That's like asking, "how much does a meal cost?" Useless without context.
I just got the latest issue of PDN in the mail in the last day or two...has a nice think piece with anonymous samplings of different peoples earnings and experience in different jobs in the photographic industry. I think that's probably a more valuable exercise.
It's also a very subjective number. As self employed photographers we get to write off far more on our taxes as business expenses then anyone working for someone else would, sometimes the same expenses everyone else has in life! I basically worked part time last year between a layoff and starting to work for myself 'full time'. My gross income was a hair under 40k, by the time my accountant was done with my deductions my taxable income was FAR under that, almost half. This year is looking like I'm doing about 10% better, I'm expecting to 'make' about 45k. But I'm taking a course in TV/Video Production so I can add video to my business. Since it's for business I can take it as a deduction: 30+ miles a day five days a week, plus meals, plus tuition, plus books, plus tapes and cameras and other expenses... after expenses my taxes will show I've made less than last year, despite taking in more money. How many people write off college as a business expense?
They say you can make numbers say anything you want, and in this case it's true.
One of the industry groups, I think PDN, did a big study a couple years ago. If I recall, the gamut of average yearly salaries ran from about $25K for fine art up to $150K for commercial photographers.
Of course, there are going to be outliers. Neither guys pulling down $10K weddings or "GWC's" doing shoot and burn weddings for $500 are going to accurately represent the market. Similarly, the handful of commercial photogs with $25,000 day rates are probably going to skew the results for that market segment a little higher.
I'd say in the range of 10,000 to 100,000 ..........really depends WHAT you shoot (subject), WHERE you shoot it (cost of living, location costs, etc.), and HOW you shoot it (quality).
The question is fundamentally flawed because how much you pull in depends on so many different things -
- how much demand you have & how much you charge
- your business structure (contractor, proprietor, llc, etc.)
- local (state level) tax laws
- local cost of living
- competition if applicable
- how much you spend on equipment, and whether or not you expense it
- how much you spend on travel
- other administrative expenses
- etc, etc.
Could make that list 3 pages long. Not to mention how much you pull in does not necessarily always reflect the quality of work you do. It also doesn't reflect how good your quality of life is, not by a long shot
But for example, if I own a photo business, and pull in $120,000 in the state of California as an LLC, or I pull in $120,000 in the state of AZ as a sole proprietor, the amount of money I "make" is still going to be different. Everything will be different, in fact.
I define professional photographer as one who can support themselves by photography alone. I'm quite surprised that the majority find that a pro earns $25,000 or less. Maybe I could rent a small room in someone's house and support my cat on that.
A pro should have a high level of skill and expertise in their field combined with strong business sense to become a success.
Maybe many are registering false votes because this thread/poll is so vague.
I'm with many of the comments above: it largely depends on where you do what type photography. Obviously some commercial photographer in New York will earn way more than a portrait family photographer in Podunk Texas.
When I had my small studio in a small town (10,000 population) in South Texas, in a county where 79% of the children in the schools were in a below-poverty household, my income was below $20,000.
I had already worked for a CPA (I'm an accountant, too) for five years at $5/hr. That was in the late '80s and early 90's.
Now I'm in a large city, and can charge a reasonable fee for my work, and I make a living wage.
Now, "living wage" is also subjective. In small-town Texas we bought an old house (historic with natural springs and many trees) on an acre of land for $39,000 and it was in excellent condition. If I'd had that same place here in Big City, Texas it could sell easily for over a million dollars!
