The Patient Photographer Makes Money

Published by hexfire on October 22, 2007

Patience is a virtue. I am not sure how many times i’ve heard that in the past from various people, but it certainly rings true in the photography field in more ways then one. If you haven’t noticed yet, the world of the professional portrait photographer is rapidly going the way of the Dodo, only to be replaced by the ever mediocre home photographer.

Blasphemy you say? Well yes, in a way it is. I would not put myself in the category of “Professional Photographer” by any stretch of the imagination, but I am not an amature photographer either. So what is one to do when trying to reach the coveted title (albeit soon to be obsolete) title of “Professional”? Be patient.

You can make a fairly decent living being mediochre incase you haven’t noticed. While i’m not one to preach inferior design, if you are looking to have a little extra income on the side, being a portrait freelancer is a good idea. There is one caveat however, and that is you much exude a tremendous amount of patience.

Patience to wait for a particular shot. Patience to build up your client base. Patience to wait on models that aren’t quite as knowledgeable as you’d like them to be about modeling. Patience on getting notoriety.

Fame and fortune do not happen overnight, short of winning the lottery. To be semi successful in photography pick something you love and focus on that. For instance if you love photographing products for magazines, photograph a ton of content and keep at it. Have some patience and stubbornness and you will start getting more paying gigs.

Patience is the key though. Start stockpiling it! The patient photographer wins.