Why Are You Not Following Your Dream of Becoming a Photographer?
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Why are you not starting your photography business in 2022? What's holding you back? Here are some tips that should get you to the next steps to quit your 9-5 and how to start a photography business in 2022.
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#photographybusiness #weddingphotographyeducation #weddingphotography
What are your tips for leaving your 9-5??
I dont have any yet...cause im still there lol. Im in one of the parcaious situations. I have a super comfy IT WFH job, so i can do both at the same time. at times its like buring the candle at both ends, and yes it goes limit me to weekends for photography and at night durring the summer / spring, but im almost at a point where im complety dept free and then i can think about leaving it. Ive been second shooting for the past year and running my own thing while investing back into the photo biz with education! Cant stress that enough. ALWAYS BE LEARNING!! Ive learned a lot from you man!!
Ya know John, I did pretty much did exactly what you did lol. It ALL starts with removing debt and budgeting. One thing I'll add (and that I did/do) is have six month's worth of expenses saved before one leaves the workforce to go full-time as a photographer/filmmaker. Having that in place provides peace of mind and hedges against taking bad jobs because one needs the income. I've been at it a little over a year full time and I haven't looked back. Thanks for what you do and keep your foot on the gas John!
@@MUSAVISUALMEDIA YES! Having that extra money saved up really makes a huge difference when you quit your day job. That way instead of worrying about how your bills are going to get paid you can just focus on putting in the work and growing your business.
@@jbivphotography facts plus tax!! People often think of a budget as a bad or restrictive thing when in fact it's extremely liberating.
Thank you for the video! It does comfort me more and more. I would like to eliminate my debt forsure before taking that leap
I'm scared of failure and not being good enough especially on the business side
U n i both
The failure part is honestly the scariest. Especially when it comes to the business side. Taking photos is the easier part, but honestly with a good CRM and some elbow grease the business side isn't as hard either.
I just get so overwhelmed with the thought of what I need to do to succeed . Im still learning my craft but im so worried about marketing myself, and putting my work out there. I need to get over the fear and do more practice shoots.
This video lit something under me, I hope I can make some moves !
Glad to hear that, you got this
Yeah man, great video. I fully support the slow transition tactic. Both of us at Maine Mountain Media worked bar tending and even as we started to do well in photography, we kept just one or two nights a week tending bar, so we had cash inflow. This gave us the freedom to say yes to nearly any gig.
We even spent a few years bartending weddings! It is a huge help to get used to the flow of wedding days, and you even get some feedback from customers about what they think of the wedding photographers (people love to confide in bartenders) so we learned what works and doesn't work before we got into wedding photography.
Thanks for the video. This is encouraging. 9 to 5 in a wrong career is depressing.
I really like the way you phrase this topic in a different way than most I’ve heard. It’s not all ‘just do it’ ‘if you build it, they will come’ mentality. There are practice steps to check off the list. I quit my job in Feb this year and it was the scariest thing for me to actually do. I was happy to leave my day job behind but I knew going into it that this was going to be hard and financially stressful for me and the fam. Looking back I wish I had a better plan to follow logistically but don’t think I’d actually change the way I wound up where I’m at. Love your videos bro! Keep killin it! ❤
Exactly! A lot of times things end up working themselves out but having a plan and some safeguards are usually very helpful. My biggest goal is to encourage others to get away from their fear of change so that they can jump into running their own business.
@@jbivphotography I’d love to hear your take on what to do at 6 months in after going full time. I personally continue to struggle to find brides even now without bridal fairs.
I appreciate this question. I’d like to hear that info as well.
For me is I love keeping it as a hobby because it keeps it fun and light hearted but when it becomes my main job I’ll be so stressed trying to make ends meet
Got the website, local business license, and the right kit. Now is just the struggle of finding the right clients. I find myself struggling to build that network. You have talked about this in the past, but what helped you get to that "aha" moment with networking/marketing?
Hey Reed, I started as a wedding photographer this year with zero clients or network and now I have delivered my tenth gallery. My first step was to organize a styled shoot myself. For that I reached out to a lot of vendors, talked to them and built relationships. This really got my name out and bookings came. But I also got myself a business mentor who helped and coached me on doing business and marketing. Worked for and I‘m sure it will work for you as well.
@@christophkuenster The vendors didn’t care that you were just starting?
@@kenuwhoknew Not at all.
@@christophkuenster that is great advice. This is something that I would like to do, but need to put in the work to get it done. So you just cold called these vendors?
@@reedramsey9556 yeah, indeed. It sounds scarier than it actually is.
Everything in this video spoke to me. Inspired. I’m a pregnant SAHM of 3 so the fact you have a big family and did this, makes it seem attainable.
