| Being a Pro is fun, and lots
of hard work, too! |
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Professional photography's very
competitive, especially in major cities. If you're a freelancer, you have to be
comfortable with feast-or-famine income. Sometimes you'll work straight through
three or four days, with little sleep, to meet a deadline, followed by a week or two of
nothing. Sometimes, your clients think you're a fantastic photographer, and a
pleasure to work with. Sometimes your work and your personality are rejected.
Can you handle it? Sometimes, you have to compromise your aesthetics to pay your
studio rent. Are you realistic?
| As a photographer, you'll use
both sides of your brain, simultaneously. The left side calculates exposure and
development compensation, Scheimpflug focusing, bellows extension and filter factors,
color corrections, chemical dilutions, reciprocity failure, lighting ratios, emulsion
characteristics, etc., etc. Meanwhile, the right side gets to play with
perspective, composition and the moods of lighting, texture, color, contrast and all the
other emotional and intuitive feelings that make you "see" the way you do.
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If you love making photographs, and
have the persistence and talent it takes to make a living doing it, you'll be the envy of
millions of wannabees. Hundreds of photographers make six-figure incomes. In
major cities, freelancers average around $65,000 a year, after getting established.
There are all kinds of payroll-style photographers too, such as for in-house design
studios in large companies or advertising agencies, travel industry, fashion designers,
manufacturers, research laboratories, public relations companies, sports organizations,
hospitals, government agencies, architects, restaurant chains, motion picture producers,
newspapers and periodicals, printing companies, portrait studios, etc. On the other
hand, if you just love the art, craft and science of making images for your personal
enjoyment, or exhibition, you can truly enjoy a satisfying avocation at your leisure.
Regardless of the direction you choose in photography, you'll be rarely bored.
| Interested
in putting still photographs into motion? Check
out LACC's Cinema
Dept. They have
equipment that's state-of-the-art and instructors to match! |
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