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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Formal Education- giving up my day job
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 12/03/2007 02:52:07 PM · #1
and going back to school for Photography- (please don't all run to make fun of the photos I have on here- I can do better)

I seriously am thinking about saying goodbye to my BS- my field and chasing what my heart wants. Just making this consideration "out loud" is scary. I have never had a single photography class.

I have so much too learn but I wonder is going back to school the best possible way to accomplish these dreams? Here I am about to turn 29 and can't imagine not doing this....... Any solid advice and stories are appreciated.
 12/03/2007 02:54:34 PM · #2
I walked away from a career in the I.T. industry a few years ago and have been using photography to support myself while I go back to school. I'm not in school for photography though.

I think it's never too late to pursue a passion.
 12/03/2007 03:41:22 PM · #3
How are you planning on making a living with photography? Weddings? Portrait? Fine art? Stock? A little of everything? Journalim? Something else?
 12/03/2007 04:10:00 PM · #4
I would study business and take a few photography classes on the side. Most of photography business has little to do with photographing but running a business.

It's still a job and the grass might be greener on the other side.

Why not make real money at your current job to support your hobby. Keep the hobby as a hobby. Once you hobby becomes your job, it's not a hobby anymore.
 12/03/2007 04:13:31 PM · #5
Originally posted by LoudDog:
How are you planning on making a living with photography? Weddings? Portrait? Fine art? Stock? A little of everything? Journalim? Something else?


I only know what I like and what I don't like shooting- No weddings (that is more drama that I want) No Portraits (just seems like such a lack of creativeness- no offense). What I do enjoy is Fine Art- Stock and Journalism. I also really enjoy buildings, bridges, just architecture in general as art (no idea if that has a name)- I am also a huge history fanatic and really enjoy photo essays.

I have attempted to contact local photographers and inquire about internships or assistant positions but they all seem to require more experience than I have and are unwilling to consider any application. I honestly don't have a portfolio or know how to build one- I have a number of photos I have taken and enjoy but I am not sure how much they can be processed or how many of them I should include as a good sample- do you present yourself as a well rounded photographer or just focus on what you are interested in?
 12/03/2007 04:15:33 PM · #6
Originally posted by Morry32:
Originally posted by LoudDog:
How are you planning on making a living with photography? Weddings? Portrait? Fine art? Stock? A little of everything? Journalim? Something else?


I only know what I like and what I don't like shooting- No weddings (that is more drama that I want) No Portraits (just seems like such a lack of creativeness- no offense). What I do enjoy is Fine Art- Stock and Journalism. I also really enjoy buildings, bridges, just architecture in general as art (no idea if that has a name)- I am also a huge history fanatic and really enjoy photo essays.


If you find a recipe for this that works, please let me know :)
12/03/2007 04:17:17 PM · #7
Originally posted by Nullix:
I would study business and take a few photography classes on the side. Most of photography business has little to do with photographing but running a business.

It's still a job and the grass might be greener on the other side.

Why not make real money at your current job to support your hobby. Keep the hobby as a hobby. Once you hobby becomes your job, it's not a hobby anymore.


I minored in business management when I got my BS- I have little doubt in my business skills as a manager and I would never go back to school for a MBA in anything like that even though many of my friends did just that straight from school.

Photography is my hobby- I don't know how to make it my profession- That is sort of the source of the thread and my confusion- Is getting a degree in photography as important in terms of a career or is there a better way of learning that will still allow me to follow these dreams? Like I said, I have a ton to learn and don't really know how to go about that......
 12/03/2007 04:19:32 PM · #8
When I went from running an air hammer to a degree in photography, I did it over a couple of years. I started classes in the evenings and weekends at the local community college. As my skills grew I bought a better camera and took over the dining room for a studio - we (family of four) ate in the kitchen (the pantry was the darkroom).

As my dedication became apparent, I would be asked by my professors to back up the weekend wedding shoot. Then the weddings they couldn't cover were passed to me. I was allowed to borrow equipment like strobes and view cameras for weekend projects.