That's the biggest thing I hope to get across. It wasn't easy at all. When I started my photograhy business I had one child and my wife decided to stay at home with her. I had a 9-5 and also started building the business. When I left my 9-5 and moved from NYC to NC I had 2 kids at that point. And while NC being self employeed we had 2 more kids. This was all while quitting my day job and depending on my business alone. I don't feel like I did anything special which is why I hope this inspires a bunch of people.
@@jbivphotography Greatful for your response. Oh wow, you really did go for it and it paid off. Your story gives hope. How did you deal with the naysayers? And how do you manage your work/family life balance? Would love to hear more on these aspects. On top of having a family, I’m old so I have that against me too lol. Had a couple people say it’s pointless at this point in my life. I’m a total beginner and learning the craft but I’ve been so inspired that it CAN be possible that I just made me own YT video to document my journey. Thank you for the insight your channel provides!
@angel brandon I just subbed too.
Respect and respect given again man. Cutting the debt and setting a budget is one of the best ways to remove some of that weight from your shoulders. I'm leaning in, but more ways to go. Keep Pushing.
Greetings Sir.
I love photography, I delayed for years because of school, but I'm grateful that I'm learning already.
Also, i have been listening to you, I'm always learning and being motivated.
I'm grateful Mr John.
John Thank you so much.
I haven't been focusing on my goals and literally stopped watching videos and doing photography. Thank you for the inspiration. Starting right now, I will get back and stay focus.
I've been shooting weddings now for 6 years, always around 10 per year but really struggling to get that up closer to 20. I get great feedback from my wedding clients, and have a fairly active IG and website. I used to have loads of success from FB ads but it's a graveyard now - IG ads haven't been as successful. Feel slightly stuck and it's affecting my confidence as a photographer at this point.
:(
SAME.
Hey John, thank you for the excellent videos! I've been a portrait and fashion photographer for that last year and a half. I completed my first wedding 2 weeks ago and I wouldn't have made it without the guidance of your videos. Thank you again and God bless you!
So awesome! I’m glad to hear that I helped out with you completing a wedding 👏👏👏
@@jbivphotography my 16 year old daughter was my second shooter and she watched your video extensively also. She was able to capture some stunning photos!
@@jamesjohnsonjr.6471 👏👏👏
Thanks for the advice. Can really tell you're trying to help people 🙏
That's good to hear. I try my best to be as genuine as possible.
So.. a friend above the crowd. Some years of trying, obviously with the friend on side. Sounds easy.
I wanted to go out of my way and give my gratitude for you and this platform you’ve built. You’ve been nothing but inspirational and motivating to me.
I’ll get some courses and try harder at being a photographer. Thanks again!
Thank you. I’m glad to hear that my videos have been helpful.
Nice points. I quit my job and started a part time job while getting my photo business started. (I paid off my bills before I quit and I used some tips from your phot business vid in 2020) Thanks for the support.
Super awesome! Going for something part time is a great option as well!!
@@jbivphotography yeah it worked out perfect. I volunteered to do the staffs photos and that put my name out there and shot my clientele up quite a bit. 🙌🏾
Hey John! I'm greatly appreciative of this video. You have no idea how much this video lifted me up. Thank you.
YES!! 👏👏 You got this!
Thanks for the encouragement
You’re welcome! I hope it was helpful.
Watching JB is just extra motivation at this point
I hope so! Get out there and get it done!!
Hi John, greeting from Taiwan, and It seems getting cold in NC！🥶
Yep. Starting to get cold. But I love it. Sweater season is my favorite.
Family of 6 of one income is all I needed to hear this man knows everything he’s talking about😂
😂😂 it’s a rough grind but I’m happy I can provide comfort for my family.
I found my mentor 2 years ago. I found him by chance, some may have heard of him.........John, sincerely from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Family of 6 as well, you have helped me from wedding #1 to just completing wedding #28.
This is a great video!
I was so ready to drop out from school since I already started my business as a freelance. I didn't see the value of my degree in the future as it doesn't align to my dream. Even if I had urges. There are factors which prevent me from going to a clearer path that I have. I feel like my studies hinders me from fulfilling my dream. As I'm having very tough time on school because of thesis writings and others. I honestly don't know now what to do. School is draining me physically and mentally.
Thx for the straight forward advice. 😊 there is always something to learn.
You're welcome. I hope this was helpful.
JBIV the Photographers Champ!!! 💪🏽 These are great tips.. especially about paying of debt. Nowadays that is sooo important especially with interest rates flying off the rocker. Great video!
OMG THE INTEREST RATES! 😫😫 Being out of debt is the only reason I'm surviving right now. Honestly I think I'm going to make a video on this subject just for members and go a little more in-depth with it.
