With the trend of digital photography, it seems that everyone these days wants to be a photographer. What’s not to love? You make your own hours, you get to meet awesome people, you develop a skill, you can take better photos of your own kids, and you get paid. Well, sort of. Let me explain.
Every portrait photographer has to start somewhere. I get it. I started in a tiny apartment in Provo, moving furniture, setting up a backdrop, inviting the neighbor kids over so I could take photos of their kids. You have to practice, and eventually your kids are going to get tired of it so you turn elsewhere. Then people are going to insist on paying you. Only natural, right? They feel like they are getting something of value and want to express their thanks in the form of monetary compensation. Sweet.
Eventually though, you start to tally up the cost of
equipment ($1500 lens + $2700 camera + $500 editing software + another $1500 lens, oh and a speedlight. Right. Forgot.),
sales tax (if you’re taking money, you SHOULD be registered with the state and collecting sales tax),
Income tax (anywhere from 15-25% depending on how much you make)
time (photographers seriously undervalue this — how much is time away from your kids actually worth?)
advertising – gotta get clients from somewhere
website – purchase as well as maintenance
blog – you gotta blog so people can see your recent work, right?
batteries – I can’t tell you how many I went through before going to rechargeables
The list goes on. Let’s tally up the cost of your $200 shoot & burn session, shall we? For examples sake, we’ll say that this is a typically, traditional family session somewhere within your normal location range.
Client consultation – you talk with the client over the phone/email, go over locations, clothing choices, etc. = .5 hour
Driving to, shooting the session, driving home = 2.5 hours
Downloading memory cards & backing up = .5 hour
Culling & Editing photos = 3 hours
Preparing blog post & facebook preview = .5 hour
Burning disk & delivering to client = .5 hour
total hours spent: 8 hours
If that’s all you did for every session you’d be making $25/hour. Not too shabby. That’s more than I made at my job in college. BUT, you forgot to factor in sales tax, income tax, equipment depreciation, cost of backing up your photos, COGS on the disk and any cute packaging you put in. Suddenly your $25/hour turns into something more like $10, or even as low as $3/hour. Would you work anywhere if they were only going to pay you $3/hour? I wouldn’t. No way.
Now, because you’ve now given your client the full resolution disk, there’s no way for you to make money on prints, albums, wall galleries or anything like that. One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn is that as a photographer, a lot of your money comes from prints. Yes. We are in a digital age. So, what? Sell them the disk AFTER they’ve bought prints. Too many clients take that disk home and it becomes an expensive coaster. Even though photos are now on iPhones, tablets, facebook, blogs, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy walking through my house and seeing my gallery wraps ON THE WALL. Shocking, I know. 🙂
I get it. You have to start somewhere. Just use the shoot & burn as a way to build your portfolio – as a stepping stone for moving onto something better. I wish there were a secret formula for going from portfolio building/starting out to a full-blown professional photographer. For me, it was very gradual. I kept attending workshops, learning more about camera, and gradually increasing my prices until I really felt like I was charging what could be consider “professional” prices. I’m in this to make money. Not going to lie you to. If I wanted to stay an amateur – (whole other blog post coming on what that word really means btw) -or just take photos for the love of it – i’d stick with taking amazing photos of my kids. Much easier than trying to actually run a business. My point, however, is that building a business takes TIME. Its not going to happen overnight. Word of mouth takes time to build, and in the process you are shooting, editing, burning disks like crazy, treading water, and spiraling down into photographer’s burn out.
Where am I going with this? I just read the blog post of another awesome photographer who’s experiencing burn out. She’s tired, doesn’t spend enough time with her kids, and is not taking on any more clients. Some people would think “great! One less photographer for me to compete with” but she truly is amazing and it makes my heart sad to see someone struggle with enjoying a talent she so obviously loves. (I do believe it is possibly to simultaneously love & hate photography.)
How as a photographer are you avoiding this common pitfall? What do you do to kindle the flame and keep your passion of photography alive? I’d love to hear your comments – and look for Part II of this blog post where I talk about what I’m doing to keep myself from burning out. 🙂
Well put Jess! Understanding what’s involved in just one session is what our clients need to understand and that does include the equipment, software and works shops! I don’t bat an eye anymore if customer’s flinch because of my pricing or don’t book with me. Also, when customers ask for a deal I point them to my newsletter or FB which details my promotions. When you have your pricing in place the promotions don’t affect your sales because you’ve priced yourself accordingly. As far as burnout, I do especially during the holidays. Sometimes I can’t say no. I have been lately and it feels great! Also, I no longer take on sessions I don’t want to do and I shoot for myself now.
A very well written article Jess. You nailed every point so well!
Jess – such a great way to spell it out so people understand the amount of time and work it takes to actually run a business. Your words are so true, thank you for posting them.
Thank you for posting this Jesse. I’m there myself. That video on her blog really hits home with me also. I have been having such a hard time finding a healthy balance in my life and have been working entirely too much. I’m so burned out on photography right now. ugh.
Very well said. I agree with everything. There is also all of the huge costs if you have a storefront. I personally don’t but those that do have the weight of making those payments every month. I have always said that you have to REALLY LOVE what you do to get through the actual time it takes and the actual/behind the scenes costs of what it takes to run a business.
