AboutJohn Wilson Expertise Over 27 years specializing exclusively in professional wedding photography. I can answer most questions relating directly to wedding photography concerning the business, film, digital, traditional & digital labs, marketing, effects, pricing & packaging, shooting outdoors and in-studio with multiple flash, color management and creating magazine style wedding albums. I can't answer questions regarding other fields of photography.
Experience Over 27 years experience photographing weddings professionally. Past 4 years shooting digital exclusively.
Organizations Better Business Bureau.
Education/Credentials Going to photography seminars and reading all the wedding photography books I can find then applying the techniques and new styles I've learned with each wedding. You always need to grow and learn to keep up in this field. With each new wedding you photograph, you must challenge yourself to do better work than your previous wedding. You must always have the goal of making the wedding photographs for a bride & groom be the best photographs they have seen of any wedding.
Question Hello. I am your typical "undecided about choosing a major" college student. I have always been artistically talented as a youth and still take on artistic ventures as a hobby of mine. Unfortunately, I never really made the effort to develop my innate talents to new heights, which I very much regret now. I am exploring ways to get myself back on track and I have recently discovered my talent for photography. I mostly do photography work for family and friends' functions like birthdays, weddings, holidays, etc.
I feel as though a career in something art related would suit me well, but with the current state of the economy, I am being swayed away from it as I know the jobs are scarce, and the stigma of ending up a "starving artist" is a stereotype I have trouble shaking away from my thoughts. I am interested in doing wedding photography, multimedia design, filmmaking, and animation. The thought of opening a my own multimedia production company that deals with all these interests makes me drool with excitement. With photography, I have found a very pleasing way to express my creativity and also to have a fun activity to share my work with friends/family, but to be a jack of all trades is a bit much so I would like to focus on photography at first to build upon something.
My question to you is what does it take for people within the industry to succeed. I know that there is no set formula for success, but there should be some general guidelines. Do you have any recommendations of any schools or programs within the New England area, especially Massachusetts, that are great for pursuing art related majors? How strong is the industry right now in your opinion in terms of job security and jobs openings? Where should one focus their attention so that they could take on such a career full-time and raise a family?
I could use some positive reinforcement to help me gain the confidence that choosing to go the art major route won't end with me jobless and back to the drawing board to find a new major.
Answer Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your photography career questions.
To know thyself is a great start in helping to determine one's course of direction in making a career decision. You seem to have a well balanced, fair and objective view of yourself to help in making the best decision.
The state of the economy is a factor that will always effect ALL types of employment to one extent or another. But it is still a fact certain fields of photography are much more affected by this current recession than others. For example. Stock photography can reasonably be expected to do better in a down economy as businesses seek ways to save money on their advertising budgets. Since you may have the long range goal of operating a multimedia production company, shooting stock on speculation while you develop your photography skills could make an effective strategy for you. It can also help you personally to explore who you are as a photographer.
If you really believe you have a love, a "calling" to do photography and eventually a multimedia company, you can always choose to pursue this without majoring in art. If you feel more comfortable to pursue a field which might be more secure in a down economy, than you should probably do that. Your love for eventually working in your own multimedia company WILL still happen in due time. There is no need to jump into it with both feet when you still have so much to learn and when the economy by the time you graduate might not be the best time (for you) to start this business.
I agree there is no set formula for success. What I believe it takes for one to succeed in this industry is DEDICATION. When starting you must be prepared to work a LOT of long hours. You will have to pay your dues. You will achieve success sooner by remaining firm to your commitment and believing in yourself.
When I said be prepared to work a LOT of long hours, this does not mean working hard instead of working smart. You're writing me with these questions shows me you are open-minded and seeking ways to work smarter even if it is just considering my humble opinions. Hopefully I can provide some of the answers you are looking for in this regard.
I've seen the work of PPA certified photographers and others who have been to schools and who have attended various seminars and photography workshops. NOT IMPRESSED! While there are many photographers with these credentials who are competent and talented, there are MANY MORE who are NOT. Of course, to get a business license as a photographer does not require any of those things either. No wonder. What it really takes is a person who is DEDICATED to this field and who is committed to achieving EXCELLENCE. Like everyone else who is recognized as a leader in their field, it takes dedication and a love for their calling.
The very best paid photographers are self-employed photographers. So you must also learn business and marketing. But for the most part, photographers are able to most cost-effectively market themselves through a very well created website. Also when you start working with video, you will find your website an effective vehicle for marketing your video services as well. There are some wedding photographers who charge well over $20,000 per wedding. Most in the United States average around $2,000 per wedding. A couple of photographers charge over $100,000 per wedding. And people are still getting married all over the world and still paying for professional wedding photographers.
Now there are many self-employed photographers in this down economy who are "starving artists". Thankfully, most of them have full-time jobs and their photography has been a part-time endeavor for extra income and/or they just haven't been able to grow their photography business to a full-time operation. Most of the photographers here in the Chattanooga Tennessee area work like that.
I'm a full-time self-employed photographer. I specialize exclusively in wedding photography and for this reason I have had to keep my prices "fair" and cannot afford to over-charge for my services. I could charge a lot more if I were willing to become a "destination" wedding photographer. But I have already traveled all over most of the world and don't care to do much of that anymore.
There are a lot of photographers who enter the wedding field because for a long time many photographers have been able to get away with over-charging. So if you are willing to work for "fair" prices, you could get a head start in your market when just starting. The other thing about doing wedding work is how it can provide you the opportunity to meet MANY other people in your market. These connections can help you with all your self-employment endeavors at the present time and into the future. You might feel more comfortable working photography part-time to keep learning and making a little extra spending money while in school. You might select another major so you have much better job security to fall back on. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being multi-talented and skilled. Who knows? One day, your first multimedia production could be something relating to your major which might not have anything to do with photography.
As you know, the best person to answer your question is you. I hope there are some ideas I've expressed here which might help you to make the decision you are most comfortable with.