Thanks john
I hope this was helpful and motivating.
Love your advice! The best video ever 😍😭💗
Thanks for that video! Really inspiring. I really struggle hard with all of that but at different points.
But this is a good call to be honest with your self again and work on the things that are in the way making it actually happen
👏👏👏👏
Great timing for this video. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
man I want to follow this so bad... 7 years in and still no guts to cut the 9-5. This year is the hardest with barely any weddings booked due to lack of inquiries and makes me wanna bail... sigh my wife and kids deserve my time... I just don't know what to do about this year. -__-
Thank you so much for this video. Really is inspirational
Glad it was helpful!
A great video John, some really interesting food for thought. I'm about to cut my hours in half to go daddy day care with our first born, In a few years when child is at school I'd love to make up my salary with my own small photography business. Keep up the good work, you have a great channel going on here.
That sounds awesome. Good luck with everything. While you’re cutting hours now and daddy daycare make sure to practice your craft. So that when you’re ready to possibly bring in some income you’ll have some photography skill and knowledge under your belt.
I own an XT-4 and have tried to get into second-shooting, but most lead photographers require a Canon or Nikon :(
John who do you use for your business cards. Thank you love your videos. Have done two weddings thinking about doing this when I retire.
I'm attempting this shift, as I am about to be a full time Engineer. Engineering kinda burned me out as a student tbh
You rock! Super inspiring ☺️👏👏👏!
Thanks so much!!
That's really motivating! But the biggest struggle for me is to get clients. I live in one of the biggest cities in germany and here are sooo many photographers, that It's really hard to be the one getting the job. It feels like a competition who has the best marketing strategy.
I know, that my skills are good enough, but this is just a big struggle.
+ in germany you have to pay ridiculous amounts of taxes when you run your own business. More that 50% for taxes, insurances and so on, it's really demotivating.
OMG 50% taxes sounds rough. I fully understand feeling like getting clients is hard. When I was doing my business while in NYC it was a struggle. So many photographers. I felt like a “small fish in a big ocean”. The biggest thing is to keep grinding and to find your people. Usually when you can get into the correct market of your people booking becomes much easier. I know it’s easier said than done but keep at it. I’m sure things will get better.
@@jbivphotography Thanks, I try to be positive and find my people. Do you mean that I have to focus on a specific target group and do more networking or to focus on a specific picture style? Maybe both to really stand out? How was you strategy?
Working my way there, but it's been slow going so far!
It really is slow going. Honestly from me paying of my debt including me growing my business and going full time it's been basically 10 years. So as stated it's really not easy. And while I'm making ends meet it's not like I'm over here ballin'. Especially with 4 kids.
@@jbivphotography I really appreciate your videos dude, especially as a fuji shooter that wants to make their way into weddings. Any chance I could send you some of my work and get some CC?
The hardest thing for myself is truly understanding my camera and making sure things are in focus.
That's really challenging. I should have some more videos coming out about the basics soon enough which should help out.
Same here fam..💔
I always get carried away with subject that I forget about settings, just to realise light has changed and last photos are mostly unusable.
working as a second shooter is impossible , wedding photographers only want experienced wedding photographers , they all tell you to second shoot but have no interest in actually having anyone with limited experience. So you're forced to just do weddings by yourself and having a website is great if you have the images to promote yourself but if you don't then you have to do workshops but the so called pro photographers will tell you not to use those images as they were taken in a controlled environment and not at a real wedding. So personally i'm having to do very low budget weddings which aren't at the best venues. But i haven't given up on wanting to be a wedding photographer despite being 51
I needed to hear this
I hope this was helpful. Good luck in all of your endeavors
Good stuff John.
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you for this ✨☀️✨
I hope it was helpful and inspiring.
@@jbivphotography It was both and right on time. Enjoy the rest of your week. ✨☀️✨
I am indeed following the dream. I'm old enough to be retired, but here I am.
Now, understand this: Dreams require hard work and plenty of it. So pay attention to what John says on this channel.
I've been a subscriber for just a few months, but he has already helped me lift my photographic AND customer service games. Guess which of these games is most important -- if you guessed "customer service," you're right.
Continuous education? Well, I'm all over that. Took Matt Granger's "Wedding Photography 101" class during the summer of 2021. That was shortly after my first-ever wedding shoot. Now, shortly after my second shoot, I'm working my way through Roberto Valenzuela's book trilogy. Highly recommended.
The only way this is possible is if one harnesses the power of MAGENTA. Thanks John for sharing and helping me in my own journey.
😂😂 I turned the magenta up to 100% and all was well.
@@jbivphotography you out here handing out Senzu beans, magenta mutated of course. Time to level up!
