Posts Tagged ‘pro photography’
Hey Amateur! Flirting with Going Pro?
A month and a week back this blog brought you a few caveats about going pro. Today, Annie Tao casts light on How To Know You Are Ready To Become A Professional Photographer.
Actually, she does a bit more than that: she proffers some very sound advice on those oft-overlooked prerequisites, those ‘must-dos’ before you take the plunge. Making mention of the plethora of books and courses on the subject, Tao’s goal is to provide “a short list of topline things” that will tell you when you’re “ready to make the leap.”
Tao’s seven-point checklist-style lesson starts off with “You know your equipment like the back of your hand” which she describes in two pithy lines.
Point 2 is the ‘Reality-Check Point’ (or ‘Reality Checkpoint’): Don’t forget that “Being a Professional Photographer means being an Artist and a Business Person” – the ‘and’ should have been emphasized. Tao gives you a heads-up that “a larger portion of your time” will be taken up with business-side – make that boring-side – activities, of which she lists some.
Points 3 and 6 are related and have to do with the nitty-gritty of the business side. The latter point, though its title talks about ‘documents’, enlightens you to the importance of things like contracts, business registration, separate bank account, and consulting with a small-business attorney. Point 3 advises you to get your business plan clear in your head “before you start your business” because changing course later can be difficult.
On these scores, it wouldn’t be out of place to mention that our Australian readers would do well to look up the AIPP for career planning from the very outset. For the pro who’s just getting started the AIPP can be a goldmine of guidance.
Points 4 and 5 are marketing-side items and it’s a pity they’re not fleshed out. It’s all well and good to advise readers that a good portfolio is essential and to use social media to share your images but how do you differentiate yourself from the crowd? Entering contests and getting a win or a recognition, face-to-face networking with everyone from fellow pros to friends, and keeping your own blog ticking with fresh content, are a few concrete ways to market your services and (try to) stand out.
Tao closes out her list with a “ridiculously simple, but . . . often overlooked” essential: Photographer, Know Thyself. She advises you to choose your speciality and do what you do best and love most in the field. Sound advice.
If you’re an amateur flirting with going pro then this very readable article is an excellent preliminary checkpoint.
The AIPP Wants ‘All Hands on Deck’
AIPP (Photo credit: *pic)
If you’re a serious amateur, at some point or another you will have flirted with the idea of going pro. And if you have, joining the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) ought to be a serious consideration. But why? – you may rightfully ask, “What’s in it for me?” That rhetorical question is also the title of a post by Kylie Lyons on the AIPP blog.
To begin with, the number of discounts and promotional offers available to members means that AIPP membership partly pays for itself. Next, as a photographer your ability to display the AIPP logo is a guarantee to clients of certain minimal standards of quality and service. However, the unquantifiable and non-monetary benefits are even more valuable, Lyons suggests.
For instance, though a professional photographer can – of course – learn a new technique or two from a specialist in another area, over and above that, those pros who have perfected the business side of the profession are often willing to assist those who do not possess business nous. In addition, availability of a Code of Ethics which members must abide by ensures that professional photographers do not fall into error and stay on the right side of ‘the line’.
One thing that is no longer a membership benefit is the annual APPA book. AIPP has just announced that the 2012 Canon APPA book will be available as a paid-for PoD (Print on Demand) in two formats: “a comprehensive and stylish 2-volume set that contains all the Gold award winning images . . . or as a single edition comprising 4 categories of your choice.” AIPP explains the financial and marketing reasons behind this change in their blog post.
In any event, the book, printed using Canon’s cutting-edge DreamLabo technology, promises to be a sumptuous treat for the proverbial coffee table. One wonders if the AIPP did not miss a trick in not arranging for a smaller-sized, limited-plate version of the book so that it could be purchased by pros in bulk at a discounted rate to be given as gifts to clients? That would have been a triple play: money into the AIPP’s coffers, a delightful surprise present for clients, and the AIPP and pro photogs earning brownie points from the general public! Oh well, next year maybe?
If one wants to keep looking beyond the obvious, many more hidden benefits of membership lurk beneath the surface, says Lyons, none more critical than for a member to gain and enjoy the supportive community of fellow professional photographers. As she extols the virtues of AIPP membership, perhaps this is Lyons’s most compelling argument.
The AIPP is “largely a volunteer organization,” and is also at heart a community; therefore, there is a consequence which is made evident in the ‘sea-nic’ analogy Lyons uses for the institute and its members: “We all own the boat and we all have to paddle.”
If you’re an amateur shaping up to join the pro ranks, the AIPP could use you as an ‘able-bodied seaman.’ We wish the AIPP friendly seas!
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