i started also late to work as photographer, after writing and producing music my half life,- i was finally very fed up from tv and ad industry,- although i wasnt bad in business at all. so i stopped, but havent had any clear idea how to go on at that moment. i think this was one of my bravest and best decisions in my live.
i started to come in professional architecture photography, but i had lo expectations, knowing how hard it can be to reach in an artistic work even average level, just to be able to call you professional. i`ve shot a portfolio with regional ( but good ) architecture and phoned a million architects in the beginning.
i got some small works from this activities, but at least it was a beginning and i enjoyed it a lot. as i said, i had very lo expectations..... but the jobs grew up fast and soon i came in situations where i had to compete with the work from several known photographers, either because they have shot the same projects as i did, or because they already were working for institutions, where i was asking for work too.
to my surprise i was able to compete with them and often the client preferred my image language, which was great for me to experience, esp. because first time i was confronted even with international known photographers.
in fact i havent had a clear idea if i am good or bad, but i knew that i tried in all this jobs the best i could give and this was very good for me to see that there are people who really liked my way of seeing the things.
i was able to do that in several cases and got some important clients in that way,- important especially in the way that they have been very demanding in respect to image quality.
this works have been a great school for me. i shot some stock stuff ( even i made good money with some of this ) as long i had time for it.
so my career was mostly a mix of luck and trying to use it as good i could do.
about luck: of-course i have had luck to meet the right persons in the right moment, but to use these little chances to get constant work out of it needed the highest effort and the best i could give.
for sure it was very good for me that i already knew how to calculate and how to make business,- music is not so far away from photography as it seems,.- not in terms of business, usage rights, how to act in front of clients and so on... and not in terms of the work itself. at least i realized after a while that the process i was in ( meanwhile shooting ) was very similar than when i was composing music.
its all about structure... at least in architecture photography.
i rarely tried to get jobs i for being the cheapest, although i tried to make my work affortable which was not always easy, because i am very perfectionistic. this often leads me to ask for a lot of gear and time for my projects. now i get often the money i am asking for, but in the beginning i was often working very long time ( many days or weeks ) on my jobs, so i could not calculate my work on a "day rate" base, because on one hand i did not liked to give very cheap day rates, and on the other hand i wanted long time frames to get the images i wanted to make. i did not wanted to give cheap day rates, because they often imply that the guys who ask more are better,- and i didnt liked to give this impression at all ). so,- although i was in fact cheaper than most others ( in terms of my real hour rate ), in the end my productions have been usually the most expensive ones.
i personally always was more interested in satisfying work than in my bank account,- although my business is running well and i really should not complain,- more the opposite.
i would advice in any case to give 100% of what you can give. forget the thought that it is in any way important if your clients can see your efforts. in the long term they can, although they might not be able to see the difference if you give 95 or 100% in one job. but you just will become better if you try your best. above it was mentioned and i agree,- there is always a place free on top.
but therefor your photography has to contain more than a clever business, maybe a practiced obsession - with opened eyes - will serve you more.
some thoughts about prof. working:
take care about the usage rights, they can be very important,- i mean it might be important of you are in or out of them ( sure fashion and ad work here is very different ).
dont try to come in the business for being the cheapest or making prices which can not feed you. it could be impossible to bring up the prices later to a level where you want to work and it will be impossible to make outstanding work, not only because you cant afford the tools you need, as well because the people which are buying your images will not valuate you in the same way.
give 100% of what you can give.
give your clients more than you promised , not less ( j. schulman said this )
calculate ( for yourself ) the double of the time which you think you will need ( j. schulman said this also )
have fun and be relaxed. no one likes to work with over-stressed people.
treat your assistants good and the people you might depend on the site
