Expert: Don Wood - 2/22/2004

Question
Hey
 I am doing a reasearch paper for school and I need some help. Well I pretty much have what I need it is just that I need to no what the salery is ( if I spelt that wrong how much do u get payed?) also I need to no some dangers if I am a traveling photograper or Commercial Photographer?One this is my last question I would really like to no what camera I should use? Should I use a digital or film? I am looking at a SLR Canon i hope that is a good camera b/c i like it it is very kool! So will u right me back I would really aprcatite it!

Answer
The age of film is rapidly growing to a close. Digital is here, by the time you finish your training the use of film will be very much an antique process. Witness that Kodak is getting out of the film camera field except for point and shoot film. Where we used to be able to grab film from 8-10 bins at Wal-Mart we now have a partial shelf of film for sale. Digital it here, Canon, Minolta, Nikon (my preference) all make good digitals. You should buy the best you can afford. Bear in mind that in 2 years, the camera you buy today will be obsolete. Not to say that you can't still use it, but that it will be like the latest computer.
As far as Salary, that is pretty much similar to the rest of the country, you will start out making the bottom  salary of the market, the better you you get, the more reputation you engender, the more people that clamor for your services the better your pay will be. You might be a studio photographer for someone else, you will have to pay your dues in a lower salary job until you have the experience to command a better paying job. Most studios, newspapers, will supply the equipment you will use. If you are in your own studio, you will be supplying the equipment. I always suggest the newbies that they keep their day job, the one that pays your bills, and shoot on the weekends, evenings that are not occupied by your meat/potatos job. You will then treat the photographic income as extra money. Many newbies start out in photography, by the end of the year  80% will decide that it isn't for them, they can't make it on photography alone. The others will last a little longer, 1 may last for a lifetime of work. 1 may hit it big, but the odds of that are like trying out for an NBA job, not good odds. You should probably try to get as much schooling as possible before taking the plunge. That schooling may be College, trade school, correspondence. The more you get the more your prospective employers will think of you. The better jobs will come faster than someone with less training. After all, after High School, you are preparing your mind for learning to do jobs for other people and to show them that you have the discipline and smarts to learn to do the job faster and better than anyone else. You may discover that you'd do better to be a journalist than a studio photog. BTW, I really think that you should have proofread your questions before committing them to the cruel world. Always put your best foot forward, in the newspaper where I worked, the publisher always picked the candidate with the best scholastic record and could spell English properly. He'd fire people for too many spelling errors.
I know that you asked for specific answers, but at this stage of the game, you must prepare yourself for your future. Sorry to disappoint you in this respect. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors. If I can be of further assistance, please ask. Thanks.
Don