Are You Facing Photographer Burn Out?
July 22, 2008 by Virtual Photography
Filed under Blog, Six Figure Photographer
Your dream has always been photographing. Your true desire is to become a full time photographer, and have the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.
But somewhere along the way you’ve been caught up in chaos.
- Photographing seven days of the week.
- Having client after client purchase just the bare minimum.
- Wondering where your next client will come from.
- Lowering your prices because everyone else is doing it too.
When will it all end?
Have you ever had someone tell you to double your prices and you’ll actually gain more clients?
It’s true.
Instead of following in the footsteps of non-successful photographers, make a change and follow in the footsteps of successful ones.
Successful photographers know:
- People that love photography don’t care about price.
- Price conscious photographers don’t take the best photos possible; they’re too worried about survival.
- The more you concentrate on your photography and your final products, the better your clients will perceive you to be.
- The value comes from your expertise and your creative eye; not from the prices of your 8×10s.
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I’d love to double my prices. I’m not sure it will go over in my area though. The question is…can I chance it? Has anyone tried it in an area where most clients are price shoppers? If so, would you feel comfortable sharing the results? Thank you!
I dread going to work. I dread dealing with my clients. I dread the post production. I have lost my dream that lead me like a star for years. That dream was to be a great photographer. Now I am a great photographer and am miserable. I worked hard at it. Got a Master’s degree. Shot and shot and shot. Now I feel like chucking it all and going on to something new. Am I lost or onto some new calling?
I started with film, beautiful black and white prints. Then digital came and cheapened the art of the whole endeavor. With Pictage I don’t even see the prints that go to clients anymore. It has become a factory instead of an atelier. Who knows how long the prints will last? I don’t believe in what I am selling anymore. There are 20 decent photographers who are happy with this new paradigm. They sell, have a great website, get an assistant, and make mediocre work that the public loves. I feel ill in the face of it all. Burnt out.
Hi Tom
I know exactly what you are saying, and even faced a bit of this myself several years ago. When I hit “the dread”, I did stop everything and refocus. I took something else I loved – writing – and made a whole new career out of it by writing a couple of books and writing for magazines. Everntually it all came around, and I now write a ton of things for photographers as well. I’m once again passionate about photography, only from a completely different aspect.
So let me ask you, what does make you happy? If you could reinvent yourself tomorrow, what would you see yourself doing? Make a goal to start putting that into place while you keep working at your photography. Take a year or two to phase one out, and the other in (unless you are financially free and can quit photography now without worrying about money). When I did this, I started loving everything I was doing again. And I found a way to incorporate my first love of photography back into what I do.
Good luck!