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Given the chance...
#1

... (and skill, money etc. notwithstanding) would you become a full time photographer? I think it would be fun, but after a while you would probably get tired of the work, and I'd hate to see a hobby turn into a drag...

I've talked to a few disillusioned wedding photographers who want nothing to do with cameras anymore... but then again, those could just be the odd ones out Wink
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#2

Haha ... i think it would be a fun career to have.... as long as of course you have the skill and creativity to keep yourself motivated.. it wouldnt be too bad as a side job though ..
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#3

Wedding photography? NO!
Art photography or photojournalism or travel photography? Sure!

<><
Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ10
Image Management/Editing:ArcSoft PhotoBase4
Advanced Image Editing: Adobe PhotoShop 7
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#4

As one trying to make that leap - I can tell you that it isn't easy to pick and choose what you do - you need to do whatever work comes up if you want to pay your bills.

Wedding photographer is bread and butter type of work - the clients can be very demanding and not very cooperative - but it is the one time that the average guy on the street will hire a pro photographer. It is hard to turn down the work. So - I do weddings as well.

It isn't my favorite type of work - I really like CD covers - you are expected to be very creative and it is "glamour" work.
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#5

is there much business in doing CD covers ?
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#6

It's all about your contacts, Peter - like all photography - it's a numbers game - you make money if you work a lot. To work a lot, you need to get your name out there - and for that you need contacts in the industry.
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#7

ahh i see ...
welll .. being that i am a computer science /electonics student..
not much chance ill eva become a pro photographer..

but yeah .. in all industries..contacts always help ...

so your a full time photographer ?
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#8

Good question. I have a computer science degree and a number of years in project management - a few months ago I was laid off with a good severance package. Things are decent for me in my life financially - house paid off - no cash flow problems, etc., so I am trying to make a go of it with a small photography business. Is it full time? No - part time at best right now.
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#9

haha .. i guess if your not packed for money .. it doesnt hurt to try something different,...
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#10

You couldn't pay me enough to be a fulltime wedding photographer. Weddings are scary. i've made and sold a half dozen wedding cakes and I *never* want to get involved in the drama that is the 'wedding day' any deeper than that. I am a far better baker than I am a photographer, and I wouldn't want to do that full time either.

I would really enjoy studio portraiture fulltime though. That's the kind of controlled environment my personality type thrives on. Plus I thoroughly enjoy working intimately with people (especially children) and it would suit me nicely.

Of course, after the week I had at work, anything different is sounding good right now. Smile
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#11

I can see wedding photogs being disillusioned with it. I've been asked to do those sorts of "organized" gigs before and turned them down. Once played DJ for my cousin's wedding and man was that a drag. Like Toad said, "the clients can be very demanding and not very cooperative".

Personally I just don't like anything where I have to "direct" people. I've been doing a bit of work lately shooting promo pics for bands, and that's bad enough - they all expect you to tell them where and how to stand but then they don't listen and things are a jumble. When it comes to people, I much prefer candid work - with bands, that means shooting them while they're playing... even just in rehearsal.

Now if I could make a living doing that... I can't picture (heh heh) getting tired of it. Deaf, maybe...

"I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them. So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."
-Marcus Cole
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#12

Hey interestingly enough, I was watching Australian Idol last night, and they were showing the photo shoot for their prospective album covers. I was pretty impressed not only with the setup /studio / equipment of the photogapher, but also with his techniques in getting a good image out of them.

He said that he would do anything (tell jokes, insult them, make them laugh) to get a dramatic image. Afterwards, he would show them on the PC what how the shots turned out like (yes he was shooting digital!) and the subjects would say "wow, I never realised that just a little tip of the shoulder here, and tilt of the head could make such a difference"...

Makes me want to be a studio photographer now... Smile
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#13

Ugh, thanks, no... like I said, I hate directing people. For one thing, saying crap like "make love to the camera" and other common phrases like that just sound SO freakin' cheesy. And again, like I said, they either don't listen, or simply can't understand what you want of them. Your best shots end up being those between-pose candids; you almost have to fake the "real" shots to catch them off-guard.

"I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them. So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."
-Marcus Cole
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#14

I'd love to do it part-time or be an overseas photo journalist, how could would it be to holiday at some one else's expense while getting to do what you love) but not full time. I'd like to do something else to stop borning my self of it, I am getting a litttle bored with computers now that it has been the only tihng for so long, geting a little more interested now I have the camera so i can swith between them =)

Gear:
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1 x Canon S100
1 x Nikon D5100
1 x Sony DSC-TX10
Apple MacBook Pro 15" (Retina Display)

"What do you want to pack today?"
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#15

If it was my full time job I'd lose one of my favourite hobbies.

Nos an modica tantum nostri somnium
"We are limited only by our imagination"
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#16

YEah ..full time photosgraphy is something i dont eva wanna touch ..haha
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