Full Time or Part Time Photography Studio – What’s Possible?

Is a full time photography studio possible in today’s economic times? It all depends on your perspective, and what you’re willing to do.

In many ways, you can say that about any industry, or any job. Can a family of four survive on one salary from one company? In many cases the answer is no. Even if you have one spouse working, the other at home with the kids, chances are they are doing something else to bring in another stream of income. Maybe selling things on eBay. Or starting up a direct marketing company with your favorite drink or supplement product.

What about selling online? You can’t miss the ads that say you can easily make $100,000 or more simply by starting up a website and doing a little bit of work. I see them all the time, and know that simply isn’t true.

So is photography any different?

A lot of it depends on what you’re willing to do, and how much you’re willing to get out there and market what you want to do.

Start with what you desire. How much income do you need to make? With housing costs, living expenses, and everything you need to have the lifestyle you choose, what is the amount of income you need every single month?

Now think about how you want to live your life. Do you have multiple interests, and want to use each of them every day? Or do you want to focus in on one talent, and see how far that can take you?

For me, its been a changing process. I love photography, and have always had a passion for it. But I also have a passion for writing and sharing my knowledge with others as well. While photography has been a good part of my life for many years, its now morphed into a career that allows me to write and teach about photography as well. So in essence I’m doing what I love in a variety of ways.

Did I have a full time income from photography? Definitely. I’m lucky enough to say I made a healthy six figure income from my photography year after year. And likewise I can now say I make a healthy six figure income from my writing and teaching path as well.

So in many ways, when people ask if its possible to have a full time career in photography now – or can they only do it as a side business, I have to say “yes”. “Yes” because its all what you believe you can do.

So if you want it to be a full time career, what connections are you going to make to bring in enough clients to give you the income you desire? What are you going to charge to guarantee a healthy income? How are you going to market your business? What are you going to change to make sure you achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself?