Friday, February 20, 2009

Have you abandoned Your Dreams?

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.wealthyways4you.com/work-from-home/have-you-abandoned-your-dreams)
by Dan Eitreim


If you were a professional photographer, working every day at a job you love, how would your life change? Would a career making beautiful images make your dreams come true?

Well, if you aren't making any money as a professional photographer, what's holding you back?

Are you afraid your images, "won't stack up?" Have you fallen into the trap of comparing your work to all the best magazine photographers? Or have you been looking at all those stunning, photo contest winners? You know, those incredible, breathtaking shots that we look at and sadly shake our heads (knowing in our hearts that we could never do THAT!) once again letting our dreams die and returning to our boring, soul sucking lives?

We've screwed up!

Those images are rarely, if ever, an example of the day in and day out images of a working professional. They're usually once in a lifetime shots - and YOU are comparing your day in and day out abilities to THAT! Bad move.

Have you ever walked by the portrait studio in the local mall and watched them shooting for a little while and thought, "I could do better than that!" Guess what, you probably could.

Most of the mall photographers you see are part time kids - still living at home and working to earn a little extra spending money. They don't have any special degrees or any special talent. The store manager spends a day or so working with them to teach them how to load the camera, helps them learn a few simple poses then turns them loose!

When they got their job, it wasn't due to some super portfolio. Usually one of their friends worked there and got them the job - or they were in the mall one day, applying at ALL the stores and the photo place called them back first.

In other words, what I'm saying is they got their job, (one that you would consider as a dream career - and out of reach) by accident.

It's NOT out of reach. Several years ago, (I hope the standards are a bit higher now) I had a conversation with the manager of one of the mall baby portrait studios. She'd been the studio manager for three years. I asked what lighting pattern she liked the best and found out that the lights are permanently attached to the wall! One lighting setup fits all - I guess. I won't even get into why she had never bothered to check and see what brand of camera they used.

Now, before I get a lot of hate mail from mall shooters - I'm sure some, possibly even a lot of you ARE very good shooters, know everything about photography and are conscientious at what you do. That wasn't my point. The point is, to make a good living as a professional photographer you don't have to be another Ansel Adams. You merely have to be competent at creating and shooting the basic poses that people buy. That's it. It's easy.

Then, once you learn the basic poses and lighting patterns, you need to learn a few time tested and proven marketing strategies. Ones that will have potential clients banging down your doors and clamoring for your services. To learn these, check out my website - the links are in my resources box. I believe ANYONE with an interest in photography and just a tiny bit of competency, can be making money with their camera within two weeks. By anyone, I mean YOU.

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