We see it every day. Someone becomes a photographer and thinks, “Now I get to make photographs for the rest of my life.”
Sure, you can and you will. But not as much as you think. In fact, maybe 20% of the time you will be making photographs, while the rest of the time will be on the business side of things.
Tasks like:
- Content marketing
- Video marketing
- Social marketing
- Email marketing
- Billing
- Booking
- Editing
- Repairing
- Culling
- Drinking lots and lots of tea or coffee
- Talking to leads
- Taking to clients
- Scouting locations
- Talking to clients again
- Drinking more tea or coffee
- Editing more
- Delivering product
This list can go on for a very long time.
I decided to put a comedic piece together to illustrate my point. While the video is on the funny side, the point is very serious. The myth that a photographer doesn’t have to worry about business is incorrect.
So much so that I might recommend going to school for business rather than photography, then learning photography the modern way. Workshops, assist others, online courses, CreativeLIVE and other avenues like that. Be sure to check out some of the Photofocus business articles, too.
Enjoy the video.
I enjoyed this video but in this day and age, not sure any really things photographers have to deal with business. Or, if they do, they aren’t around them enough. I’ve had the pleasure of hiring and traveling with photographers for many corporate projects over my 20 year career in pharma. I, for one, see how hard they work not only on the shoot, but after we’re “done” too. I’ve really come appreciate how much they have to do, especially after they get off set.