It wasn't until I was too busy to go to work that I actually quit. BUT, deciding to do it is the first step, Good for you.
 12/03/2007 04:35:17 PM · #9
Originally posted by Morry32:

Photography is my hobby- I don't know how to make it my profession- That is sort of the source of the thread and my confusion- Is getting a degree in photography as important in terms of a career or is there a better way of learning that will still allow me to follow these dreams? Like I said, I have a ton to learn and don't really know how to go about that......


I think that it is important. You are going to learn things that you probably won't learn on your own. In today's world of photography, there are a lot of 'photographers' who have had absolutely no professional training. I think it looks nice on a website to have an 'about the photographer' section that describes your achievements including your education. Since everyone can afford a digital camera these days, your education and abilities are all that will separate you from the pack. If you want to get a job in photojournalism, or a job in photojournalism worth having, plan to get a BA or BS in fine arts, communications, or some related field.
12/03/2007 04:42:51 PM · #10
without weddings or portrait work, it's going to be tough to find paying gigs. Very tough!
 12/03/2007 04:51:24 PM · #11
Originally posted by LoudDog:
without weddings or portrait work, it's going to be tough to find paying gigs. Very tough!


Amen. Man, I HATED weddings but it's, without a doubt, the easiest entry to photography. I liked portraiture, but they didn't like me ;-)

I didn't get a paying product shot until two years in. I wouldn't do products now for all the tea in China.
 12/03/2007 04:55:28 PM · #12
Originally posted by LoudDog:
without weddings or portrait work, it's going to be tough to find paying gigs. Very tough!


I am not saying I wouldn't do them- this is about preference and what I would like to do.

We all have to do things we would rather not to be able to do the things we want too- I understand that. I just couldn't imagine being a wedding photographer as a career.
 12/03/2007 05:11:01 PM · #13
Like Jim, I also went back to school as a mature student. I am from a very large family so post-secondary education was not readily available to me due to costs when I was younger. However, I did earn a college diploma in photography in Japan when I was in my early 20s. So, I do understand the desire to be creative and to make this sort of education work from a business perspective. Sadly, I was never creative enough to make a living at it. I am too much of a technician / technologist and not enough of a creative artist. I am more science than art. Customers pay for art, not science.

Now, I have continued to work and earn a good living, but I have also remained fully committed to education for the past 15 years.

After completing a variety of programs and earning certificates, diplomas, and graduate degrees at seven different universities, I can clearly state that it is all worthwhile. In fact, my MBA degree is scheduled to arrive on or about December 14th, so it has been a long road but the light at the end of the tunnel no longer looks like a speeding oncoming train. I begin another Masters degree in May 2008 ending in the summer of 2010. This time, a Master of Arts in Communication and Technology. So, I now go to school (online) for fun. Learning is an adventure and an enriching, rewarding experience.

Cheers,
Michael Martin. MBA, MEng, BA, GDM, SCPM, PMP, CBNT
 12/03/2007 05:22:35 PM · #14
Originally posted by Morry32:
Originally posted by LoudDog:
without weddings or portrait work, it's going to be tough to find paying gigs. Very tough!


I am not saying I wouldn't do them- this is about preference and what I would like to do.

We all have to do things we would rather not to be able to do the things we want too- I understand that. I just couldn't imagine being a wedding photographer as a career.


I know a pro that makes a good living without doing weddings or portraits. He was a programmer and had an impressive portfollio. He frammed a bunch of prints and entered to get into street art shows. He sold a few here and there. Then people that bought photos hired him for custom work and one day he quit his job. He is an amazingly personable person so he has a huge friend network that helps him get customers too. Recently he opened a photographers hangout that has printing services and studios to rent for shoots along with on site experts to help. And he does all sorts of classes and personal tutoring at the shop and at locations (like fall color shoots followed up with a photoshop class the next day).
12/03/2007 07:36:10 PM · #15
Originally posted by LoudDog:
without weddings or portrait work, it's going to be tough to find paying gigs. Very tough!


That depends on your market.

