can get the balance right between the two it could allow you to transition into a full-time photographer role a lot more successfully. Quality over quantity is what you're looking for in your clients and by having a safety net of an additional job you give yourself the best chance of achieving this.