[Leica] Professional photographers?

[Tina Manley]

I still manage to make a living as a professional photographer.  I do it
with a combination of stock sales and assignments.  It gets harder every
year because everybody is a photographer these days!  I do go to a lot of
places that most travelers do not and since they are places that are in the
news today (Syria, Iran, Central America) the photos sell.  I also have
access through the agencies I work with as a mission consultant that most
people do not have.

My husband is my business manager and he makes sure that I make a profit
three out of five years.  He tells me when I can and cannot afford to add
more equipment.

I still find Leica equipment to be worth the expense due to the quality and
durability.  I very much regret the one-year detour I made with Canon.  The
new SL is the best camera I have ever used and the lenses are outstanding.
I'm still able to carry them around all day, thank goodness!

I am probably even more in the minority since I am a female professional
photographer and Leica user!!

Tina

On Wed, Sep 19, 2018 at 12:59 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin via LUG <
lug at leica-users.org> wrote:

> When I mentioned the almost impossibility of selling figurative photos at
> art and photo shows several LUG members suggested that I repost this note.
> It was written half a decade ago and is still relevant today.
>
> "A couple of truths. Photography is not legally a profession in most parts
> of the USA. Anyone can call themselves a "professional photographer." There
> are no exams, no licenses, no boards of regulation, no educational
> requirements. Your doctor, dentist, architect, lawyer, accountant,
> podiatrist, and even your kid's kindergarten teacher are professionals.
> Photography is either a hobby or a business. In some communities you must
> have a business license to operate. But having a business license does not
> mean that you are legally a professional. According to the IRS, if you
> don't make money three years out of five, it is a hobby. The Bureau of
> Labor Statistics data shows that there are 152,000 people in the U.S. who
> classify themselves as photographers but only about 10% of those make a
> living which puts them solidly in the middle class. If the practice of
> photography is their only income, the rest qualify for food stamps. Many
> LUG members who profess to making a nice living from photogr
>  aphy are not free lancers but are or were gainfully employed by some
> organization who paid them to take pictures.
>
> Second, photographic equipment has evolved to the point where little
> technical knowledge is required to make adequate photographs. Anyone can
> pick up a camera, point it at a subject and get a perfectly exposed, in
> focus, image. It is all in knowing where to point the camera and that
> facility is shared by many who do not classify themselves as photographers.
> There is no long apprenticeship learning the fundamentals. The entry bar is
> very low. This extends to commercial photography as well as pictures of
> Aunt Julia. A national distributor of mechanical fasteners in my
> neighborhood photographs all the pictures in his voluminous catalog
> himself. "Why," he says, "pay thousands to a professional photographer. How
> much skill does it take to make a picture of a bolt?"
>
> Third, professional quality equipment is cheap and readily available.
> Canon expects to sell 26 million cameras this year. Two million will be of
> professional level. Nikon, Sony, and even Leica will add to the sum,
> perhaps 5 million pro cameras in total. Clearly there is no shortage of
> equipment which can meet the highest standards for publication. And the
> stuff is easier than ever to use.
>
> The LUG has over 1000 members all of whom have a high interest in
> photography and probably possess professional level equipment. How many of
> us make a living from photography alone? Just photography. No other day
> jobs, investment, trust fund, Social Security, retirement benefits or
> spousal income included. I mean a real living. The average middle class
> income in the US is $40,000. The poverty level is under $20,000. Remember
> you can make that much by frying hamburgers at Burger King. If you don't
> make an adequate living income from photography, no matter how skilled you
> are, you are practicing a hobby. Unless more than 100 LUG members are
> gainfully employed in photography, I maintain that the "professionals"
> amongst us are a distinct minority, unrepresentative of the interests of
> the entire group. If we listen to them we might as well expect all real
> photographers to only use Leicas.
>
> Larry Z
>
>
> A couple of truths. Photography is not legally a profession in most parts
> of the USA. Anyone can call themselves a "professional photographer." There
> are no exams, no licenses, no boards of regulation, no educational
> requirements. Your doctor, dentist, architect, lawyer, accountant,
> podiatrist, and even your kid's kindergarten teacher are professionals.
> Photography is either a hobby or a business. In some communities you must
> have a business license to operate. But having a business license does not
> mean that you are legally a professional. According to the IRS, if you
> don't make money three years out of five, it is a hobby. The Bureau of
> Labor Statistics data shows that there are 152,000 people in the U.S. who
> classify themselves as photographers but only about 10% of those make a
> living which puts them solidly in the middle class. If the practice of
> photography is their only income, the rest qualify for food stamps. Many
> LUG members who profess to making a nice living from photogra
>  phy are not free lancers but are or were gainfully employed by some
> organization who paid them to take pictures.
>
> Second, photographic equipment has evolved to the point where little
> technical knowledge is required to make adequate photographs. Anyone can
> pick up a camera, point it at a subject and get a perfectly exposed, in
> focus, image. It is all in knowing where to point the camera and that
> facility is shared by many who do not classify themselves as photographers.
> There is no long apprenticeship learning the fundamentals. The entry bar is
> very low. This extends to commercial photography as well as pictures of
> Aunt Julia. A national distributor of mechanical fasteners in my
> neighborhood photographs all the pictures in his voluminous catalog
> himself. "Why," he says, "pay thousands to a professional photographer. How
> much skill does it take to make a picture of a bolt?"
>
> Third, professional quality equipment is cheap and readily available.
> Canon expects to sell 26 million cameras this year. Two million will be of
> professional level. Nikon, Sony, and even Leica will add to the sum,
> perhaps 5 million pro cameras in total. Clearly there is no shortage of
> equipment which can meet the highest standards for publication. And the
> stuff is easier than ever to use.
>
> The LUG has over 1000 members all of whom have a high interest in
> photography and probably possess professional level equipment. How many of
> us make a living from photography alone? Just photography. No other day
> jobs, investment, trust fund, Social Security, retirement benefits or
> spousal income included. I mean a real living. The average middle class
> income in the US is $40,000. The poverty level is under $20,000. Remember
> you can make that much by frying hamburgers at Burger King. If you don't
> make an adequate living income from photography, no matter how skilled you
> are, you are practicing a hobby. Unless more than 100 LUG members are
> gainfully employed in photography, I maintain that the "professionals"
> amongst us are a distinct minority, unrepresentative of the interests of
> the entire group. If we listen to them we might as well expect all real
> photographers to only use Leicas."
>
> Larry Z
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>



-- 
Tina Manley
www.tinamanley.com
tina-manley.artistwebsites.com
http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley
<http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0-4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html>