Being a successful professional photographer is no easy task, and it takes the ability to simultaneously juggle a wide variety of different skills and responsibilities. If you want to give yourself a better chance of finding long-term success as a photographer, check out this great video that will give you three tips to help you find success.
Coming to you from John Gress, this quick and helpful video tutorial details three tips that will help you become a more successful professional photographer. Of them, one that I think is particularly important is staying curious and taking the initiative to practice new ideas on your own. Of course, you do not want to try new ideas when you are with a client and unexpected problems can arise, but you never know what they might ask of you in the moment, and the more things you have tried and mastered, the better able you will be to tackle whatever requests clients come with with confidence. And beyond that, you will have a much greater creative palette from which to draw, which can only serve to expand your output and strengthen the style that makes clients seek you out in the first place. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Gress.
Don't experiment during the shoot until you get what the client needs. Then you HAVE to experiemnt. Give them something unexpected. Some of the best photos often come during that time. My goal is always to get to the, "This is either going to be a delete or the best photo of the day," phase.
Sounds like you stuck to your guns all these decades. Unwavering. Uncompromising. Which also means you failed to adapt. C'mon man, after almost half a century, you'd be a fool to think everything would remain the same. There's no one to blame but yourself. And, if "nerds" are taking away from your business, you should be embarrassed, seriously. Adapt or die.
Other forms of adapting:
-- Youtube
-- Selling presets
-- Workshops
-- Affiliate links
-- Invent/create a product in collaboration with a name brand. Like Manny Ortiz's beauty dish with Westcott. And, Lindsay Adler's optical snoot with Westcott. Jerry Ghionis's Ice Light with Westcott.
-- SquareSpace!
And, sometimes, sometimes, maybe It's just time to move on to greener pastures.
As far as follower status, I think many of those successful now started with nothing and their earlier videos were pretty cringy. It didn't happen over night.
Funny you mention McDonald's. I was going to bring up In-N-Out Burger store managers average $160K a year.
Moving to greener pastures and jumping off a cliff are so totally not even the same thing. Picking up and starting a new is different than giving up and offing yourself. Way, way different.
--- "You and your computer geeks probably haven’t a clue what a Sinar even is"
I have no interest in going backwards. That's a fool's errand. End result, bitter, angry, and disgruntled. That's all you have done on this site for the last 2 years. The industry has passed you by and you're mad as hell about it.
5 years in business now, John is on point. My advice to any good photographer, learn about business, network and don’t be afraid to talk to people. The rest will follow.