The journey of a photographer is continuous and ever changing. What one may decide to start with may not be the final choice in photographic material. One may like some of what is required for being a professional photographer in one kind of work but not other just as crucial aspects of the job. I, like others before me, faced this same challenge. This is the story of how I became a professional landscape and fine art photographer.
As any new photographer does, I began by experimenting with different kinds of photography to see what I liked best. I have dabbled in many of the different genres including weddings, portraits, model photography, real estate photography, landscapes, fine art, sports and action work, photojournalism, and product photography.
I found that I liked and disliked very different aspects of each style of work. So, I decided to try a few that I liked well enough. These included weddings, portraits, and landscapes.
I started my business on a very different premise than the one I currently have but I quickly migrated over to those particular subjects as my main focus. I thought I did a good job and hoped to improve as time went by. My plan was to increase my portfolio and make a living on the bread-and-butter areas of photography in Southeastern Idaho.
Most of my customers were happy with, or at least not unhappy, with my work. I have seen a few of those customers displaying copies of their portrait sessions with me proudly in their homes.
I began to notice that my wedding and portrait work, while there was nothing wrong with it, was not up to the standard of my landscape and fine art photography. It was a hard and long fought over decision to drop wedding work and de-emphasize portrait work.
The crucial decision point was when I did a wedding for a couple and their dissatisfaction was expressed after delivery of their digital wedding images on DVD. There were many problems with the way they expressed their dissatisfaction which lead me to believe there were other reasons for what happened. While they decided to use the tactic of giving me constructive criticism, they said a few things which were utterly cruel. I was compared to another wedding photographer they knew and my style was found lacking to the point of almost being called an amateur. I will not elaborate on what all of what they had to say to me, but I ended up losing money on that job.
It hurt. I will not deny it. It hurt a lot. But it ended up confirming what I was already beginning to suspect: that wedding photography was not for me. Dealing with customers and high emotions was not my strong point. I needed to find another type of photography which I was passionate about. The lack of passion was getting obvious in my wedding and portrait work.
My spouse had been taking some business classes. There he learned about some different types of business plans and business personalities. Given what we learned about our personalities from those studies, we learned that we needed something as hands-off as we could get. I had already found enjoyment in working with landscape photography and even some fine art work as well. As I already had the beginnings of a workable portfolio, I made the switch. I became a professional landscape and fine art photographer.
