dongiannatti

I was recently asked how to find clients by a new photographer making the leap into professional work during this crazed pandemic. It’s tough any time, but at this time it is even harder.

Right now is the best time ever to be a photographer, so why all the long faces?

Note: This article is written for commercial photographers, not consumer photographers. A consumer shooter has a different list of challenges, and since I am not a consumer photographer, I won’t be addressing them.

Well it has certainly been a hectic week. Two proposals, a shoot, designing and writing -- and that was only Monday, heh.

It reminded me of how many channels I have, and I wonder if it may be possible to actually have too many. Can one have too many things one does? Possibly. Perhaps. Probably.

(The Roosevelt quote above is one of my all time favorites. I have a couple of copies of it and one is on the wall next to my cluttered, USB encrusted desk.)

Ahhh… the world of the artist. A place where we can nurture our ideas and share our bountiful creativity to others who will accept it into their lives with open arms, and smiles of gratitude.

Or… not.

What if I told you that it's not the industry, the bad economy, where you live, what camera you shoot with, how many lights you have or how small your Facebook following is that is holding you back. None of those are truly capable of stopping you, they are only challenges for you to meet -- the same challenges everyone who creates art or starts a business has to meet and beat.

Author's disclaimer: This article is aimed toward commercial, business-to-business photographers. Consumer photographers may get something from it as well, but there are different market forces at work in that genre.

Yes… it is sort of a “link-bait” sounding headline, but I worked hard trying to figure out how to say it without sounding like I was tricking you into reading something far off the mark.

And here is why I think it is on the mark; photography has become ubiquitous. It has become the ordinary and the mundane, the avocation and the whimsical. With the advent of digital, 80-90% of the tools photographers needed to make photographs were eliminated. The learning curve was now no more than a bump for those wanting to simply record what they see as a photograph.

These days a lot of people seem to be offering advice in the area of becoming a full time professional photographer. Some of those folks, like Greg Heisler, Jay Meisel, Gail Mooney and others, have long careers and great inspirational advice for those who are beginning the journey.

Others, whose names I won’t mention, and hosts of FB, G+, and Flickr shooters want you to know that the life sucks, the cameras suck, the business sucks, and the whole idea of being a professional photographer is a total pile of crap – and it sucks, of course.

Count me among those in the first group, with some cautious understanding of where those in the negative group are coming from.