Photography isn’t always Photography…. What does that mean???

It means that photographers do not spend all their time taking photographs. In other words, photographers spend less than half their time shooting and the rest is spent doing decisively less fun things. Well at least those serious about making it as a photographer, calling themselves professionals, or earning a living from photography spent a lot less time behind a camera than the regular person imagines.

What do we spend our time doing???

Well, marketing, paperwork, contracts, emailing, taxes, bookkeeping, editing, social media, errands, web maintenance, blogging, and sometimes even working a day job because in a bad economy photography is a luxury service that people can live without.

Photographers put in a lot of time in the office organizing and finding ways to reach new potential clients. We field calls and sometimes jump through a lot of hoops to land contracts that we ultimate also sometimes get passed over because that is life. Sometimes we can work so hard and yet feel like we have absolutely nothing to show for the amount of work we have done.

We definitely wish that we were shooting more or had more time to work on personal projects. Some years we kill it and other years are rough. There is an ebb and flow to photography when we are in demand it is amazing but slow times come for us all as well. Then we are in the office and we are trying to find clients or talk ourselves off a hill that maybe, maybe we are done and then a new inquiry or contract comes in.

I have dealt with all the highs and lows in this business. I have re-built my business three times, the first time was building my initial business then it was when I returned from a long period off as I was traveling, and then again after my rebranding. I am so familiar with the facets of a photography career that today dealing with the stagnant wages, and super inflation which has cause a dramatic decline in the number of sessions I am doing feels like restarting my business for a fourth time.

Yes, I am finding a new normal. I am spending much more time in the office. I am spending a lot of time talking myself down from throwing in the towel myself. I am tired. I have done this song and dance several times. I have been successful, I have networked, I have done many amazing shoots and made amazing images for a host of people, companies, and performers. I proved to myself I could years ago but the pro side of me demands I keep doing the office work and it will be fine where the rest of me misses the freedom and fun of just shooting whatever I want, whenever because it was a hobby.

So what do I do???

Do I go back to hobbyist? or do I stay the professional photographer/ business owner course?

I won’t rush a decision but for the hobbyist out there having fun, loving photography, maybe making some side cash but not having to deal with the 75% office things because now you have a business…. don’t rush to be a business. Most professional photographers give up their business in the first two to three years. There is a high failure rate.

Do it for you and for fun as long as you can. Unless you diehard want to run a business because photography becomes a business when you go pro.