[Leica] Crazy idea? Getting a photography degree

[MEB at GoodPhotos.com (Michael Eric Berube)]

> At 2:47 AM -0800 05.3.19, Richard wrote:
> 
>>>This is pretty crazy. I am almost 43, married for 21 years, have 2 
>>>kidz, silicon valley mortgage, runs a small business, and... I am 
>>>thinking about getting a photography degree...
> 
> Karen Nakamura responded: 
> Taking photo class and maybe even getting a degree are great! That's 
> not crazy at all.
> 
> What's crazy is thinking that you can actually make enough to support 
> a family and a large mortgage. Unless you have considerable savings 
> -- or enough free time to just do this part time --  you're 
> absolutely nuts. There's almost no money in photography anymore, not 
> that there ever was, but there's even less now.
> 
> And if you want to make a business of it, it might be better to go to 
> business school than photography school.  Of all my friends who got 
> an MFA, very few have jobs in the photography industry -- unless you 
> count working at the Walmart film department a job in the photo 
> industry.


I've been a professional photographer for 20 years now. I began with formal 
training in photography (US Army Photographer 85-89) but my actual degree 
is in Marketing. I don't think this is that uncommon in a lot of fields. I 
dabbled as a Salaryman in corporate sales right out of college before I 
returned to photography and the best salesperson I ever met, had only her 
Masters in Marine Biology as 'education!'

A Photography degree is something that I would really like to get, but 
mostly just to have as an accomplishment/accolade. Much like accolades that 
can be obtained through PPA and the like, it is not something that will 
greatly improve my business, but is more about ego and peer impression.

Unlike the fields of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, most 
'professional' photographers I know are feeding their families and have no 
formal training at all beyond good workshops, much less a degree from an 
accredited institution.

I want to second Karen's comments to a point but will disagree with the 
assertion that there is no money in photography. True the editorial/pj 
market is having a really tough time fighting 'work for hire' and $1 per 
image 'stock agencies', but I'm primarily a wedding photographer and 
business has never been better in the wedding and portrait fields.

If you want a degree in order to get the knowledge to pursue a career in 
photography, I suggest that you save your money and just learn the craft on 
your own without going deeper into debt for it. There are tons of less 
costly ways to get started. Please note: I DON'T recommend enlistment into 
the military today as one of the better ways to get into photographer 
however! :)

If you want a degree simply for the experience of having another sheepskin 
on your wall, then whatever path you wish to pursue that best fits your 
finances and family time situation would be best up to you.

I will say this...I have been a wageslave in retail and had no money and no 
family time... I was a salaryman in the soulless corporate world and made 
really good money but had even less family time (and had troubled sleep)... 
I am now a self employed photographer  and I have enough money to pay for 
our modest lifestyle and I enjoy lots of family time. I can't imagine doing 
anything else.

Carpe Lumen,
Michael Eric Berube
www.GoodPhotos.com
www.AnotherMaine.com