The money question

shoot portraits, product, dabble in stock, getting started in weddings.

when you start out don't worry about how good you are. like with anything else it's about your ability to sell. git gud as you go

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Yes, by selling landscape prints. And yes while the income is very seasonal it does produce enough to make it through the year.

It's not easy by any means, but it's a pretty damn good gig once you figure it out.

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>>2914107
Gorgeous photo.

Mind if I pick your brain a little more?

Are you living 'comfortably' by your own definition?
How long did it take you to get to a sustainable level?

I work for a vacation rental company and do real estate photography on the side. It's sustainable and I get to travel a lot.

>>2914110
Alex, you're using a 4x5 toyo right? I was wondering if this camera has axis tilt. I'm going to be buying a 4x5.

I want the axis tilt function because that eliminates the need to refocus after tilting, correct?

>>2914107
How and where do you sell prints? I think I could do this.

File: OutdoorBoothShot.jpg (284KB, 1024x1024px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2914109
I would certainly say I'm living comfortably, but possibly not by other people's standards. I live very inexpensively and don't really enjoy spending money on myself whatsoever. Years ago, I decided to value time far more than money so I transitioned into doing what I want to do full time. It was a four year transition, from going part-time at my last job to finally quitting earlier this year. The money is very seasonal as I sell at outdoor art shows that mostly take place in the summer but I do believe I have already been able to stuff enough away to last through the winter.

>>2914112
They tilt from the bottom of the front element so you do have to refocus. It's very quick though.

>>2914117
Outdoor art shows. It's not exactly easy, it's a lot of physical work and there is a TON of competition especially in photography. Almost every weekend in the summer, I show up to a different town and set up the booth (pic related). It usually takes about 6 hours to set up on Friday, then the shows run Saturday and Sunday and then about 4 hours to take the booth down after the show on Sunday evening.

Many people struggle at these shows, often not selling anything. Photographers have just about the hardest time because there is often so many of them. It's taken me years to get to a point where I can sell with confidence and even then it's a roller coaster between great sales at shows and mediocre shows. I usually spend Monday doing customer follow up and orders, then I try to take photos for a few days on some weeks. If I have a weekend off it's like a 10 day vacation which is nice.

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>>2914127
>I usually spend Monday doing customer follow up and orders
Do you sell your displays and just do custom stuff/different sizes in this part or do you not sell any of your displays and just take orders or a combination of the above?

>>2914131
A combination of both. Typically I sell orders from the displays, the only prints being taken home at the show are usually the small matted prints that people can frame themselves. In these tourist towns people are traveling so having it shipped to their homes in two weeks is preferred anyway.

>>2914127
Doing this, selling out of a market stand, do you feel like an artist or do you feel like a hack?
Do you want to eventually be able to palm off the sales to a gallery, and just sell 'limited editions' at a few K a pop?
Not having a go at you btw, love your photos.

>>2914149
I think I prefer this method a lot more to be honest. Dealing with the client face to face is far better than through a middle man in a gallery, and some of the shows are very high end. I've ended up in some shows where it's mostly lawn trinkets and shit but last weekend I did a show with a guy that used to own a gallery in Vegas but went this direction several years ago because his gallery rental of $750k a year in the Venetian was ridiculous.

Besides, I already sell limiteds for a few K a pop at theses shows. I really moved high end and larger in the last year and only plan to take it further next summer. These shows allow me to be in a different town every weekend with a new crowd of potential customers. A brick and mortar gallery just sits there waiting for people to show up.

I have heard that these shows are mostly an American thing though. A LF photographer from Austria told me the shows don't really exist in Europe, can anyone here confirm that for me?

>>2914156

I'm the 8x10 mountain guy, if you remember me.

He is correct. Atleast there are no art shows that I know of in Norway.

>>2914156
I'm not that much into professional photography, but as a normal person I can confirm. I've never even heard of these festivals or shows here in Italy or Europe in general.

>>2914156
good for you man, id love to do something like this, but yes in the uk at least there is fuck all of these shows, that i know about anyway, so i think it would be hard making money from it

>>2914163
>>2914162
Sounds like a pretty excellent and fun opportunity for someone.

>>2914107
I've been thinking of doing this, Im not a fan of those commercial landscape photos but I heard its possible to make bank like this

>>2914180
Don't consider it for a second if it's not your true passion. There are much better and easier ways out there to make a mediocre income doing something you don't enjoy.

>>2914190
The point of the thread is to explain how. Don't say just "there are ways". Yours sounds like one of those comments of frustrated photographers who don't like others trying to treat photography as a business and not as art, which is what you think you do. Photography cam be both. If you have better ideas, explain them.