This isnt anything that hasnt come up before. Jess i love the way you put it. My kids are now taller than me and thankfully 3yrs ago i got a little consultation area. You cant sell if you cant show product. It does make a huge difference. Now i have a place for everything including editing and a small studio space to do headshots and newborns.
When i leave for the night, i am home. Theres no laptop,no extra editing, no extra email to send out. It is my time now. My son just told me i am not as cranky. Gosh i wish i could have done this earlier.
Well said Jess.
Loved how well worded everything was. Honestly, my solution is to not sell the disk. Easier said than done, I know, but if it’s not an option then suddenly people will buy prints. I offer digital files but rarely ever sell them because people want the products that I show them. I know I’m not in Utah but my area has tons of families who are on a budget and it still works. You just have to find the right people who value that kind of thing.
I (first of all) LOVE your work! I LOVE this post too. I think a lot of people really don’t understand how MUCH WORK goes into being a photographer. My husband didn’t understand it until I REALLY got into it. After I had my first baby last year, I realized HOW valuable my time was and HOW often I was away from my baby that I had waited so long for. I think here in UT it’s a tough market because everyone wants to be a photographer and there’s a lot of competition-the good and bad. I also think a lot of people don’t always understand the “quality” of a good photographer. I too am starting to feel this burn out and want to figure out what and how to keep going!! Once again, huge fan of your work! =D
If only I had it all together. 😉 There’s so much to learn about running a business as its definitely more than just taking pretty pictures. I have total confidence that we’ll all get there someday. 🙂
Thanks Whitney!! I loved hearing your thoughts. Don’t be embarrassed. 🙂
Wow, suddenly I’m really embarrassed. What I meant to say is “Thank you for your thoughts, it is inspiring reflection on my part. Now I’ll go write my own blog post. Or book. Because this is important to me also.” 🙂
I love this. I’ve never had a gift for words, and you put so many of my thoughts on paper. I know I’m going to write way too much, so I’ll apologize in advance, but I’m also interested in seeing other people’s responses.
1. Decide. Is it a hobby or a job? Because while wedding photography is so fulfilling to me, it is still a job. I love being there for happy moments, I love meeting so many people and seeing a unique side to their personalities. I love the reminder that relationships are important, that love is real, and that commitment is everything. That doesn’t mean I’m going to love waking up in the morning to get to work. Doesn’t mean I love spending hours at the computer editing while I could be out hiking this summer. I don’t enjoy burning discs or dealing with difficult clients, but every job has aspects like that. I decided it would be a job, but there is nothing wrong with deciding it will be “just” a hobby. You can be just as talented as us “professional” photographers, you’re just using that talent differently.
2. I love how thorough you are in showing costs. But everyone needs to be realistic about what an 8-5 job pays, too. You also have travel time, wear and tear on your car, income tax, supplies/equipment, etc. I’m careful to evaluate what my husband’s actual pay per hour is too, not just the amount listed.
3. Why I get up every day: Praise and reward. Sure, I’m financially motivated, but mostly I like to see the facebook comments raving about the new engagement gallery. Or the look on the mom’s face when she sees how beautiful her little girl is in the photo. The phrase “wow, that looks just like them” is my favorite thing to hear. Because that’s how I overcome the crummy parts of the job. I know that I was able to capture emotions, personality, and relationships. That’s motivation enough.
4. Balance. I’m not good at it. I can admit that. I’m an obsessive personality and I throw myself into everything. It will always be an ongoing battle. But I take small steps and stick to them. 1st – I decided never to schedule something on Sunday. It means I’ve turned weddings down when I felt like I needed the money, but I still feel like it’s worth it. 2nd – out of the remaining 6 days in the week, I try to only schedule 5 days for shoots. The 6th day is for a date night, a project, something fun, or sometimes just editing. But the change of pace is important to me. 3rd – whenever I start feeling like I’m getting overwhelmed, I raise my prices. That way, few inquiries come in (and it puts a higher value to my time). I never lower those prices back down because I’d go right back to being overwhelmed.
Oh my goodness, way too long of a comment, but this topic needs to be discussed everywhere so we can all learn from each other about avoid burnout and keeping balance in life. So vital. Thanks again for sharing.
Well miss, thank you for your sweet words. Yes, I’ve been doing it all wrong and am now paying the price for it. My biggest problem is I have a hard time telling people no and as I’m sure you’ve experienced, everyone wants a deal (free being the best of course!). I’m not gone forever, just a few months. I’m taking the time to re-evaluate my photography business and fix my pricing, prints, etc. Hopefully I’ll be able to get it together like you 😉
Thanks so much for posting this. I think so often we really don’t take into consideration how important our time really is especially when it is spent away from our kids or even just not connected with our kids. I’ve felt burnt out a number of times and I think it is so important that we take a step back and even take a little break. That client gallery can wait one more day, but our kids are growing up every second whether we are watching or not. A few months ago I took a month off, scheduled no sessions for that entire month and the only thing I was allowed to take pictures of was my family. It brought me so much joy because they were for me, I wasn’t trying to please anyone else, or make my blog look pretty, I was doing it for me. Thanks for the perspective and the breakdown. Mind if I link to your blog on my facebook page?
Love this post. I thought I was the only one who got burnt out. You don’t realize until you are actually in it how much time it takes. Your insight was great. Thank you
So well put! The value of time and family cannot be underestimated.