Photographer’s Diary – This Business Is Tough

Posted by Matt Lange on Oct 13, 2009 in Information, Photographer's Diary | 7 comments

It’s not secret that my ultimate goal in this photography game, is to be a sports portrait/editorial photographer. That would be the best thing, to make my soul happy. So today, as I do from time to time, I emailed a photographer that shoots REGULARLY for Sports Illustrated and simply asked: A) is it possible to be purely a portrait photographer for SI? B) if so, who do I contact? I got this as a response:

Matt,

No one is getting work right now- there is none.

Your best bet is to fly to New York and meet them in person.

Ouch, none? I laughed. There is no possible way that there can be NO work at all. And, I’m sure it helps to see people face to face, you should not have to fly to New York to get a job. Further more, who are ‘them’? Look everybody, this is a tough tough business. It’s extremely cut throat for the most part, but I think that’s fun. That’s the challenge. As Tim Mantoani said, “The rollercoaster is more fun than the merry-go-round.” Hell yes it is. I want it to be easy, but then again I’m just starting off. If there were no challenge to this I would be bored out of my mind in less than a year. In the past week, I have landed 3, yes 3, commercial photography gigs. That’s great for me. But shouldn’t I have not landed any? I mean, there is no work out there.

This has been a very strange week for me. When I started this week, I was ready to hang it up. I started on this adventure feeling bold and ready to take on the world. Well, thank you recession, but business was slow to come. Then I read Tim Mantoani’s post on Scott Kelby’s blog and I instantly perked up. He said it best when he said, ‘this is not a dress rehearsal’ when referring to life. It’s not. Screw it, it will get tough but I dont want to do anything else. So this will work. Since then, I got the commercial clients, but then I got something else, people asked me for advice on how to break in and what to do, etc. And of course, ‘there is no work’. So I just want to type this out in blog form. That way it’s here to stay and people can come back to read it whenever they want. So here goes:

This business is tough. But this business is also what you make of it. By all means, there is work out there. Never let someone tell you there is NO work. It may not be exactly what you want to do, but there is work. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do to keep the lights on. Other times you have to diversify. Challenge yourself and surprise clients. Myself, for example, I’m a graphic designer and video editor by trade. Some of you may have known that. That gives me the ability to offer things that most other photographers dont. Are there other photographers with the same skill as I have? Absolutely, but there in lies the fun. It’s up to me to set myself apart from not only those in my area, but those everywhere with my skill set. Someone told me today, when I mentioned to them about the ‘no work’ email. He said to shoot your own work, but shoot it like someone paid you. No brainer. I’ve already been doing this. Guys, shoot what you want and the work you want will come to you. The football player on the white background is a friend of mine that I shot purely for fun. And with that shoot, I have jumped so far ahead with potential clients that I want. Challenge yourself. You may be surprised.

Also, don’t be afraid to email people. I’m an email junkie. If you emailed me right now, you’d probably have a response in 5 minutes. I’m also not afraid to email anyone whose work I admire or who has made it to the point I want to be at. What is the worst thing they can possibly do? Not respond? OH NO!!! Again, you’d be surprised what will happen when you just try. I go, again, back to what Tim said. This is not a dress rehearsal. If you don’t just go out there and do it, or try to do it, you’ll regret it forever. You’ll wake up one day when you’re 89, realize the time is near and you never did what you love.

There are going to be tough times. There are going to be times when you might have to pick up a part time job to keep the lights on. So what? Do it! It’s part time and it’s temporary. I’m doing it right now. I make $7.50 an hour. When the photography is low, it’s scary. But, when the photography is good, I’ve never been happier. There will come a day when I can support myself fully off of photos. That will be the greatest day of my life. But I’m being patient. There will be a day when I can be the Chase Jarvis of the South. Then when I reach that point, there will be times when I will have around $800 in my account and be nervous again. But I don’t care.

Get out there and make something happen with photography. Dont be scared of money. Dont let people tell you there is no work. Create work. If you shoot sports and it’s not giving, step back and think of a way to shoot it differently than the 80 photographers next to you at that LSU vs Florida game. ‘What can I shoot that these guys are missing?’. ‘What commercial job do I want to shoot that I can’t find an example of anywhere?’ Create that shoot. Get out there. Bang the shutter as Chase says. Don’t make excuses or listen to any negativity. It’s what you make of it.

Sorry for my ramble.

-Matt