Tough but rewarding: HireRush photographers about their job

It has become quite fashionable to photograph today. Real photographers complain that every man and his dog take pictures today and call themselves photographers taking $99 for their services according to ads on Internet pages. It seems very simple… You buy an expensive camera and take great pictures. The truth is a little bit different, as professionals say that it is a painstaking everyday work that demands mastery, experience, and ability to see beauty even in the most mundane things.

Being a photographer was always alluring, but not that popular as today.  As Winston Churchill said ‘Photography is a historian of the future.' Indeed, photography is not just a simple fixation of the present moment; each photo reflects the historical reality to some extent. A newbie should give priorities to the history of photography, the basis of composition, peculiarities of human visual information perception, and then shape, lightning, scope, facture and so on.   

Of course, if you would like to become a professional, you will have to study this art from the very outset. It comprises the operation of analog and digital cameras, working with applicable photography, graphic computer applications, and customer relations. Like it or not, you should read theoretical material a lot, practice every day and have a true love for photography as a kind of ingenious art. As without love to photography, the process of the reality capturing is just casual journalism.

In fact, photographers, notably freelancers, spend more time without a camera than they do behind the lens. Though from time to time photographers may get to travel the world to take pictures in exotic locations, their main task is to create a masterpiece in solitude. In any case, except few common romantic ideas, we can distinguish such pros of a photography career:

• Freedom and self-employment;
• Flexibility and the chance to be a freelancer;
• Creative self-expression;
• Collaboration with V.I.P.s ;
• New ties and opportunities for own business;
• Autonomy;
• Work with a variety of subjects (e.g. architecture, news, facts or recent events);
• Framing of serious events, from weddings to international scandals, catastrophes, wars, conflicts etc;
• Choice of specialties (it can comprise about 30 fields, such as fashion, landscape, wildlife, action or sport, events, architecture, photojournalism, wedding, advertising, stock, science, erotic, paparazzi etc.);

Yet, there are some serious pitfalls that a photographer can face in his or her career, such as:

• rival career path;
• heavy equipment burden;
• rigid framework (some specialties, like news photographers, work irregular hours);
• income from photography isn't always steady (especially for freelancers);
• running a business can be stressful (for self-employed photographers);
• digital camera equipment can be expensive at the start of one's career;
• work in hazardous areas or tough weather conditions;

The career prospect of photography holds many opportunities but will stay competitive.
Many top-rate photographers have other skills to their craft, such as design, video, education and writing. Photography allures dozens of young people with more than half of all photographers being self-employed. Photographers who are self-employed and work full-time earn more than their colleagues. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the self-employed lead the field in terms of pay, with a median salary of $43,374 in 2018, with overall cash earnings stretch from $22,000 near the bottom to $96,000 near the top.

Pricing photography is one of the toughest duties involved in being a professional photographer. Alas, not all photographers understand their value, and not all clients value photography. Some professional veterans state that the value of the image has little to do with the status of an artist. Why does a top artist’s photography cost so much, from $300 to $2,000 per image? Let’s consider and take into account all expenses and count how many hours a real photographer spends for one photography.  In reality, the work of an artist begins long before a shoot day. It comprises the following points:

1. Primary arrangements. This process takes usually from 2 weeks to 4 months. It comprises 4-5 phone calls (up to 1 hour), 10-20 emails (2 hours), in person visit (1-2 hours), conceptualization and preparation for the shoot (it takes from 1 to 5 hours).
2. Day of shooting. Shooting takes about 8 hours (plus 2 hours for studio reset  and 1.5 hour for makeup and hair) .
3. After the camera. Then you load hundreds of images onto the computer and prepare them for the presentation that usually takes about 2-15 hours.
4. Session to review. It takes usually about 2 hours.
5. Processing of the photos. Once the images are chosen by a client, a photographer can start to edit photos. It takes approximately up to 20 hours for 10 images and includes basic editing, stylizing, body shaping, blemish, hair and cellulite removal, blotchy skin and attire tricks. It takes up to 35-40 hours for 10 images.

Let’s also add approximately 3 thousand dollars for commercial space and count number that is far from what the average person tends to consider professional photography should cost. A full-time autonomous photographer is a businessman who needs to compensate his off-camera time, education, licensing, lightning, taxes, insurance, software, advertising, marketing and support equipment that should be upgraded every few years. Indeed, having a physical studio is tough, but it is worth it.