I’m trying JB
You got this.
all depends on random matches
Damn mad respect to you
Thank you. It's not a easy journey in the least. But here I am. I hope it's encouraging to others.
@@jbivphotography very encouraging been watching you for quite sometime now. Didn’t realize that you had such a big family. Plus coming from you paying off debts like that for you and your wife wow. I’m trying to get photography business and I’m saving for a camera. Been watching you a lot for inspiration.
Thank you for all that you do. I’m actually trying to contact you for a bit of circumstantial advice. Should I join a stream or something in order to reach you better?
Bra! your content is so fucking valuable!!! I'm based in Tasmania and just quit my job to pursue photography. Complete opposite to you... no kids and my mrs income is enough to float both of us. But I'm still hungry!
I hope this gave you some motivation! Your situation is actually a great one. Just gotta keep grinding and get the business working and before you know it things will be amazing! Thanks for watching.
What do you prefer? A brand new name or the photographer's name for the photography biz? Which is better to establish a personal brand? Thank you
Honestly it's hard to decide and it really depends on you and your business. A lot of times I wish I would have had something different than just my name. I think you have to look long term and think if you're going to have associates shooting weddings for you as well or not.
Any chance you’re launching a mentorship program? Cause I’d totally enroll lol hint hint 😁
I really want to. Right now I offer mentor sessions but I’m trying to find the best way to put together a mentor program that would be valuable for the mentees. I want to make sure it’s done the right way and doesn’t just look like I’m trying to make money.
Can you give some tips on how to find a mentor? Do you pay them? I already have / have done everything you listed in the video (still paying off the debt) just need more bookings to pay it off quicker. That’s my final hurdle.
I always enjoy your content. Thanks!
For mentors depending on who they are you might have to pay them. Technically I was working for my mentor as an associate photographer so that's how I was "paying him" by allowing his business to take more weddings but also in that he was training me and also allowing me to build my own business.
@@jbivphotography Thanks John! I appreciate the response.
Hello! I recently got a canon 5d markII, what lens would you recommend me getting for couples and weddings?
Honestly any lens will work great. I personally am a fan of primes so I would say a good fat 50mm would fit the bill.
For me it’s because there’s 100 photographers doing this not all the same quality but there still fishing in the same pond
OMG! 6!?!?! i am struggling with 1! >.
Yeah me and my wife make a lot of sacrifices. But it’s all worth it. Love my family.
@@jbivphotography amazing mate. sending u love and good vibes from sydney Australia. thanks for the inspiration and for showing me that I can push harder and go further with the right mind set
Is it bad to start my business too early? Like establish a website business cards and all that? Should I wait?
It's not. However, keep in mind that stuff costs money so if you're not ready to start putting some money into websites and business cards I would wait for a little bit.
@@jbivphotography I work a 9-5 and have the money coming in to put it into looking professional but I wanna one day leave it for photography but I’ve only been doing photography for a couple of months and have been learning the craft and editing all around I just hope my pictures are good enough and it doesn’t hurt my brand to do it after only a couple months but I’ve been photshoots friends and family 😬 thanks for responding I’ve been learning a lot from you😊
It’s because Everyone is a professional photographer now. Also technology is destroying that with every new phone that’s developed. Also living in a small city filled with so called professionals.
For me it's the gear. My work is good but most people don't get that it's not the gear but the person behind the camera.
That's interesting. You might be attracting the wrong type of clients. Because the gear shouldn't help you with getting clients at all. Most so your work.
@@jbivphotography I agree with this
That's what I keep telling myself. I will continue to work hard and build on what I love to do.
Dear John! I watch your videos and practicing my photography skills every weekend with walking and shooting on the streets. What would you recommend me to do to become a wedding photographer when I work on every weekday from 8 to 16:30? Thank you!
Damn.
👍
because i have no money for camera and lens.
I’m scared about being a wedding photographer bc you are responsible for how the pictures turn out. I’m wanting to do it for the money. But you can’t have the bride walk down the aisle twice bc you didn’t get the shot you wanted to. 😬
It's definitely important to learn the craft, which is more than possible today with all the free resources online.
@@jbivphotography i agree. I’ve learned everything from UA-cam University. 👍🏼
first
Thanks for always being here.
I need to move out of California 😂
Gosh Cali is so expensive. The lighting there however is absolutely amazing.
@@jbivphotography yes. nice weather. but u have to make lots $$$$ to live in a nice area. out of all my kids my youngest is doing ok and that’s with a 200K yr salary 😮. coders, software engineers, seem to be doing ok. my daughter bailed and moved to Ohio.
Very easy question…because i cant get Models even for free and my pictures have less likes than shithole pics on Instagram of other photographers
Stop watching videos and go out and shoot .... there are people like me to watch videos ... 😆