One of my first jobs was with a studio, shooting catalog stuff. You know, those beautifully lit stacks of shirts, sweaters, socks, etc. that grace catalogs and weekly circulars. The work was steady and pretty easy, but OMFG talk about boring.
 12/04/2007 12:13:03 AM · #16
Journalism, fine art, architecture.
Journalism is not a lucrative field, photographically speaking. It can cover a wide range of things though from teh local HS football game to months in Africa photographing wild animals or aids victims, wars to penguins to the Super Bowl. Not much is needed to get started, and as in most things, a lot is needed to get to the top (luck and perserverance for sure). Where you make your money is stock sales, mostly of your own images. But it may take 10,000 saleable images to make a comfortable living. That takes years to accumulate.
I attended a seminar by Vincent Laforet. Wow. That lifestyle is not for me, but the stories he can tell, the things he's seen. Wow.
//www.laforetvisuals.com/main.php

Fine art you can start anytime. Whatcha doing the third week of March? Come to Pittsburgh a week long school on fine art photography - creation, editing, sales, and more. PM me for more info.

Architecture...to make money at it you'll have to know and understand commercial photography and all that goes will getting the jobs. New buildings to hotel brochures, documenting buildings that will be torn down, and more. I like this too, but have no real clue on how to get my foot in the door, although I know a couple of people that do it. It pays well - when you're working. Working enough to pay the bills would be the challenge, and I would think the best way to learn this is to apprentice with someone, always a hard job to get.

You have a degree in business - make it a case study. What do these areas of photography pay the photographer where you want to work? What gear is needed? Who are they buyers? How do you reach the buyers? What skills do you need, and what will it take to get them?

If it's going to cost you $40,000 for the degree and $30,000 in gear and then 3 or 4 years of living in a studio apt (or worse) to get the business to the profitable stage, and then you can only make $30,000 a year it may not be worth it. But then life it too short to spend it doing something you hate.

True, a hobby turned job can kill the love of the hobby, but it might not...then you're doing what you love and it's not a job at all.

Message edited by author 2007-12-04 00:15:28.
 12/04/2007 01:14:03 AM · #17
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
Journalism, fine art, architecture.
Journalism is not a lucrative field, photographically speaking. It can cover a wide range of things though from teh local HS football game to months in Africa photographing wild animals or aids victims, wars to penguins to the Super Bowl. Not much is needed to get started, and as in most things, a lot is needed to get to the top (luck and perserverance for sure). Where you make your money is stock sales, mostly of your own images. But it may take 10,000 saleable images to make a comfortable living. That takes years to accumulate.
I attended a seminar by Vincent Laforet. Wow. That lifestyle is not for me, but the stories he can tell, the things he's seen. Wow.
//www.laforetvisuals.com/main.php

Fine art you can start anytime. Whatcha doing the third week of March? Come to Pittsburgh a week long school on fine art photography - creation, editing, sales, and more. PM me for more info.

Architecture...to make money at it you'll have to know and understand commercial photography and all that goes will getting the jobs. New buildings to hotel brochures, documenting buildings that will be torn down, and more. I like this too, but have no real clue on how to get my foot in the door, although I know a couple of people that do it. It pays well - when you're working. Working enough to pay the bills would be the challenge, and I would think the best way to learn this is to apprentice with someone, always a hard job to get.

You have a degree in business - make it a case study. What do these areas of photography pay the photographer where you want to work? What gear is needed? Who are they buyers? How do you reach the buyers? What skills do you need, and what will it take to get them?

If it's going to cost you $40,000 for the degree and $30,000 in gear and then 3 or 4 years of living in a studio apt (or worse) to get the business to the profitable stage, and then you can only make $30,000 a year it may not be worth it. But then life it too short to spend it doing something you hate.

True, a hobby turned job can kill the love of the hobby, but it might not...then you're doing what you love and it's not a job at all.


Brilliantly put.

I had traversed this road not too long back and I didnt even have a decent camera then. I was all ready to put my career as a consultant behind me and jump into photography. I thought I'd learn and pick up. I spent some time with the people who make a living in it and then realised that its a long way to the top and more importantly a very tough way. I could not see my self downgrading in terms of money earned and lifestyle - not after being spoilt silly in the 2 years I'd been working with some of the biggest names in consulting.

Thats when I decided to make it my serious hobby and pursue it such. Sure I dont devote nearly enough time as I'd like to but I still delve in it much more than I did a year back. Whats more is that I realise more today that it was indeed a wise decision on my part then.

my 2 cents.

Message edited by author 2007-12-04 01:14:51.
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