CHAPTER 6:
SPECIALTIES
A candid wedding portrait of women scattering rose petals by Hilary Bullock.
We covered the importance of finding your niche in chapter five. In this chapter we take a much closer look at the most common specialties and the requirements and expectations for each.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Often strictly location, although wedding photographers who have studios typically include studio engagement portraits and bridal shots as part of their services and packages.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Minimal compared to other specialties, since you don't necessarily need to lease and outfit a studio. You need a DSLR or medium-format camera, portrait and zoom lenses, a camera-mounted flash unit with extension cord and bracket, high-quality camera bag(s) to protect your gear with a minimum of added weight and bulk, a tripod, a computer, editing and organizational software, and a large amount of storage and backup space for your digital images. It's also a good idea to have a set of portable lights (strobes or hot lights) with stands and modifiers. This allows you to offer formal portraits as well as candid shots at receptions.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING/PROMOTION. Photographers in different areas of specialty promote themselves to potential clients in very different ways. For instance, a portrait photographer might purchase a mailing list including the names, street addresses and e-mail addresses of families who fit her demographic. She might send out postcards to these families and then follow up via e-mail. Or if she wants to be green and save some trees, she might just stick to the e-mails and include a special offer and a link to her website. A commercial photographer might rely almost solely on her website to woo art buyers, or she may have a bound, designer-created book to show prospective clients. An architectural photographer might use a combination of e-mails (but without the special offer) and website.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Income varies; flat fees for wedding, groom's dinner and reception range from $1,000 to $10,000, with the average falling at $3,500 in a medium-sized city.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. As is commonly the case today, this market is crowded and soft. And yet, as long as there are weddings, there will be a demand for wedding photographers.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Partly because of the demand by clients to receive the e-files of their images and partly because of the labor-intensive nature of filling individual portrait orders and reorders from the bridal party and other friends and family, there is a trend toward offering packages that include the photographer's fee, one or more albums, one or more wall portraits, and CDs or DVDs of part or all of the images. All artwork/retouching, layouts for albums and collages, and any other additional costs are built into the package price. This can be great for both the photographer and the client. The photographer knows exactly how much she will make up front and doesn't have to fill those reorders. The client knows exactly how much she will pay, and she knows she'll be able to share images from her big day online with friends and family too far away to be there in person.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. It's more important than ever for wedding photographers to have a strong Web presence. Photographers often hand out complimentary CDs with samples of their work. Bound photo books have eclipsed photo albums in popularity, so many wedding photographers show these at their initial client meetings.
• PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL. Ads in local general-interest and trade magazines, advertisements on websites such as TheKnot.com, targeted direct-mail pieces, wedding fairs.
An oceanscape at dusk by Jennifer Wu.
• PREPRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION. Preproduction may require some scouting, although once you've been in business in a certain area for a while, you become familiar with the popular churches, synagogues, reception halls, hotel ballrooms, etc. Postproduction can be very labor-intensive or very simple, ranging from batch-processing images and burning photo CDs to retouching, compiling proof books, laying out albums and producing print orders.
• CONS. Wedding photographers work weekends and evenings. No reshoots are possible in wedding photography, so if you make a mistake your client is stuck with low-quality images of her once-in-a-lifetime day, and that means more stress for you. Also, this work can be very physically demanding.
NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Strictly location.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Start-up costs are low, given that this specialty does not require studio lights, backdrops or other related equipment. Fixed overhead is low because you won't need a studio. Essentially all you need is camera gear: DSLR, medium-format, large-format, or a combination of these; lenses, including macro, long telephoto and everything in between; a tripod; a high-quality backpack designed specifically for camera gear; a laptop computer; editing software; and a system for storing and backing up digital images.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING/PROMOTION. Nature photographers are often represented by stock agencies and galleries. Some work with photographer's reps. Many do their own pavement pounding, marketing their work to corporations, hospitals, dentist's offices and other entities that purchase wall art.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Potential income varies too much to postulate an average. Stock agencies pay $1 to $10,000 per image depending on the usage (a private individual might download an image to use on their desktop or cell phone, or a corporation could purchase rights to an image for a national or even international campaign). Greeting card and calendar companies pay $75 to $175 per image; fine art prints vary depending on the size and type of print and demand for the artist's work.
