Quote:
Originally Posted by heartseye
I mean you no insult at all, Songman. But what you suggest to Waple will guarantee mediocrity
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I think both heartseye and songman make good points. However, I feel that "medocrity" was a poorly-chosen word. The definition of it is: "
of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate; rather poor or inferior."
Rather I think what Songman is describing is a good formula for long-term, sustained steady work and income with an emphasis placed on stability. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that goal - if that is what your goal is.
On the other hand, Heartseye speaks of growth and expansion. There's nothing wrong with that goal either.
Each path inherently has both positive and negative aspects, you know what they are: one path is stable with steady work and income, but may never achieve reputational greatness, the other path may achieve reputational greatness, but may also result in sitting around staring at walls without steady work or income.
To agree on one point, the most important point of all: it's a personal choice. But whatever path you choose it is important you spend quality time formulating your plans and writing them down. If you want to be a professional photographer, then see it for what it is - a business. And the first steps any professional will give you about either starting up a business or expanding an existing one is to create a good business plan then follow it.
As to the OP's original question, a good approach is to study the methodology and successes of others. It might be a successful franchise, or a successful photog catering to upscale clientele - or a mixture of both. Be bold - call or visit photographers in the area, tell them of your plans and ask questions about how they did it. I learned a long time ago that you would be surprised how willing people are to talk about their businesses and successes - even those classified as competitors. Besides, there's side benefits: you'll be making contacts, you might make a friend, you'll be establishing a network and there is no telling about the work you may get from one of those photogs in the future when they have an overage.