My First Year as a Professional Photographer: Five Tips for New Photographers
First off, congratulations on finding and following your passion. While passion alone won’t pay the bills, it is the driving force that will keep you learning, improving, and getting back behind that camera after a tough session. Many people won’t ever take the risk to leave the security of a 9-5 job, and I want you to know that I’m proud of you! I compiled a list of things I learned during my first year of professional photography in hopes that it will help you succeed.
Maternity Session, Milwaukee, WI
You’re not going to be great right away, and that’s ok.
What I mean by this is: your photos are good, maybe even great… But once you start shooting consistently, you’ll realize how much room there is for improvement. Your “eye” will always be improving, your editing will evolve, and your relationship with light and how to capture it only gets better with time and practice. The worst thing you can do is avoid constructive criticism and stick to your comfort zone. Not only will you continue to evolve your personal style, but trends in photography will change over time as well and if you want to stay competitive, it’s worth keeping an open mind. Don’t be surprised if you look back at photos from the beginning of your career and cringe a bit. It’s a sign that you’ve grown- and how lucky are we to have found a career that allows us the opportunity to continuously improve.
2. Nerves are normal.
The first time you take on paying clients, you probably won’t feel ready. While I definitely advise practicing on friends, family, and pets as long as it takes to feel like you are producing consistent work, it will always be scary to take the leap to charging for your services. Being nervous means you care. And caring means you are invested in the photos you are about to shoot. Invested in the client. That’s a good thing. Even if they pick up on your nerves, I personally believe clients will always prefer a nervous photographer to a rude or overly-confident photographer. And your clients are probably nervous too. It’s okay to feel awkward behind and in front of the camera.
My advice: Try to be as overly prepared as possible. Have prompts and poses saved on your phone, show up early, give yourself extra time before the sun sets, bring extra batteries and a back-up memory card. The less that can go wrong, the less you have to worry about. Also, fake it until you make it- that does not mean taking on jobs that you aren’t qualified for. It does mean, acting more confident than you feel. No need to tell clients that you are new- if they hired you based on your work, then you should trust that you have the skill to deliver the photos they want.
3. Join a photography community
My first year as a photographer was 2020 and I still managed to find a community of photographers (online). You won’t regret it. It doesn’t matter if it’s through Facebook, instagram, reddit, classes, workshops, etc. What you want is a safe place to post your work, get constructive criticism, ask business/creative questions and receive feedback from those who have been there before you.
Personally, I have avoided “mentors” that charge you $800 for an hour long coffee-date. While I think it’s important to value others time and talent, there are many ways to learn from photographers other than putting yourself in debt hiring mentors. If you are sincere, kind, humble, and show that you’ve done your research, you will find a community that embraces you and wants you to succeed.
4.Start as a side gig
You bought your first camera, invested in a few lenses, and have built up a small portfolio. You’ve started making money. Time to conquer the world? Not so fast. It takes awhile to build a consistent client-base. It takes awhile to learn how to run a business. A lot of photographers suggest having a years salary saved up before fully quitting your job. I personally think that’s a little extreme.
My advice: Before you quit your job, have savings that can last you at least 3 months, know you CODB (cost of doing business), have the business end of things organized (scheduling, contracts, marketing, SEO, photo delivery) as well as reliable gear (computer, camera, lens, etc) and know you can find clients from several different sources including social media, referrals, your website, etc. If you are finding that you aren’t able to hit the financial goals you’ve started for yourself, don’t be ashamed to take a part-time job until you are able to make enough from photography. Starting a small business takes hustle, and sometimes that hustle means working multiple jobs.
5. Don’t put yourself into debt
This was advice given to me before I started and luckily I listened to it. We live in a world that is often trying to sell us something. I can’t tell you how many new photographers I’ve seen in groups ask a photographer who has been in business for 10+ years what camera/lens/preset they used in order to capture an image. I can’t help but think that they want to skip the skill and experience stage and jump right into making lots of money. Will the most expensive camera help you get the BEST images? Only if you know how to use it. Will a preset from your favorite photographer make your images look like theirs? Only if you have their talent for posing, editing, location scouting, and access to their beautiful, well dressed clients. You can’t buy your way into the career. You can take classes, you can hire mentors, and you can buy all the equipment, but a lot of people will end up frustrated and in debt if they do this, overwhelmed with technology they don’t understand and disheartened because their images don’t look like their idol’s.
All you need to be a photographer, yes- even a well-paid photographer, is a used camera, a couple of used lenses, editing software, and an understanding of how to market yourself and run a business. Your skills are important, but those can come free. Youtube, a few business books from the library, and hours logged behind the camera will teach you all you need to know. If a photographer tells you that you need more than that, they’re probably trying to make money off of you.
mother & son during golden hour San Diego, Ca
Kristen Cari is a Milwaukee, WI-based photographer specializing in Lifestyle and Pet Photography.