A high-key studio portrait by Vik Orenstein.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Like most other areas of photographic specialty, this field is crowded. And, just as in other fields, a higher and higher level of specialization is becoming required — while most would-be nature photographers imagine traveling the country or the world shooting exotic locales, the reality is that shooters have been forced to regionalize; for instance, Craig Blacklock, who in the 1970s traveled the country in partnership with his father, Les, shooting anything and everything, now specializes in shooting the scenes of Lake Superior. Recent years have seen a downturn in this market. Clients once willing to pay $2,000 for the use of an image will now often use images from royalty-free CDs. There has been a slow, steady erosion of the market as amateur photographers gain access to better and better equipment. Talented hobbyists who don't need to make a living from their work will often sell an image for little or nothing just for the pleasure of seeing their image and photo credit published. Those who need to make a living from their nature photography must maintain integrity when pricing their work.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. During hard economic times, the fine art market for nature photography suffers in comparison to the market for stock. But the stock field is so saturated that it seems likely the decorative and fine art market will be the place to be during economic rallies.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. This will vary depending on whom the photographer is marketing to. Those interested in purchasing the work for decorative art may want to see finished framed pieces. Stock clients view the work on the Internet, at agency and photographer's websites. As with all photographic specialties, a strong Web presence is important.
• PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. Primarily stock agency websites, photographer's websites and art fairs.
• PREPRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION. Very little preproduction is necessary since most nature photographers work primarily on self-assignment. Postproduction involves image processing; extensive organization, cataloguing and assigning key words; and creating or overseeing the creation of decorative and fine art prints, either digitally or by traditional methods.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Either or both. Some portrait photographers have regular retail or point of destination studios; some shoot in their homes; some go to the clients' homes and shoot editorial-style portraits of people in their daily life environments; some go to the clients' homes with a portable studio (backdrop, lights, etc); still others use scenic locations such as orchards, rose gardens and beaches.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Can be as little as the cost of a consumergrade DSLR and a portrait and zoom lens, to upwards of $50,000 for a fully outfitted retail studio.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. A strong Web presence is absolutely essential. Ads in local general-interest and parenting publications, displays in complementary retail establishments (hair salons and children's clothing boutiques, for instance), direct-mail pieces; client newsletters.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Income varies; rates range from $49 to $400 for a basic sitting. An 8″ × 10″ (20cm × 25cm) portrait can cost from $20 on the very low end to $200 for a handpainted or giclee printed image.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. This is another crowded market. There seem to be more editorial-style portrait photographers. The traditional in-studio posed, medium-format style is fading. One must have a signature style in order to stand out from the competition. Wall art falls in and out of favor, but photo albums and photo books are always in demand. Just as in the wedding photography market, bound photo books are gaining in popularity.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. It's impossible for a small businessperson to compete at the low end of the market against national chains, so it's a good idea to position yourself in the middle to high end of your marketplace. Expectant moms and newborn babies are great target clients, because if they like your work, they will come back to you for years. To that end, specially discounted first-year baby packages have become de riguer. Offering holiday cards and birth announcements, while not very profitable in and of themselves, are another way to entice clients to shoot with you. A perk: Each card is a free advertisement if you put your logo and contact information on the back.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. This will vary enormously, with photographers who have their own studios showing finished, framed wall art, and those who work exclusively on location showing portfolios or proof books.
This versatile image of snow peapods by Leo Kim could be sold for commercial use or printed for home décor.
• PREPRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION. Shooting in a new location will require scouting — otherwise, preproduction is minimal. Postproduction involves processing; editing/retouching images; and printing portraits, either in-house or through a lab. Some small studios take advantage of labs that offer retouching services and thus are able to avoid the most time-consuming element of postproduction.
COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Both.
• COST TO BREAK IN. This specialty can be expensive; mediumformat cameras are the industry norm (a new Canon Mark VIII tops the charts at $8,000 just for the body, and digital Hasselblad models range from $10,000 to $43,000). Expect to spend $100,000 or more to build and equip a commercial studio from scratch.
An editorial fashion image by Lee Stanford.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING.
