Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Photo Pro or Midlife Crisis: You make the call.

I'm seeing a lot of people my age getting into photography at the semi-pro level, usually right after they retire or are downsized from their job of thirty-odd years. The pros even have a name for us: "Uncle Bob's Wedding Photography."  Granted: a new Pentax/Nikon/Canon DSLR and a 13" printer are a lot cheaper than a Z4 or a mistress (and no, I do NOT know that from experience!) but I wonder how many of us have gone through all of the steps of setting up a business and keeping the necessary records that go along with being a professional photographer/painter/jeweler/water-colorist/whatever.

For me, there are days of driving, sleep deprived early mornings and countless hours working in Lightroom and Photoshop to get one new really good pic on the website and gallery wall.  Also, if you do have a gallery representing you there is the additional time (and cost!) spent in printing and framing your work to get those compositions on the walls and  in front of the public.

Let's talk about being a professional.  Whether you are a freelance photographer, designer, painter or other type of artist: does the fun of being an artist outweigh the day-to-day, sometimes overwhelming details that go along with being a sole proprietor business?

Oh -- and welcome to my blog!