Expert: Mark Gluckman - 4/22/2009

Question
I am in my 40's and looking at a career change, and thinking of photography. I have a Nikon D40, and a couple of good lenses, some filters, etc., but am otherwise at a loss as to where to start. How do I start? What about education? How do I market myself and what do I charge?
Senior pictures?  How do I sell photos online? I've done a lot of outdoor/nature photos.  I also get a lot of local pics (storm shots, wildfires, etc.) Do most newspapers buy from freelance photographers, or do you need to apply to paper to be on an employee list with them? any advice will be appreciated. How much will I need to start my business, and what for?

Answer
Deanna,

Ambition and a willingness to work for next to nothing in this economy is what will help.  Newspapers use very few 'stringers' and those they use have years of photojournalism experience.  What is good about this economy is people are looking to save lots of $$$ and are hiring less experienced shooters. I'm losing shoots to Uncle Harry who owns a camera and takes OK shots.  Why pay me $200 an hour when a student will do it for $25?  I've been shooting as a professional for 30 years and have never seen an economy this bad for photographers.

First..know your camera inside and out, learn about it.  Know all the basics of photography.  Understand the rules of framing shots, and exposure, depth of field, shutter speed.  Can you walk into a situation and know what exposure you should be using without picking up the camera and a what ISO?  What lenses do you have?  Filters are no longer that important, as most work can be done in Photoshop.

Here's how to start.  Go to some baseball games (school or Little League) and start shooting.  Edit the photos, make sure you keep only the good ones.  Go on-line and find an on-line selling service (I use Printroom.com), sign up.  Shoot a few events before you try to sell your stuff...make sure you're are happy with it. Put yourself in the parents' shoes...would you buy that photo??  Also, try for trades, trade plumbing for family portraits, landscaping, etc.

Hope this helps.

Mark