photography career - how difficult?

I very very very much doubt he will ever make "millions of dollars", as with every job there are only a limited few who hit those dizzy heights.

It is perfectly possible to make a decent living from photography though.

It just involves very hard work, very long hours and determination.

Along of course with skill and good marketing.

First off, I think you're nuts for having doubts. Do yourself a favor and lose the "I'm too old to..." idea. At best, it's self-defeating. I know people who have changed careers in their 40s and haven't looked back even once. You're never too told to start anything. If you go through life thinking you are too old to do this or that, then you will be too old no matter what your age actually is. Second, just get in there and do it if it's what you want to do. Do you really want to look back on your life and realize you backed out of anything at all solely because of what other people thought? It's your life. You should be the one living it. Nobody else. Don't let others live their lives through yours, or tell you how to live your life. Only you can decide that. Take that class. Buy that camera. Because you just don't know - this could be the smartest decision you've ever made, or the stupidest. You just won't know until you try.

So you're asking if you think it's realistic that your boyfriend is going to make millions of dollars doing photography?

What do you think? ;-)

I'm a professional photographer. Yes it takes time. Yes it's my passion. Yes I work at it and try to get better every day. There's no way I could give it up or not feel as passionate about it as I do. It's a part of who I am.

I guess my question is this - do you support his passion or do you expect something more? If you don't "get" what he does and why he loves it so much, then maybe you two aren't on the same page.

If he has talent, and is improving - that's a good sign. Maybe you can help him by creating a business plan, setting goals together, etc. Let him know that you're a team and in this together.

Photography is very challenging, and it takes work to be successful. Your success is based on how hard you want to work and market yourself.

If you don't believe in him and his chosen profession, then maybe it's best to cut ties now... ya know?

No, the times of iconic photo graphs such as:

http://www.moorestevie.com/images/vietnam.jpg

http://www.gallerym.com/work.cfm?ID=280

Is over, as people travel more and cameras are cheap as chips. I know of two prolific photographers both of whom pretty much give their photos away for free. I currently have an Istock photo account that has some really nice photos of rare and unseen things etc.

(I travelled to western China once with a camera and took photos few people have rarely ever seen). Also it does not take into account theft! The most money I ever made was from having a photo stolen and published, they ignored me for a year before finally paying up (I made £150 out of that $210 and they retained the rights via copyright assignment so that the photo is no longer mine.

But I make very little from it as flickr etc always have people who are willing to give their photos away for free. There are of course exceptions like a biking team who went to Afghanistan who took photos companies would buy them for abut $150 each.

I have three published books, 2 were done by a publishing house one by myself, the 3rd one I really liked a photograph and asked to buy it, he didn't want to sell it to me, so I looked for alternatives, and they wanted $1600 for it. I said no and chose a free to use one that looked even better than the one I could have bought.

I think maybe do some wedding photography or go out somewhere nobody has been (Kamchatka and some parts of MOngolia) which only have a few pages at Istockphoto are good subjects but of course that requires money to travel and support yourself while you get such photos which may come to nothing.

Even famous photographers who make it big have problems with money:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1263869/An...

It has nothing to do with 'being professional" or "being passionate" about photography. I myself am passionate about my photography but I have no delusions that I will make millions of dollars. It's a lot of work for not a lot of money. And the money you DO make must be reinvested into new equipment in order to stay competitive.

There is nothing wrong with your boyfriend liking photography, UNTIL IT BEGINS TO AFFECT YOUR RELATIONSHIP. I don't blame you at all for being concerned. You are being practical.

Too many so called 'artists' out there (cough, cough) tend to have their heads in the clouds and are unwilling or unable to cope with the realities of life. They accuse anyone else of being a golddigger or being a square (I don't think that's fair).

If someone wants to pursue an artist's life that's great, but they need to be able to support their family (or at least support themselves). Same with you. You need to make your own money and not rely on him for cash (and vice versa). After all, if you wanted to pursue your own career and needed his support, would he be there for you? Hopefully yes.

You need to be supportive of him (which it looks like you are), and he needs to be supportive of you, and not let his career get in the way of your relationship. If he is putting his career ahead of your relationship, then maybe he is not ready for one (a relationship, that is).

You need to discuss all this with him. It's no good posting this on Y!A. We are photohobbyists, not relationship counselors.

Can he become a successful photographer? Of course (try and give him some credit). Will he make millions of dollars and work for W magazine? Not necessarily. But then again, the latter is not crucial to having a good life.

unless he can intern for an established fashion photog, there's not much chance of really making it. his best bet, if he wants a career as a photographer, his best bet is doing weddings and product work. I used to work in a high end camera store, and i knew many, many talented photographers who had been shooting for 20-30 YEARS and hadn't made it.

if he isn't doing so good now, who knows if it ever will. pro photographers deal with a lot of stress from clients, and they don't get paid nearly enough to do it, so while photography is interesting, stay away from becoming a pro.