So you want to be a professional?
Photographer. Director. Golfer. Belly dancer. Designer. Waiter. Model.
If you’re wondering if you’ve got what it takes to go pro, try it. Seriously. Quit what you’re doing now and go there. You’ll know soon after you’ve tried to go there whether or not you’re in the right spot. If you don’t have what it takes, it will be obvious – going pro will be too hard, other things will seem more interesting, more pleasurable, more fun.
On the other hand, if you do have what it takes, you will be reborn. All setbacks will seem small, all goals achievable, all hurdles put there only to keep out the others. You will know you’re on the right path.
One thing for certain is that both paths–trying to go pro and steering clear of going pro–will be full of fear. In one case the fear is that you’ll fail and not be good enough. In the other case the fear is that you’ll never have lived your dream…
When you think of those two, which one is worse?
I’ll be putting this into practise over the next year. I’m as scared as I am excited, but that sure beat being bored and wondering what if. There’ll be a transition for sure, but I’m absolutely determined that by the end of 2012 I’ll have handed my boss my letter of resignation.
Wow, great advise! Easy to say when you’re already a millionaire. While I’m trying to become center fielder for the New York Yankees will you pay my mortgage and feed my kids?
Kidding of course.
I’m sure Chase’s advise wasn’t meant to be taken literally but just in case…
Don’t quit your job today. Plan and transition into your dream life, go hard at your goals and you’ll get there. Being a pro takes an obscene amount of practice at whatever craft/skill you choose but will be worth the it. By all means, we should all love and be passionate at what we’re doing to make a living but respect the process of what it takes to be great!
That’s some real world shit!
so true. fear is the biggest hurdle for me, although i want to quit and just do it- i have to work my job another 12 months to stay in the country i want to shoot in! cannot wait for that day i can start my dream..
well said Chase
this post made me want to get up and quit my job right now and try to become a the best photographer i can be(I love golf – but i cant shoot in the 60’s or 70’s). But i have fear that i wont be able to pay my mortgage and bills if i quit my full time job.
My fear about becoming a pro is actually quite different. I love what I do right now. I love photography.
Now, this is likely beyond the scope of your post Chase, but I’ll carry on. For the record… I agree, if you’re going back and forth on becoming a pro or not, pull the trigger make a decision and go forward.
However, I want to talk a bit about the ‘fears’ you mentioned Chase…
More then failing, I fear that doing photography for money would force me into one niche of photography to try and make a living at it. I like too many aspects of photography to be a good pro.
Simply put…. I don’t want to specialize.
Photography for me is an outlet. Something I do to ‘escape’ from stress, Something I do to create something that brings life into perspective. The act of seeing through a viewfinder is therapeutic for me as it forces me to look beyond myself and see others, to see the world and to stop navel gazing.
I like taking photos of everything. My family, social events, cheesy photos of coffee cups and sunsets, birds, stars, kitchen utensils, everything. I like long lenses and wide ones, I like strobes and available light, I like almost everything. I find old screw mount MF lenses and with adapters paste them on the front of my dslr as a franken camera. It’s for fun for me, I don’t want to resent it with deadlines and other people’s expectations.
By necessity, a pro has to work primarily work on one thing. It’s a full marketplace and it’s competitive. You have to be good, at business, at treating people well, at making images when they count.
My fear, is losing what I already have in photography. A passionate hobby. I’m not the best photographer in the world, but that’s not why I shoot photos. I shoot them for me. For the journey of doing something creative.
I have considered doing some photo gigs, to supplement the income, to pay for another lens. I have been offered little projects for money here and there. I almost always turn them down.
Now, I love my job as it is, so my situation is different then some people. I come to your blog Chase not because I’m looking for advice on going pro, but because I see a passionate guy and his team, working hard to do what they do and having fun while they do it. You cater to the outdoorsy part of me, the artistic part of me and the gear head. You are open and honest and care about the job and about people. THAT’S why I’m here.
I’m willing to be that there are many many more like me. Sorry to go off on a tangent there. Long comment, but I just wanted to say it. No offence to anyone intended, just the view from my office chair. Cheers!