Expert: Don Wood - 4/10/2005

Question
Hello Don,

I'm writing a research paper for my high school english class and it requires an interview of some sorts. I have compiled a list of various questions pertaining to becoming a professional photographer. If you could answer these as soon as possible, it would be greatly appreciated.

1. What classes in high school would you suggest on taking?
2. What college courses would you suggest taking?
3. Which do you think is more popular: Digital ot Traditonal photography?
4. What qualities do you think one should have when entering this field?
5. What is the average salary of a photographer?


Thanks you very much for your time,

Nathan Martin

Answer
1. Take the academic courses. Your goal should be to go to college.
2. While in college, I would concentrate on the business of learning to be a businessman. People skills are important so you will need to have some experience in working with people. Your college guidance counselor is probably quallified to help you. While in HS I'd talk to the guidance counselors at the school.
3. Digital is the wave of the future, when I started out 75% of my business was B/W, then it became Color 75%, B/W 25%, now in the past 5 years I've actually done work in my Darkroom 3 times. Not hardly worth it to maintain the chemicals and paper. Everything can be done digitally, portraits can be printed either in color or B/W. The quality and longivity of the better printers such as Epson, Canon, HP, are fabulous, equaling the longevity of traditional photography. In the beginning of photography the cameras were huge, the negatives were glass plates. Then film came and the cameras shrank and negs were easily stored, then color came first in slides only then in negative and color printing came on board. Now it is digital that is coming out, more and more of the photogs are switching, some completely, others are more cautious.
4. Patience, paptience, patience. You're dealing with people at a point in time when they want it to be memorialized. Could be the ad photo, portrait, wedding, funeral (some do want to remember the deceased), family/class reunion, etc. Also you might have the syndrome of not enough work and then you get deluged with work and you think that it's impossible to get it all done. Feast or famine.
5. Average salary depends upon whether you are a one-man operation, or part of a larger studio. You can't put a price tag on this area. Different towns will have different averages. The wage in the big cities with lots of overhead, will differ from the small-town business that must do everything. I hope that this helps out. Thanks for asking.