Who's Day Job is Photography?

[Bill Kumpf]

Yesterday marked 40 years in automotive engineering with some involvement with photography for product documentation.

I did some part time free lance during the 70’s with weddings and kids portraits. When I started counting the pennies, photography became a job. Dropped out for 30 years and this time it is purely for fun…………..

[Kirk Gittings]

Michael, Interesting. I was curious what you did for a living. I lived near Machias when I was a kid for awhile. I just did a job for Historic New England in Havervill. Is that near you?

[Michael Alpert]

Michael, Interesting. I was curious what you did for a living. I lived near Machias when I was a kid for awhile. I just did a job for Historic New England in Havervill. Is that near you?

Kirk, I live in Bangor. I go Down East often, so I am very familiar with Machias and the rest of Washington County. That part of Maine is still lovely, with fine people, though economically depressed. Haverhill, N.H. is quite a ways west of Bangor.

[Kirk Gittings]

Jeez, the Machias area was depressed back then, but we could buy lobsters off the dock for $1 if I remember rightly!

[Duane Polcou]

The problem I see with that is that there are a lot of untrained photographers (marketing themselves as professionals) that are marketing like crazy putting out some really horrible work and are able to do it because they can pick up a digital camera, set it on autopilot and shoot like crazy and come up with a few shots that are "good enough".

Bingo. I studied studio lighting for years, with Playboy photographers, only to watch the market share favor on-camera flash snapshots of whatever and insanely retouched non-reality. If I didn't embrace technology to re-think marketing and create a stylized niche-approach to photographing models, I would be done.

I still think those producing high quality work, with an element of uniqueness, will always find an audience. I slowly but surely do. But it just takes at least as much, if not more, attention to marketing than creating.

[Les McLean]

After a career as a rock guitarist I slid off the tracks to spend some 20 years as an accountant during which time I discovered photography. After 16 years enjoying photography as a hobby I threw in the towel on accounting and have spent the past 15 years earning my living teaching, printing and writing about photography. Best thing I ever did but couldn't have done it without a very understanding wife.

[Daniel Geiger]

I am working in a natural history museum, and running all kinds of imaging devices, from digi-SLR, peltier-cooled microscope cameras with automontage/heliconfocus or 3D reconstruction (amira), to running a SEM facility, and PS work. My research is heavily relying on all those imaging techniques (plus some mol/morph-phylogenetics). Have done some writing on photography/imaging (e.g., book chapter on sci. photography; res papers on SEM techniques), and have taught a couple of photography classes.
4x5 is for my personal enjoyment, with about $2K annual stock photo sales (4x5 and 35 combined); i.e., nice hobby income, but not more. Apparently got selected as a PhotoTechniques "serious photographer"; no pay, just honor or something.
Bottom line, a mixed photo grab bag.

[matthew blais]

I actually derive about 30% of my income from Commercial Photography, the other from Design/Marketing/Printing (commercial)

[Ron Stowell]

Retired. Most of my income comes from SS, Pension, Investments; but I can spend all day and evening if like on photography. Once in a while I make a few bucks doing some photoshop work.
If I had to make a living at it, I would probably get tired of it and wish I was doing heavy duty truck repair. O I did that for a lot of years!

[windpointphoto]

The problem I see with that is that there are a lot of untrained photographers (marketing themselves as professionals) that are marketing like crazy putting out some really horrible work and are able to do it because they can pick up a digital camera, set it on autopilot and shoot like crazy and come up with a few shots that are "good enough".

So what? In the days of 35mm, remember those, you'd go out and expose rolls of film and be happy if you came home with 2 or 3 keepers. I'm not a trained photographer and make a nice income from my hobby and passion, and I take many more stinkers then winners. Guess I'm not in your league. At least they're out there making pictures instead of sitting on there butts and complaining. But lets spit on digital. Sigh.