Your work is amazing, by the way…

It’s an extremely difficult line to walk, really. The issue that I run into is pricing lower to make sure I get something because if I don’t get it, I don’t have rent and bill money… that’s a huge issue I deal with, I’ve been living month to month for a long time now.

I can’t say that I’d recommend underselling in order to build a portfolio, but that depends on what market you’re targeting. The issue it causes is that it hurts the people who lose the gigs they would have had and the market value drops as clients get used to paying less for a product.

But of course, someone just starting out typically isn’t as good as the professional of ten years, so how could they charge the same? Does anyone else have any insight on this? I’ll hold off and see if there are any other replies before continuing on with my opinions.

Good call on not underselling oneself. I’m trying to do the same.

The challenge is NOT to undersell oneself but to also convince potential parties that you would be a solid investment. It’s hard to do that sometimes (i.e., some photographers suggest underselling initially to build up a portfolio). Do you have a blog post on your “breakthrough” in music photography?

The pre-existing condition thing is another situation entirely. One one hand, it makes logical sense because why would a company take on a patient who is sure to cost them $1,000,000 when they won’t be paying $1,000,000 back to the insurance company? On the other hand, the companies use it as a ridiculous method to keep some people from getting coverage and it’s also a shame when some people can’t get coverage because of that.

I myself have not had health insurance in years. I also haven’t been to the doctor in years. I have avoided going to the doctor for a few issues (chest pains, vitiligo, possible GERD and other things) because I don’t want a preexisting condition before I get afford insurance again. I’m nowhere near being able to afford insurance, so it looks like I’m waiting until I’m forced to buy health insurance that I won’t really be able to afford.

but everyone should have the opportunity to buy health insurance. And unfortunately, due the insurance companys’ pre-existing conditions policies, many people didn’t/don’t have that opportunity.

On the shoots I talked to some of the art directors. Out of interest, I asked how many of them cared about a photo degree. 10 times out of 10, they all said the same thing, art degrees don’t matter, it’s about what you can do. They represent some of the biggest ad agencies in the world.

The average photography college graduate has no idea what they’re going to do, how they’re going to make money, or how they’re gonna pay off that 55-75k loan. Please, save yourself a lifetime of student loans and don’t go to school for photography.

Honestly, the easiest way to start off in the photo industry is to pick up the phone and work/assist for people. Amazing how many people just won’t be able to do that, it seems to hard for some. Instead, they try to take the easy way out and go to art school, hoping the degree and career services will get them photography jobs. Good luck..

I can only speak for my school, but most of the teachers haven’t been shooting commercially since the 80s and keep teaching the same things they’ve been doing during the 80s. So much of what’s being taught is out dated, and right now, the photography industry is looking for fresh/new/creative/innovative work.

I put some new stuff on flickr a bit ago. Feel free to critique it. Good or bad. Thanks bro

Do you still have the same phone number??

=)

Terrod, the thing is that’s an art degree you’re referring to falling back on. Am I mistaken or would prospective employers view that differently than a normal degree? It likely would be better than nothing, but I personally would view it differently than a degree from a regular college, since I know the courses are completely different.

And Jesse, my posts are about making a career in photography. Sure, not all artists are about the money, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

The Bachelor at RMIT is 80% mature age students, with only a small faction getting through from High School.

This is due to a rigorous portfolio crit and interview.

However, I don’t think you should tell people to not go to school for photography. When you’re passionate about something, you want to know everything you can about it. If you don’t learn anything about the technical aspects of photography, you’re going to learn about it’s history at the least. I’d bet you’re going to have a lot more fun in learning too. It’s probably more beneficial (money wise) to go to school for business, but not all artists are about the money. You should definitely have some experience in the matter before telling people whether or whether not to go to school for photography!

That being said, it is all about getting out there and doing it. A teacher can talk all day about photography, but you aren’t going to walk out a good photographer. It’s all about practice. I learned 99% of what I know outside of school.

PS – Those kids obviously are jealous of your work. What a joke.