On a regular basis I get emails and comments from students attracted to the photography bug. To them, photography represents the exotic, exciting, and adventurous. While there are some aspects that involve travel, adventure, and excitement, for the most part photography as a hobby is fun. Photography as a business is hard work and boring.
A couple years ago I created the following form letter in response to the quantity of requests for advice and help with a photography career in travel and nature. I’m updating it but I thought you might enjoy the older version for posterity.
Dreams of a nature and travel photography career is a good dream, but one that requires an education first.
I know I sound old, but I wish I’d had the photography, art, and business training I needed before I first hit the road with my camera. Traveling costs money, but it also presents a lot of opportunities I could have turned into income which would have allowed me to spend more time exploring and expanding my art and skills rather than taking any job I could to pay for the next trip. No matter how you look at it, photography is expensive.
School is boring. School really doesn’t teach you what you need to know to succeed in life. Still, you have to have the piece of paper that says, “This is proof I know how to complete things. I know how to suffer and make it through it.” There is no photography career you can take on without that piece of paper if you wish to do more than run your own business. Even then, a fine art or graphic arts degree is a minimum. A business degree is a requirement.
I recommend that you triple your educational activities outside of the traditional classroom. Honestly. Do not play all the time, throw away the television, and sign up for every class you can at the local college or training schools or wherever on photography, art, business, public relations, contracts, negotiation, sales training, advertising – take any class you can. All will apply to a photography career. Go to school until 3 or 4 in the afternoon, then head right out for one to two classes a night elsewhere. Learn to manage your time. Learn everything. Learn how to take notes and how to flex your memory so you don’t have to take notes. Ace everything.
If you spend two to four years immersed in classes and education, you will emerge ready for the next 50 years of a photography career. If you do not, you will spend more time learning and studying, losing deals rather than winning them, than out and about with the camera.
Make a plan. Photography is not about the camera. It’s not about taking the pictures. It’s about selling them.
It’s about understanding the marketplace and trends to be taking the pictures you can sell three years before the style is in fashion because you were paying attention with how the market was moving and there, before everyone else, to respond to the shifts in the purchasing power. It’s about negotiating business contracts for publishing books, videos, CDs, from simply selling an image then leveraging it to sell it again and again. It’s about know how to negotiate with an airline company that wants to put your photograph on the tail of several of their airplanes. It’s about negotiating with a movie company that wants to use your image on their marketing and promotional campaign.
It’s about learning how accounting works and how the tax system works in your country and outside. Because I travel and work all over the world, I have to know what the tax rules and laws are in the various states within the United States (income tax, no income tax, sales tax, no sales tax, property tax, earned income taxes, investment taxes – will they tax money I earn outside of the state or only within the state) as well as the tax rules for living outside of the country and how to pay taxes on money earned outside and within…and the list is long.
I’ve never been good with basic numbers, even though I can program a spreadsheet, database, or computer. I had to take a lot of classes later in life to figure out how to estimate jobs for photo assignments and work with the stock photography industry. Do you know how to write a release form and ask for someone to sign it before you photograph them or their property? Do you know the laws pertaining to the photography of public areas, public parks, national parks, and private property? Do you know how to determine value for insurance when traveling with the camera gear, and deal with insurance companies after losing or having the gear stolen? When I work with big companies or magazines on photo projects, they use a language all of their own. I had to learn all that.
Traveling is fun. Taking pictures is fun. Selling and making a living to pay for the travel and the gear sucks. If you don’t know how to do that, the traveling sucks and the taking pictures just gets you pictures – pictures that you can’t show to anyone because no one cares or wants them. Any twit with a cell phone now has a camera and they are more interested in their pictures than yours.
If I could do it all over again, that is what I would do. I would immerse myself in 4-6 years of fine arts, graphic arts, business, advertising, marketing, and entrepreneurial classes. I’ve got the business degree, but it isn’t enough. I was working while going to school and my mind wasn’t in the game as much as it should have been. Learn from me.
I’ve learned from the best in the business that they stayed in school and went to night school to get the training they really needed because they sat down at 16 years old and made a plan for their lives. They went where serendipity took them, but only because they had the training and education to recognize an opportunity when it stood in their face and followed their heart along with the money trail.
