Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>Not being a professional photographer, it is disturbing to hear about how >difficult it is to be a professional photographer. Is this generally true or >is this the exception? I guess I have always romanticized photography as a >profession. > >Tom Shea Being a professional photographer is an extremely demanding job. Imagine this..you shoot pictures nearly every day, sometimes you're nuts about what your doing, other times not so nuts. The person that has hired you has done so because of your portfolio (I'm talking about the advertising market) and expects that type of quality (rightfully so). I show about 25 images in my book culled from the last few years. You are expected to deliver at that level. No excuses. Nobody remembers the weather, the budget, the asshole, the last minute changes, the client, the deadline, or the dozen other factors that can lead to medioricty, they only see the final shot. In other words, it can be a very stressfull job. I love it. I hate it. I love it....I work best under the gun. Now, this isn't to say that many, many other jobs aren't worse, I can't imagine being a brain surgeon or something that actually has consequences, but it's not what I call "romantic". On the other hand, there was all that time in the Carribean.... Charles