by Colleen Sherman
It's not cheap!
For anybody starting out in photography, you will quickly learn that photography is not cheap. Its definitely one of those fields where you'll have to spend money to make money. But if you really plan on making this your full time job, the risk (and low interest financing) is well worth the potential reward.
When I first started out, I naively told my husband, "Don't worry Babe... I'm not going to need anything else for a LONG time." This being said after we just financed oodles of stuff from Best Buy (which included my camera, Lowepro camera bag, Photoshop and a couple memory cards). But I was silly to believe that myself. Just a few short months later I was already feeling the itch for a new lens. Sure, I paid more to upgrade my kit lens... but it was pretty standard. I really wanted to get pictures with a shallow depth of field and to get that... I needed a lens with the ability to stop down to at least f/1.8. Ugh... so then came the request for a new lens. A 50mm f/1.4.
"Hey Babe... You remember when I said I wouldn't be needing anything else for a long time. Well, I was wrong."
Luckily I was able to get that lens as a gift for Christmas... but I was not so lucky with the flash, the fisheye lens, battery grip, more 8gb memory cards... and of course my sweeeeeet new Mac computer.
All things that were NOT expected to be purchased with in the first year of starting out on this photography journey. But looking back now I can't imagine life with out any of the equipment I have had to purchase. I just kind of wish the larger-than-expected-investment was all stuff I new in advance. And maybe I should have figured this out, but with out having any other photography friends, I jumped into this with out any help. I'm not saying this would have changed my mind or prolonged my choice to get into photography, I'm just saying it might have helped prepare me (and my husband) for the financial part of it all. And I'm afraid to say my need to purchase more is just going to get stronger. Especially when I start working on my new website that is set to launch mid summer!!
My intention is not to be a discouragement to those starting out... just more of an eye-opener for those thinking they can get into with only $1000 investment. Because unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
However, there are plenty of ways to do other things cheap in this business. For example:
1) Create a blog, not a website: When starting out, my portfolio wasn't very broad. It only consisted of a few sessions and it definitely was not enough to start a website (that I couldn't afford), but I knew I needed a way to get my photography seen and a place to send potential clients. So starting a photography blog was an easy decision for me. I had already had a personal blog for months, but I wasn't very comfortable sending clients to a website that also showed pictures of what I cooked for dinner the night before... and pictures of the most recent party we went too. So I set up a blog completely devoted to my pictures. And it has been a great, FREE way to get my work seen.
2) Business cards: They are surprisingly cheap and NECESSARY. Most websites like Vista Print and Over Night Prints offer free design services for business cards and you can usually get away with spending around $20 (or less) for 250 cards! This has been huge for me. As my photography is evolving, so have my business cards. I ordered the smallest amount possible the first time, knowing that I would eventually like to create a logo and/or replace my blog address with a web address. And I knew if I were to run out (which hasn't happened yet because I keep changing the design and reordering before the last batch is gone), its affordable to reorder. And business cards have been HUGE for me. I keep them on me at all times and pass them out when ever possible.
3) Lens Rentals: So now you have your camera and maybe a lens (or 2). But you're feeling the need for something different for a big job you have coming up... or maybe a trip you are taking, but dropping $700 for that new lens isn't exactly with in the budget, right? Well, no worries because there is an affordable way to still use that lens with out making the commitment and putting you further into debt or spending more of your savings. There are TONS of lens rental websites available for people to "test drive" the lens before they buy. And before I was ready to purchase my fisheye, I was able to rent from places like Borrow Lens and Lens Rentals. The benefit to these websites are that you can spend a fraction of the cost of the lens and rent it for week (or more) at a time. Something that definitely pays for itself when you're getting paid for the job. Its only when you start renting it for personal use that it becomes less cost effective.
So I hope this encourages more than discourages. Its important to realize that all of the costly purchases are not necessary to make right away. For me, buying a computer was a forced decision when the old one broke and I had a session still to edit... and the fisheye was a luxury lens, not something that was needed to get a job. Its all about what is right for you and what is in YOUR budget. My goal for my diary entries is to put starting a photography business in a realistic light... both the pleasant and the unpleasant. It really is a fulfilling career, both financially (someday) and emotionally, because photography is more than a job, it is a passion... and to be able to do your passion and get paid for it is well worth the investment.