That’s my little bit of advice. Over the years, thousands of people have taken my classes and workshops. They have talked to me about how they gave up school and everything to hit the road and photograph. Some worked for 30 or 40 years then gave up everything for photography. Either way, without a plan, without the education to make it happen, they wasted years of their lives flailing around. They are not photographers but wannabes. They are mechanics, doctors, lawyers, dentists, writers, hair stylists, and whatever job they fell into, not photographers. They didn’t take the time nor had the plan to learn what it takes to be a photographer. Art Wolfe did. Galen Rowell did. George Lepp did. Frans Lanting did. Look at the ones with dozens of books and you will find someone who made a plan and learned what it took to implement that plan, and grabbed the best opportunities (not the loser opportunities) because they knew what they wanted. They have the papers that say “I know how to complete things.”
Good luck and know that EVERYONE feels the same as you at your age. If we didn’t, the world would be broken. It’s natural.
Lorelle
While a lot of professional photographers are going digital, don’t forget to take care of your original slide images when you send them off for publishing. Photo buyers are still accepting original images.
. It tackles all the issues photographers need to know, no matter what your level of expertise or business.
Not long ago a friend published his first article in a travel magazine. I called to compliment him on the great article and wonderful photographs. He amazed me by telling me the editor didn’t print the photographs he wanted. Dismayed, I asked, “Why did you send photographs you didn’t want published?”
For an exacting evaluation of the image, you need closer magnification. You need a good loupe. An 8x loupe is a standard size and works well, allowing you to see the entire image without strain. For the first part of the culling process an 8x loupe will be good enough.
It’s easy to get caught up in the sentimentality of an image. We know the hard work that went into getting the image. We know the time, money, and energy of getting the equipment together, going out into the wilderness, sitting for long hours waiting for the “moment”, of wearing summer clothes for a heat wave and then having 4 inches of snow descend in a freak snow storm. We know all about the sacrifices and trouble it takes to make an image.
Throwing away your photographs can be painful. Most people hang onto every image they’ve ever created. Unfortunately, few of us have homes big enough to accommodate all of them, so some editing and tossing must happen. To make the process begin as simply and quickly as possible, here are the steps, in order, we take to process our work.
Evaluate the exposure again. Is the image slightly over or under exposed? Some images will take a little exposure latitude, but some won’t. Take your time and ask yourself if this exposure is really right for this image. Toss what doesn’t match your expectations.
Is the color even and appropriate? Slide film is very exacting and a shift in exposure, even a 1/2 stop, can change a color by fading or darkening it. Look very closely to see if the color rendition is what you want.
We work hard to photograph wildlife at their best. Large mammals are best photographed in the fall when their coats are thick and shining and they are full from a summer of feeding. In the spring, they are molting and look pretty sad, but their babies are fresh and new and lovely to photograph. We like photographing images people enjoy looking at.
As we edit, we keep asking ourselves where we can sell this photograph. Is there an article that springs to mind? We jot it down in our idea file. Will this image work for the stationery market, looking lovely on a note card with some nice words on it? Or will it only sell to the educational market for use in text books? Will it work on the cover of a magazine? How many ways can one image be used? This process narrows down our choices. If it really won’t sell and I’m hanging onto the image for sentimental value, then it is definitely for the maybe pile.
Words tell their own story. They bring forth rhyme and reason, color attitudes, and move people. Combining the power of the visual image with the verbal image can either enhance your story or overpower it. Finding that happy medium is the challenge facing every writer handed a story requiring photographs.
Time is probably the greatest gift you can give a photographic subject and the one thing you usually have the least of. Just as you wouldn’t want someone to shove a camera in your face, your subject won’t like it either. Spend time introducing yourself and asking questions about what they do and who they are. Comment on how they look, and reassure them that they will look just fine for the pictures you will be taking in a few minutes. Then sit down with the camera on your lap and just chat. It can take only five minutes or an hour, but it’s your job to make them feel comfortable. You have invaded their space, and it’s your job to help them help you.
Asking people to tell you their story will often produce the facial images you want. As they reminisce, their faces and bodies will emulate the emotions linked to the stories. An old farmer may stand up and dance around like a kid when he talks about the great barn dances they used to hold. Or he’ll sigh and smile a soft smile and blush a little remembering the young woman who shared his life in the beginning. Look for those moments and listen. They will usually warn you before they make a shift or change: “You should have seen my mother standing there, so ticked off! I thought she was going to kill me. She said, ‘Bill, you get your pants on right now or I’ll get the whipping stick out!’” As he emulates his mother shaking her finger at him while standing there, fist on her hip, you are ready for the shot.
wildlife, spend time making the subject comfortable with your presence. Even with inanimate objects, work it from a variety of angles and positions. Wander around and try to see the subject from different perspectives and directions. Make time to spend with the subject, be it a tree or a person.
