"Being a Photographer is a Waste of Time He Said."

I drove from Salt Lake City to a town a few hours south to go to a funeral today. After I was talking with an old friend and he told me he wanted to be a photographer but he knew the possibility of failure would be high. He said he felt safer in his current job and it was would be a waste of time. 

“You are absolutely correct. Most photographers fail.” I said. 

Shocked, he looked at me and said “ What the hell is wrong with you. You teach a school and you’re telling me it’s a waste of time? You must suck at what you do. Haha!”

“It is”. I said, “For most. They do it wrong. I know what they do wrong and in my school I teach my students what to do right so they can make money and live the life they want.”

He asked me what they do wrong. I told him a few of the things but when I got home I thought I would write it down and share it with you. 

Here yo go. Listen up! These are big!

1. Patience-You have to think about how long it is going to take to make it. You need to research other photographers and find out how they did it. The honest answer is behind every 15 minutes of fame there is years of hard work to get here. 

2. Marketing- Most photographers get caught up in the fun part, shooting and don’t think about running a business or making money. You gotta change that. Learn to sell. Learn to market. Write out a plan and follow it. 

3. Know your Worth-I can’t tell you how many time I have talked to a great photographer who feels bad for charging money for photos. Ok. This is a internal problem. Just think about this. Everyone who loves you wants you to be successful and if you love yourself you want to be successful. Poverty is not fun and photography can be a way to escape it. Let it be your way.  

I get excited just thinking about all the opportunities I have to teach what I know. It’s  fun and it’s challenging and what other reason is there to live. I could go and get a job making 30 thousand dollars in a second and a year down the road I would look back and hate my life. No way! :)

This is me! Ikon

Hope your day was as good as mine! I teach classes at Salt Lake City School of Photography