Creativesourcebooks, direct-mail pieces, websites, ads in trade publications. Many commercial shooters let photographer's reps handle this.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Income varies; day rates average from $1,800 to $6,000 depending on the area and the market, though they can go much lower or much higher.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Unlike other specialties, this market has become a little less crowded. The bad economy — combined with over expenditures on new digital equipment — has driven some studios out of business. While there are fewer shooters, there are also fewer jobs.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Resist the temptation to enter the price wars and lowball bids just to get jobs. The busiest studios right now are the moderate- to high-end ones who have stayed the course and resisted the urge to compete with the masses at the low end of the market.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. Most art buyers use the Internet to find photographers, so a strong Web presence is mandatory. The bound book portfolios are also requested, though infrequently.
• PREPRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION. There is a lot of preproduction, or legwork, involved in this specialty. Working out the cost estimate alone is time-consuming. Often locations must be scouted, sets built, props and accessories selected and rented or purchased, and talent cast. Sometimes the photographer even has to help the client refine or create a concept for a shoot. Established shooters farm out much of the preproduction to location scouts, casting directors, prop stylists and other professionals. Postproduction can be as simple as handing the client a CD.
FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Both.
• COST TO BREAK IN. As little as $6,000 if you stick with 35mm format. Or as much as $100,000 to outfit a new studio. Identical to the costs of a fully outfitted commercial studio.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. Same as for commercial photographers.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Income varies; day rate varies depending on the market and whether the job is a commercial shoot, an editorial shoot or a shoot for a talent agency or a model's portfolio. Commercial jobs can average $1,800 per day, editorial as little as $250. Fashion shooters who shoot “head books” and/or large groups of models' composites for an agency generally give a volume discount. Models' head shots and composite shots start at around $350.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Just as with other specialty areas, fashion photographers feel the pinch in a bad economy. Unlike wedding, portraiture and architectural specialties, fashion shooters are not flooding the market. As in previous eras there are many fly-by-nights — only the tough survive.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Commercial jobs pay the most; editorial work carries a certain prestige, but the pay is typically low. Shooting head shots and comp cards for agencies and models is a great way to earn your bread and butter in medium and large markets.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. As with commercial photography, a strong Web presence is a must. Bound book portfolios are occasionally requested.
ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Location only.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Expect to pay $10,000 to $60,000 for equipment, including camera, perspective correction lenses, a heavyduty tripod with a ball head, computer, software, and image storage and backup system.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. A strong Web presence is mandatory. Methods that drive potential clients to your website are important, such as e-mails and leave-behinds (printed material with examples of your work and your contact information). In this specialty, one can still benefit from calling on architectural firms and magazines by phone and in person.
An image by nature and travel photographer Brenda Tharp.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Income varies; day rates vary according to the market, the experience of the photographer and whether the jobs are for editorial or commercial clients. Generally, day rates for each type of job are similar to those charged for fashion work.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Some photographers who are newcomers to this field are successfully breaking in by shooting iconic buildings at their own cost (on spec) and selling them to the architects, designers and manufacturers involved in the project.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Commercial jobs pay the best. Market to ad agencies who represent building contractors and manufacturers of building and architectural supplies and materials.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. Primarily websites and leave-behinds.
TRAVEL AND WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Taken by Jim Zuckerman, this is a travel and wildlife image in one: Giraffe Manor in Kenya.
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Strictly location.
• COST TO BREAK IN. This will depend on the format in which you choose to shoot; for most editorial work, a quality DSLR is fine, so you can get a camera body for $5,000. Expect to spend a lot on lenses — quality supertelephotos (400mm to 600mm) generally cost $6,000 to $9,000. Some photographers keep costs down by using a 300mm lens with extension tubes. Wider lenses are less expensive. You will also need a tripod, a backpack designed to carry photographic equipment, a laptop, software, and plenty of space for image storage and backup.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. Strong Web presence is a must. Queries to travel publications are important.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Income varies; day rates are comparable to those for commercial and editorial work listed under architectural photography above.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Budgets are tight for editorial work, so sometimes you have to patch two or three jobs and grants together to make a trip happen. Travel assignments that once allowed ten days to complete now allow only five to six days. Magazines are asking for more and more printing rights for the same fees.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. As in other specialty areas, commercial work pays better than editorial work. Stock is a viable market for travel and wildlife images.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. The travel and wildlife photographer's best method of advertising is her website.
FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Usually location; some studio.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Varies; you could spend your whole career shooting with an analog pinhole camera made from an oatmeal box, a DSLR, a 16″ × 20″ (41cm × 51cm) format Polaroid or anything in between.
A classic wildlife image by Lewis Kemper.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. A strong Web presence is essential for fine art photgraphers.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. The average income for a fine art photographer varies too much to postulate.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Popular items are small (11″ × 14″, 28cm × 36cm) inches and smaller) color and black and white prints and greeting cards. Popular subjects are animals, flowers, landscapes, and macro and abstract images.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Being represented by stock agencies, publishers, brick and mortar galleries and online galleries such as Etsy.com — and marketing to commercial clients — are all ways to make a living in fine art photography.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. Primarily websites and leave-behinds.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Strictly location.
• COST TO BREAK IN. A degree in photojournalism and the cost of a good DSLR, lenses, tripod and backpack.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. Since most editorial photographers work as employees for newspapers and periodicals, they don't need to advertise. They simply apply for their jobs.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Varies from market to market: You can expect a $20,000 to $85,000 income depending on the size of the publication.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Many newspapers now have websites, and on these websites they show videos. So now, in addition to shooting still photos, many photojournalists are required to shoot video, all on the same shoot.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Staff photographer for a daily newspaper in a large market.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. Photo CDs.
• OF INTEREST. Photojournalism is the one area in which altering photos is strictly forbidden, so no Photoshop allowed here.
EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Mostly location. Occasional studio work.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Same as photojournalism.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. Most freelance editorial photographers start out by building their body of work with self-assignments, and showing their work to editors and art buyers. Websites and leave-behinds are the primary form of self-promotion.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. Varies; national magazines pay about $400 for a day rate, and newspapers $250 or less.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. It can take a while for an editorial photographer to establish herself and become recognized, but this is a specialty where talent and persistence are your greatest tools for success.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Not here. Just kidding! Often editorial photographers must finance their first project themselves. After they have a body of work, they may apply for grants and/or publish their work in books and/or periodicals. They also may be represented by a gallery or galleries for the sale of their work as fine art prints.
A stock photo by Kerry Drager.
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. Websites and photo CDs.
• PREPRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION. Much time is spent writing grant applications and researching special subjects and projects. Postproduction usually involves image processing and editing, and creating or overseeing the creation of prints, books and distribution of images.
STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
• LOCATION/STUDIO. Both.
• COST TO BREAK IN. Varies depending on whether you need a studio or shoot strictly on location, whether you use studio lighting and what type, and in what format you shoot. To break into stock photography you need a DSLR camera, a variety of lenses, a computer, software, and image storage and backup system.
A botanical image by Jim Miotke.
• METHODS OF ADVERTISING. Typically stock photographers are represented by one or more stock agencies, and the agencies promote their clients' work.
• AVERAGE INCOME/AVERAGE RATES. The average income for stock photographers in 2006 is listed as $12,000 to $50,000, according to various surveys. Individual images can sell for as little as $2 to as much as $20,000, depending on the usage and the client.
• INDUSTRY TRENDS. Both the Internet and digital image management systems are making stock photos more widely available than ever before. There's a new market in “mini stock” agencies, such as iStockphoto.com, which sell royalty-free images for as little as $1 for small files. In the past, a stock photographer needed to build up a considerable body of work before being accepted into an agency. While this is still true for agencies such as Corpus and Getty Images, there are newer Web-based agencies such as Alamy.com that accept as few as one image.
• WHERE THE MONEY IS. Commercial clients are most likely to use images repeatedly and in multiple markets, so typically they buy the most rights and pay the highest rates. Avoid mini stock and royalty-free agencies, as it's hard to make a living at $1 an image!
• TYPE OF PORTFOLIO/SAMPLING OF WORK. Some stock agencies, like Alamy.com, allow photographers to simply upload their images to their websites and if the images pass quality control inspection, you may make them available for sale.
• PREPRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION. Often stock photos result from self-assignments and require little if any preproduction; postproduction involves highly detailed methods of organizing, cataloging, keywording and storing images.