Photography Jobs

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Permalink Reply by Cher on April 1, 2008 at 4:37pm

first thing you need to do is find your style..then build a great portfolio. make a website....then sell yourself to anyone and everyone you talk to! carry bizz cards with you and pass them out to everyone. oh and post links to your website on every site you check out or join. I have found that word of mouth is still the best (and cheapest) advertisement you can get. if people really like your work they will remember you and your work.
~~Cher~~

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Permalink Reply by Richard Schneider on April 1, 2008 at 6:59pm

I would say you definitely have to find a style or niche that sets you apart from other photographers. Its a tough business.

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Permalink Reply by Scorpio_e on April 2, 2008 at 3:13pm

I have to agree. word of mouth is the best. Its a competive business.

I had an unusual background on my computer from one of my shoot. One of my coworkers commented on the pictures and how he loved it. Out of the little discussion. I got a job for a head shot- Portfolio layout and business cards. Now his friend is looking for a location shoot. It can snowball with the right opportunity.

I have also lost business in the past by taking jobs over my head.

Best of luck to you


Ed

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Permalink Reply by Joseph C. Salonis on May 23, 2008 at 7:14pm

I'm finding that working with the local schools can be profitable. I schedule time to shoot portraits at the school dances and make prints on the spot. I then go one step further and load the pics for sale on my website and the parents can then order prints from their as well. Other than that just word of mouth seems to work the best.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Dobbs on June 19, 2008 at 10:59pm

I can't say what will work for you but I have started small and am working towards that magical breakout moment. Am doing a lot of donated work for charity, kids soccer, amateur sport teams, etc. in order to get my name out there. This also helps me to build my gallery/portfolio. This has led to a few paying assignments and will lead to more. I have had good returns on taking photographs of restored automobiles; people really like their old cars and will pay a lot to get good shots and enlargements of them.

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Permalink Reply by Neal Jorgensen on June 22, 2008 at 8:38pm

I was wondering I really enjoy taking landscapes, and animal pictures. I don't care for portrate photography. What would you sudgest to make a little money from those areas Neal

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Permalink Reply by Bill Dobbs on June 23, 2008 at 12:28am

Local business is most of ten the wedding, portrait, automobile, and house market. People want photos of their things or their events. The best ways to sell landscapes are through stock agencies, and at trade shows that bring out the public (home shows are quite popular). Some galleries will take landscapes although most want work in the 'fine art' genre.
For animals, you may want to look for kennel shows, 4H events, and etc. Although similar to taking portraits, shooting pets and special animals is good for business.
I have printed up business cards and hand many out to interested people. For example, at car shows I will write on my card that I shoot autos. Then I show them some shots in my portfolio of other cars I've taken pictures of which quite often brings on new business.
I've found photography is a hard market to break into and it requires getting yourself out there. You have to be patient and outgoing in order to make sales.

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