Don Smith has been making a living with photography for almost 40 years.
He knows the expectations people have and he’s not afraid to correct their assumptions. Being a professional photographer takes an enormous amount of hard work and dedication – read about the life behind the scenes in the following article.
MYTH:If I purchase all the best equipment that will make my images as good as yours: Equipment is important, but vision is more important. Vision is a life-long study of: light, design, perspective, art, and composition. As I have already written, vision must be developed over the years. It is not so much learning what works in a successful image as it is learning what doesn’t work. Learn to eliminate visual clutter and distill the image down to what is important. Understand that you are communicating visually and you must be clear about what is moving you to raise the camera to your eye. Feel that connection with your subject and go about capturing that emotional tug. If something isn’t moving you it certainly won’t move others. You learn to see like an artists by studying the great artists. Immerse yourself in art – everyday if possible – let it fill your soul. Also, don’t be afraid to fail – because you will. But you must learn from your failures. When reviewing a shoot, don’t be so quick to hit the Delete button. Ask yourself why you are deleting an image – why it did not work? Those become huge learning moments. A good photographer can create a great image with a smart phone nowadays. It’s more about learning to see than having the latest piece of gear.
MYTH:You get your equipment for free or at a reduced price: I pay the same price as all of you. I have been dealing with Robert’s Distributors and B&H Photo for the past 29 years. I am affiliated with a few software companies. Namely, ON1 Software. But similar to cameras and lenses, software is just a tool. The real vision comes from inside of you. I try to teach my students how to get from seeing a scene literally to seeing it artistically. Ansel Adams called this process “prevsualization.” The reason I work with the top-of-the-line cameras and lenses is because that is what my competition uses. Don’t skimp on a cheap lens. Spend the money on good glass as it will last for many years. Camera technology changes almost every year or two. Sony is turning out new gear at an amazing rate because they are leading the way with mirrorless sensors and cameras. It’s really their sensors that I believe are the best you can buy. Couple this with glass the meets the standards for Zeiss branding and the combination is unbeatable!
MYTH:I make money with my camera – doesn’t that make me a pro?: This may sound harsh, but the world is littered with half-time professionals. If you truly want to call yourself a professional photographer, show me that you can support a family for a minimum of 5 years solely with your camera and art. Being a good photographer is only one side of the equation. Knowing how to be a good business-person is the other. You will wear many hats if you want to be successful, learn each side of the business and excel. Competition is stiff and you must find a way to make yourself better. For me, it’s being consistent and working hard on a daily basis. I also try and learn something new as much as possible. I didn’t learn Photoshop overnight, I had to work with it for years. It’s not only learning the tools but learning what the image needs to be successful.
MYTH:Pro‘s Have Secrets That They Only Share With Other Pros: I have to blame the magazine industry with perpetuating this fallacy. How many times have you seen the headlines: We Unlock the Pros Secrets! Learn the Pros Secrets for Better Images! Well I’m here to tell you that there are no secrets. There is no secret society that we pros live in. Where we may have the advantage is that we work hard at our craft on a daily basis while all of you are working hard at your chosen profession. Aspects of using the camera, vision, planning, post-processing may come a bit easier to us because we do it every single day, but I for one do not keep secrets. If you read this blog and/or follow my posts on Facebook or read my articles on my website you will know this is true. I share knowledge because that is my way of saying thank you to all mentors. Of course I can’t give it all away, if I did, why would anyone want to take a workshop or buy a training video? I’ve been told by some that I give away too much information. Who knows if that is true? My workshops are well-attended so in a sense, maybe someone reads what I have written and thinks, hey, I’d like to learn more from this guy!
MYTH:You are lucky: No doubt it appears that I am living a dream life but there is so much that people don’t see if one is to be successful in this business. First off, luck has nothing to do with success. Hard work and a driving passion to succeed has everything to do with succeeding. I work very hard at what I do – so do most pros. I’m usually in my office by 5:30 am (it is Saturday morning and I started working on this blog at 5:30am) and the first three hours of my day are spent on marketing my business: answering emails, writing blogs, posting Facebook images, etc. Then, I usually edit for another 4 hour block. I try to get a daily 90-minute workout in, then more correspondence or working on other business aspects: returning phone calls, planning trips, planning workshops, etc. My typical day (when I’m not shooting) is usually a minimum of 10 hours of office work – oftentimes more. If I do work in a shoot, my day can extend another 8 hours. Workshops are typically 14-18 hour days depending on the time of year. I have also been the co-team photographer for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks for the past 25 years and on game nights, my day can easily extend to 18 hours. As you can start to see, you really have to love what you do to make this work. On top of all this is the constant travel. Last year I spent 68% of my time on the road. That is a lot of time away from my family even though my boys are out on their own now. The one person who is my rock is my wife Beri. She has always supported me with her love and encouragement. Believe me, there have been times when I have thought about throwing in the towel. Without her and my sons love and a strong faith for guidance, I may have been doing something entirely different with my life. Occasionally self-belief will wane. I lean on my family and faith when those periods hit. Fortunately they are coming fewer and further apart these days.
Read even more about the life of a professional photographer over at Don Smith’s website.
Source: Don Smith Photography
