Shannon
01-23-2008, 10:51 AM
So, You Want to Be...a Photographer
It takes more than a good eye and a great camera to succeed in this profession
Good technical skills, nice equipment, and a passion for taking pictures are qualities every good photographer needs, but nothing it more important to success than killer business instincts.
“If you’ve got great photo skills and crappy business skills, you probably won’t survive,” says Cary Wolinsky, a former photographer for National Geographic. Conversely, Wolinsky says, if you’ve got great business skills and okay photography skills, you’ve got a shot.
Whether they specialize in commercial and advertising work, portraits, weddings, or photojournalism, the vast number of photographers today are freelance or contract employees; they work for themselves. So, it’s critical they know how to build networks and market themselves.
“Thirty to 40 percent of the job is taking pictures,” says Tom Kates, a freelance photographer in South Boston. “The rest of it is selling yourself, running the business, and networking. A lot of people out there take nice pictures. Being the guy they call is the trick.”
So how do novice photographers get started? There are a lot of different routes, but one way into the profession is formal education. Wolinsky, now co-director of the photography certificate program at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA), says many of his students hold down day jobs, while following their dream at night.
“A lot of our students are working professionals, living a ‘cubiclized’ existence, but they have a secret; they’ve got a passion bottled up inside, and they’re dying to give it a go.”
Wolinsky’s students include MBAs, doctors, marketing professionals, and entrepreneurs, who range in age from mid-to-late 20s to mid-30s. The ones with previous business training do the best when they enter the photography marketplace. “They make the switch much more fluidly than even I anticipate,” says Wolinsky. “They know a lot more than I did when I started taking photos.”
Wolinsky, who lives in Norwell, began his career working as a news and magazine photographer for the Boston Globe in 1968, while earning a degree in journalism at Boston University. By 1972, he was providing freelance photo stories to national magazines, including Natural History, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Newsweek, and International Wildlife. Today, he enjoys helping people turn their passion into a career.
At CDIA, students can earn a certificate in professional photography in nine months full time or 18 months part time in the evening. The program starts with the basics and builds from there.
“We assume that people will walk through the door with a camera still in its wrapper,” says Wolinsky. “It’s amazing, but it happens all the time.”
In today’s digital age, photographers handle every step of the process themselves, using advanced computers and software for downloading, outputting, and storing their photos. No matter what their level of technical skill and experience, Wolinsky’s students all understand the importance of tenacity.
“I tell them, it’s just keeping at it, marketing ideas, marketing yourself, building contacts and networks,” says Wolinsky. You’ve also got to be a good researcher, someone who really understands the subject and the client’s needs, he adds. The photographer’s job isn’t just to take pictures; it’s to be an idea generator for the client. “Art directors and magazine editors are on the line every time,” Wolinsky says. “What they’re looking for are people who can help them.”
To get ready for these challenges, CDIA students take short workshops in such topics as the business of photography, marketing, studio management, contracts and proposals, budgets and pricing, portfolio presentation, business development, and packaging. And before earning the certificate, every student must complete a Production Practicum, a four-week field course in which student teams work on a project for a real client.
“All good photographers take good pictures,” says Kates. “What sets them apart is their work ethic, personality, individual style, and dependability.”
Wolinsky agrees: “Stumbling across a great image of a sunset on a mountaintop is far different from getting the shot for a client, on a schedule, every time.”
http://www.boston.com/jobs/careerdevelopment/stories/4.html
It takes more than a good eye and a great camera to succeed in this profession
Good technical skills, nice equipment, and a passion for taking pictures are qualities every good photographer needs, but nothing it more important to success than killer business instincts.
“If you’ve got great photo skills and crappy business skills, you probably won’t survive,” says Cary Wolinsky, a former photographer for National Geographic. Conversely, Wolinsky says, if you’ve got great business skills and okay photography skills, you’ve got a shot.
Whether they specialize in commercial and advertising work, portraits, weddings, or photojournalism, the vast number of photographers today are freelance or contract employees; they work for themselves. So, it’s critical they know how to build networks and market themselves.
“Thirty to 40 percent of the job is taking pictures,” says Tom Kates, a freelance photographer in South Boston. “The rest of it is selling yourself, running the business, and networking. A lot of people out there take nice pictures. Being the guy they call is the trick.”
So how do novice photographers get started? There are a lot of different routes, but one way into the profession is formal education. Wolinsky, now co-director of the photography certificate program at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA), says many of his students hold down day jobs, while following their dream at night.
“A lot of our students are working professionals, living a ‘cubiclized’ existence, but they have a secret; they’ve got a passion bottled up inside, and they’re dying to give it a go.”
Wolinsky’s students include MBAs, doctors, marketing professionals, and entrepreneurs, who range in age from mid-to-late 20s to mid-30s. The ones with previous business training do the best when they enter the photography marketplace. “They make the switch much more fluidly than even I anticipate,” says Wolinsky. “They know a lot more than I did when I started taking photos.”
Wolinsky, who lives in Norwell, began his career working as a news and magazine photographer for the Boston Globe in 1968, while earning a degree in journalism at Boston University. By 1972, he was providing freelance photo stories to national magazines, including Natural History, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Newsweek, and International Wildlife. Today, he enjoys helping people turn their passion into a career.
At CDIA, students can earn a certificate in professional photography in nine months full time or 18 months part time in the evening. The program starts with the basics and builds from there.
“We assume that people will walk through the door with a camera still in its wrapper,” says Wolinsky. “It’s amazing, but it happens all the time.”
In today’s digital age, photographers handle every step of the process themselves, using advanced computers and software for downloading, outputting, and storing their photos. No matter what their level of technical skill and experience, Wolinsky’s students all understand the importance of tenacity.
“I tell them, it’s just keeping at it, marketing ideas, marketing yourself, building contacts and networks,” says Wolinsky. You’ve also got to be a good researcher, someone who really understands the subject and the client’s needs, he adds. The photographer’s job isn’t just to take pictures; it’s to be an idea generator for the client. “Art directors and magazine editors are on the line every time,” Wolinsky says. “What they’re looking for are people who can help them.”
To get ready for these challenges, CDIA students take short workshops in such topics as the business of photography, marketing, studio management, contracts and proposals, budgets and pricing, portfolio presentation, business development, and packaging. And before earning the certificate, every student must complete a Production Practicum, a four-week field course in which student teams work on a project for a real client.
“All good photographers take good pictures,” says Kates. “What sets them apart is their work ethic, personality, individual style, and dependability.”
Wolinsky agrees: “Stumbling across a great image of a sunset on a mountaintop is far different from getting the shot for a client, on a schedule, every time.”
http://www.boston.com/jobs/careerdevelopment/stories/4.html