Photographers
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- vaxorcist0
I assisted for years, and worked in photo labs, becoming part of a community of people who often share ideas about negotiation tactics with clients, etc.... The biggest things I got from assisting were watching how seasoned pro's would handle client interactions, egos, last minute changes, and other surprises.
A HUGE thing to remember is this is NOT a business where you're "suddenly successful and never have to worry again" it's a business where you constantly have to put yourself and your self-esteem out there, contacting potential clients, doing lots of stuff that may or may not pay off....
I see from your profile that you have some tearsheets, as a designer, you're in a great position, many, many photographers have to hand off their images to an agency or client who may submerge the image into a layout that's not quite flattering to the photograph....
Being a designer and a photographer isn't bad at all... it's great to have multiple streams of income, and many photographers have multiple types of clients/work too...
It used to be that you had to specialize, now I think you have to diversify, but not too clumsily... saying "you do it all" is not good, but saying you "specialize in x and y" is better.... it also used to be that photographing weddings was considered low-life, like selling used cars, but the standard of work quality for great wedding photographers is good these days, and it can be a good gig if you're good at not just the photography but the client interaction...
I have multiple specialties and multiple websites, I co-create images with a couple of art directors I've worked with for years for use in heavily manipulated ad campaigns, as well as also photograph business events / conferences and weddings, totally different loooks, but I love them all.... Photographing lawyers is also an odd little side business for me...
Note that on almost every job, whether you're an assistant or a photographer, there's a huge chance you'll run into somebody who's asking "how did you break into this business?!?" .. and you get a feeling they want a 10 word answer or so... sometimes you have to try not to laugh...
And on many business client gigs, you run into an executive who said he wanted to do what you do... but... long story, but I'm sure he's not jealous of a photographer's random finances....
It does seem that amateur photographers talk about cameras, whereas pro's talk about client interactions, business ideas, etc...
Estimates and bids are hard, and possibly risky, contracts can be tricky, if you're in an agency now, spend some time learning that side of things from the agency perspective...
Good luck, it's not impossible, but there's no "heaven" moment, you still have to call up people who may not have time to talk to you....