We offer a unique workshop teaching environmental and ecological writers how to incorporate nature images into their articles. Here are some tips we give them to improve the quality of their nature photography.
Same old, same old
You’ve spent a lot of money on equipment, classes, trips, film and processing. This hobby should start paying you back, right? Thinking about turning your hobby of photography into a business?
diversify your clients to include the whole commercial advertising market or narrow them down to only the note card and stationery market. There are so many ways photography is used in business. Ever consider having one of your images on a coffee mug? On a watch face? What about on the tail of an airplane?
Everything, everything, everything. Read junk mail, books, newspapers, flyers, posters, magazines, everything. If it comes near you, read it and learn from it. The key word is 
What do you want to photograph? Where do you want to photograph? How do you want to photograph? Who will buy your work? Where are they? How much are they willing to pay? Learn what your market place is and who the competition is. Study how they work. What will your market hold? Are you one in ten thousand or one in ten? When looking for your niche, don’t be afraid to be as specific or as versatile as you want. Some photographers will work in every market from high school portraits to wild birds, and others only photograph food and nothing else. Find your place, research its needs and go after it like an arrow to the target, be it travel, scenics, fine art, wildlife, education, cauliflower, or whatever.
Move slowly into the technology so you aren’t locked into something that will become obsolete or lack the professional quality standard you require.
Help comes from two sources: mentoring and hiring. Study from the best and then get someone to help you get your business together and keep it running. Your job is to take pictures, but when turning your hobby into a business, your job description now includes cataloging, numbering, editing, marketing and sales, promotions, advertising, faxes, computers, answering machines, long distance telephone calls, meetings, presentations…..do you really want to do all that? Get some help. Get your family to pitch in. Get assistants to help with your work. Get a good tax accountant. Get a good copyright/arts-oriented attorney. Get a good business consultant. Hire a secretary/assistant to do the paperwork and make the phone calls. The money is in the 
If you are the only one with pictures of two-headed llamas, the industry will come to you for two headed llamas. But ask yourself “How many articles and stories and images of two-headed llamas can be sold?” Answer: not many. It is the law of supply and demand, but specialization can hurt you too. One photographer specializes in night photography, specifically stars and constellations in the night sky. The process of photographing these images is complex so there are few images available. The market for star images is vast: patterns, backgrounds, posters, text books, advertising, movie back drops, teaching, the list goes on. As one of the select few to create these images, and considering the time, money and energy that goes into producing them, this photographer can charge a lot of money. One image brought him $500 to $5,000 for single use depending upon the use. In his specialty, he can live off of fewer sales a year. Other photographers must sell hundreds of images a year to get by. It can pay to specialize. Remember, being the best at one thing can put you ahead of the game with a lot of photographers who are good at one hundred things.
Slide Film. Use it. It is as simple as that. People are always asking what kind of film is the best. There is only one answer for most freelance editorial, commercial, and stock photographers: slide film. While digital cameras are slowly making their way into the commercial market, most photo editors and art directors want control over the end product and this means controlling the scanning process as well. Transparencies (slides) give them the best quality material to work from. While the market still requires slides, we will deliver them. If no one is buying apples, the apple grower needs to change to oranges. So will the photography industry shift with the trends.
When your images are your career, they are your reputation. Present them in a sloppy way and your work is perceived as such. Image and presentation are everything. Have all your slides neatly and correctly captioned, labeled, properly mounted, and clean. All paperwork must look professional and neat. Get professional assistance in logo designs, letterhead and 
By doing everything you can to make the editor’s job easier, you help yourself get published. It isn’t just about looking professional, it is about being professional and giving quality work.
A magazine is a “designed work of art”, not just a bunch of pretty pictures and words. We watched the production staff laying out pages, shoving this and that around, figuring out how images would go across a fold, horizontal or vertical, and how the text wraps around, fitting in advertisements here and there. I suggested they flip one picture so the subject was out of the fold. “We don’t do that!” This particular magazine will not crop or flip an image without permission from the photographer. Nothing sets off readers writing nasty notes more than a picture of El Capitan on the right instead of the left of the Merced River. Designers will adjust photographs so they are printable on their presses: too dark is made a little lighter and colors that won’t print are tuned to something printable within the CYMK range, but they will not crop or flip without permission. The graphic designer in me struggles with this, but this is the respect they give the artistic photographer. Your images are yours and any changes could violate the trust this magazine has with their photographers. NOTE: If you are willing to have your images cropped or graphically manipulated, then make this clear in writing on your submission. Sometimes helping the staff do their job better helps your reputation.