At last I can put the camera's away (at least for the summers) and make some money doing something else.
I started a fibreglass and boat repair biz, and it's great! No camera's involved. I am making $90 per hour and I'm getting a sun tan.
I am so sick of taking pictures for a living, so it's nice to 'make' something rather than a wistfull digital non descript product.
But winter will be here soon enough, and it's back to camer's rather than sanders.
And I sure my 14 photogs would not be happy if I packed it in. Although if this boat thing continues to be as profitable as it is (and I have no staff) I might have a photo business for sale.
Gav

I used to shoot weddings, portraits, and teams for a living - and hated every minute of of (OK, not EVERY minute, but it wasn't my favorite thing to do). I got so burnt out that when I started my internet business I didn't pick up another camera for several years.

Now, a few years later (OK, 8 or 10), and I'm doing photography again - but the kind I enjoy - nature and wildlife. My current (non-photo) business allows me to purchase pretty much whatever lenses I want and I can also now afford to travel. Quitting pro photography was actually the best thing I could have done to get more enjoyment out of photography! Once I get my image banks built back up, I'll probably start submitting to mag / calendar companies again (It's always fun when you get a pict published), but I will continue to run my "normal" business too.

Bottom line is, there's probably a type of photography you really enjoy, and maybe this move will actually allow you to bring the "fun" back into your work, Did for me :-)

~Steve

A lot of people are getting out of the business because of all the amateurs flooding the market and undercutting professionals. And the economic downturn isn't helping. I'm relying more on portrait and school photography than weddings these days, as the profit margin is greater. We have idiots in this area providing full day wedding coverage for $100! And the sad thing is, the photos they provide aren't even worth that much.

This is ironic because I've been building prototype models and composite molds for a company that makes fiberglass parts. It's a nice change of pace getting away from the computer for a little bit, and fabricating things by hand is almost therapeutic. It's cool when the end of the day comes, you can look at what you accomplished and say "WOW!! I did that!"

I still enjoy my photography work too, I just stick with the type of work I want to do, and supplement income with other passions I enjoy just as much. And at the end of a photography day I can sit back and say "WOW!! I did that, and I'm not itching, not covered in dust and didn't have to sweat!"

liza wrote:
A lot of people are getting out of the business because of all the amateurs flooding the market and undercutting professionals. And the economic downturn isn't helping. I'm relying more on portrait and school photography than weddings these days, as the profit margin is greater. We have idiots in this area providing full day wedding coverage for $100! And the sad thing is, the photos they provide aren't even worth that much.
You get what you pay for. Problem is, clients don't always see it that way - they just see money in the bank. Sad fact. There is more money in portrait/school/commercial stuff than weddings generally speaking.

Name a creative job that lets a good number of people turn a decent--not outrageous--buck......................

I do make a good living with 'quickpics' up here at Big White. I also like the fact I can give 14 people a job.
I, however am simply sick of taking photo's, so it's time for a new gig (or at least another one) that has nothing to do with a camera.
So it's back to fibreglass for the summers, I used to build surfboards back in Oz, so it's a natural to go back something else I'm good at other than taking pics.
The reallity is I will continue with the photo business at least for the time being, I do have 2 houses to support, and my accountant and bank manager would have a heart attack if I gave up the cash cow.
Gav

I'm thinking of doing something along the same lines. ;-)

You're lucky to have more than one marketable skill and enough capital to explore it on the side.

-m

liza wrote:
A lot of people are getting out of the business because of all the amateurs flooding the market and undercutting professionals. And the economic downturn isn't helping. I'm relying more on portrait and school photography than weddings these days, as the profit margin is greater. We have idiots in this area providing full day wedding coverage for $100! And the sad thing is, the photos they provide aren't even worth that much.

I can't find enough qualified, creative and experienced photographers, designers and editors to work for my company. There's so much work around here that goes un-photographed because the job pool isn't that deep and there just aren't enough hours in the day or week to take care of all the requests.

My clients have come to expect a level of quality, professionalism and customer service that the student, recent graduate or part-timer with DSLR just isn't capable of producing. Bargain hunters don't care what their pictures look like, they just want a deal so the low-ball photographers will always have a market.

The best thing that has happened to professional photographers is all the "amateurs" who have purchased DSLR's and are pawning themselves off as professionals...the results speak for themselves. They may get a few senior photo jobs or an occasional wedding but the quality of the work is just poor. They just make the established professionals look that much better!

If you are a professional and are worrying about what amateurs in your area are doing with their cameras, you may be in the wrong business.

I thought all of us who went to college to be writers, artists or photographers were doing so because we wanted to make a living doing something different.

Lee Woolery
Speedshot Action Photography

I was working in IT right up until last year. I gave up my full time job so i could shoot and teach martial arts and work on some internet projects. Earlier this year my old employers rang me and asked me to contract for them. I have been working two days a week for them for the past four months and now I have agreed to work one day a week up to xmas. By the end of the year i want have both the photography and martial arts classes where i want them. Next year i want to concentrate on the internet projects.

I know I could go out and get a good job on good money, but as many people will tell you its not all about the money. I love my jobs, all four of them

I'm over 55 and am still getting more requests for work than I can possibly handle.
If you enjoy what you do then everything else will follow naturally.

In any business some days won't be as enjoyable as other days -- but in a way photography is like music or sports -- how many other people (outside the examples I mentioned) can actually get paid for something they really enjoy doing.

I know loads of I.T contractors (finally after some years of down turn due to incredibly bad and short term decisions regarding offshoring / outsourcing policies which never worked satisfactorily) who are again earning a decent living at least in Europe -- but when I see them all dressed up in suits, carrying Laptops and having ears permanently plugged in to Blackberries so some boss can expect them to be on call 24 hrs a day -- give me my Photography business ANY time --even if I don't make as much as the I.T guys. I know that I have a much less stressfull time than they do and 'nary a blackberry in sight --except for those you eat).

Being a shooter is not all fun but I really wouldn't want to swap with anything else.

I'm also not sure why there is so much resentment against the amateurs here. I love speaking to some of them when I see them and if I'm on a job I've never had a problem with them moving out of the way if I need to install lighting or other gear -- and often I've been bought a few beers afterwards for giving them advice / answering questions etc etc.

Most Amateurs in my experience are really keen and certainly don't want to hinder a pro doing his / her job.

Cheers

-K

Kyle Yates wrote:

I'm also not sure why there is so much resentment against the amateurs here. I love speaking to some of them when I see them and if I'm on a job I've never had a problem with them moving out of the way if I need to install lighting or other gear -- and often I've been bought a few beers afterwards for giving them advice / answering questions etc etc.

Most Amateurs in my experience are really keen and certainly don't want to hinder a pro doing his / her job.

Cheers

-K

I absolutely agree, I encourage people going out and doing work for nothing and taking friends weddings for a 100 bucks. I will always give advice to keen photogs. In fact I employ many 'never taken a photo in anger' types and have found them to be very profitable for me. The argument that amateurs hurt pro's is just rubbish. Most of us started this way, or at least I did, and I encourage people to get out there and give it a go.
Gav