>>2914156
I, as a German, have never heard of such a show here. I guess it would be possible to sell photographs at certain flea markets or artisan markets.

Your photos are very good, I also really liked your blog post about correct exposure. Eventually I will try to make some money with medium format landscape/nature photography, but my goal is to get good results with my 35mm first.

>>2914156
I can confirm, never saw such a show in EU. Everything goes through galleries or online.

>>2914156
Here in Germany, the focus seems to be more on handcraft, so you get artisan/design markets/exhibitions/fairs and there's generally more jewellry, pottery, sculptures, wooden toys and other hands-on/practical things rather than prints and paintings. There's quite a lot of them, though, if you look for them.

For example, check out what google spit out in 5 seconds:
http://www.kunsthandwerker-markt.de/veranstaltungen/
...they've got 50 events listed in September.

>>2914107
When are you going to release a photobook?

>>2914127
>decided to value time far more than money
>If I have a weekend off it's like a 10 day vacation
Is this what cognitive dissonance looks like?

>>2914127
Man, I am so happy for you, Alex. It's great to see your business grow while simply doing the things you love.

Both you and your images really are a blessing to this board. Thank you for sharing so much info.

>>2914156
>>2914162
>>2914163
>>2914247
They have these fairs in at least Sweden and the UK that I know about, but probably not as common as in the states. I think they do a few in Oslo too every year

I went to the biggest one in Stockholm a few years back when my ex had a stand together with some friends. There was an admission, and it seemed to function half as an exhibition and half as a shop to my eyes. The whole thing was busy and depressing with the overarching commercialism.

My girlfriend hated the whole thing even if she sold for thousands, and said she felt like a prostitute after selling some paintings to a group of bankers who gave her their card and said they would buy more "if she could do more of those flower things".

>>2914306
I think that was more him saying that if he doesn't have something on one weekend, that means it frees up 10 total days for him.

I'm a pro photographer. Mostly weddings but because I live in the country were most of the weddings are from april til the end of september it's not enough to get me through the year. In 2016 I have / had 20 weddings (7 to go). If I were alone it would be enough for the whole year but with two kids in school, house and two cars, it's not, so I also do stock, portraits, families, children, models, etc. In my studio or outside. The wedding period is very stressful with all the editing, shooting, making photo-books, etc. but so far I managed.
My advice is to be aggressive but kind and offer yourself atleast in the beginning. Forget about your ego and make your clients happy! Rise prices gradually as your amount of work grow...

>>2914127
saved that picture. awesome booth.

starting to, got a payrise of about 3k (gbp) for doing the occasional shoot for my work (hospitality). a friend of a friend has asked me to do her wedding next year, and the odd gig like that.
I feel rather stuck at the moment though. I'd love to specialise and be known as a 'headshot/music/editorial/food/etc.. guy, but i have interests in all of those areas, if i focused on one i feel i'd be missing out. Is there room for a generalist in the photo market now?

>>2914326

What your girlfriend felt is pretty common, she wanted to share her artistic vision but they wanted to buy a commodity made with her technical skill. Artistry and personal satisfaction is rarely paired with proper financial compensation unless you adopt a craftsman's approach and take pride in creating a piece that is attractive and well formed.

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>>2914107
Same deal, here... though on a far-smaller scale. Props, your booth looks great.

I sell once a month at a local art walk. It's a rust belt town with a lot of vacant storefronts due to economic decline, which the city owns and converts into temporary galleries in hopes of rejuvenating the downtown business district by attracting a more permanent tenant. We have some people selling on the street, too... I went that route this year due to some drama at a gallery I used to show at.

So far it's worked-out alright. I mostly shoot abandoned buildings, so I set up in front of the city's most-prominent example in an effort to advocate for its preservation. On rainy or windy days I duck into a nearby parking garage. Setup and teardown takes about an hour, and the rigs cost me only a few-hundred dollars. I have power through the street lights, and the light rigs were cheap to make (shelf brackets and work lights from Walmart, minus the clamps). I fold the seats down and it all (barely) fits in the trunk of a Dodge Charger.

I feature several different print sets from various projects at the show: usually consisting of three large prints (12x18") which get the nicer MDF frames and hang on the towers - and some smaller prints (8x10's, usually) which just go in el-cheapo frames available at Walmart and stand on the table. A set will cost about $100 to make (prints, frames, the works); selling two of the big prints gives me a profit. I don't make much, but some nights go better than others. Anywhere from $20 to a few-hundred. Being able to run cards is a huge benefit, and Christmastime I get bigger orders (mostly off the non-abandoned work).

Mostly do this to have some disposable income (car parts).