Dilemma: Am I ready to charge?

[AdrenoJunkie]

I've been doing photography for a year and a half now, I know I've come a long way and I know I have a long way to go. I've learned pretty much everything I know from here or from somewhere I was referenced to on here. (Thanks for that everyone) I use Facebook as my gallery, so to speak, and as a confidence builder. I use this site as my reality check. I'm in need of a reality check now. On FB my work is very popular, not just with my friends but with people I've never met. I've gotten lots of friend requests from people simply because they saw my work somewhere liked it and wanted to be able to keep up with it. My friends, family, and some of these strangers all think I'm nuts because I don't charge. I did charge a couple of times and I felt guilty about it because I don't think I'm consistent enough with my results and my quality isn't high enough. That and I've seen people ask on here if they were ready and you guys have shot them down. Alot of these people I thought were better than me which told me I definitely wasn't ready. So I refused to take money. Now here's my dilemma, I recently got laid off, I also recently have had a large influx of people asking me to shoot them and offering to pay me. Normally I would do it for free and thank them for the experience, But considering my financial straits and the perfect timing of these offers, it's hard to say no to the money. I know it's easy to ruin yourself as a photographer by 'goin pro' before you're ready. I don't want that to happen because I would like to go pro one day. So I'm turning to you DPS. I know you will give me honest objective opinions. Here's a set of some of my best work. Portfolio - a set on Flickr It's not my actual portfolio, my real portfolio only has four images in it so far. Here's one from it below. So I'm asking you DPS: Am I ready??

[JFSanders]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Go while you are young and can subsist on ramen noodles and pot pies. NOTHING will sharpen your skills like the pressure of producing upon commission. Your real education begins the day you sign that first contract to produce an image or images for that client. Good Luck and may GOD be with you to guide you.

Jim

[Doug Sundseth]

1) If people are willing to offer you money to do a job for them, you should take it if you want to do the job. (And if you don't think they're just offering out of charity.)

2) The photos in your portfolio set are generally solid. I did notice several that had limbs awkwardly cropped, but your lighting is good, your timing is good, and you seem to have a connection with your subjects. I don't think you should feel embarrassed to charge for work of that quality.

3) The harder question is whether you can make a living with photography. Frankly, that has more to do with your ability to run a business and market yourself than your ability to shoot. Only you can guess at the answer to that now.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

[NicolaB]

Random thoughts.

Do you feel ready to go pro?
If you had not just been laid off would you have felt ready to go pro?
Would you consider taking on clients at an 'introductory rate for a limited time' (publish your full rates so it won't come as a surprise when they come back next year) eg 50%
Would that give you enough money to keep you fed and watered whilst you build you client list and hone your skills?

Good luck with your decision / venture. Let us know what you decide

[kuul13]

I think this is the best opportunity to show your talent and hit big. I second Jim and add that sometimes under pressure you deliver your best. You got some amazing shots. Just go for it! All the best!

[AdrenoJunkie]

Originally Posted by JFSanders

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Go while you are young and can subsist on ramen noodles and pot pies. NOTHING will sharpen your skills like the pressure of producing upon commission. Your real education begins the day you sign that first contract to produce an image or images for that client. Good Luck and may GOD be with you to guide you.

Jim

If I didn't have kids I would definitely be on a ramen diet in order to pursue this more. But you do make a very good point about nothing ventured nothing gained. Thank you for your input.

Originally Posted by Doug Sundseth

1) If people are willing to offer you money to do a job for them, you should take it if you want to do the job. (And if you don't think they're just offering out of charity.)

2) The photos in your portfolio set are generally solid. I did notice several that had limbs awkwardly cropped, but your lighting is good, your timing is good, and you seem to have a connection with your subjects. I don't think you should feel embarrassed to charge for work of that quality.

3) The harder question is whether you can make a living with photography. Frankly, that has more to do with your ability to run a business and market yourself than your ability to shoot. Only you can guess at the answer to that now.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Thank you for the compliments. I'm aware of and working on my tendency to get Ginsu on peoples limbs. No I don't think I'm good enough to make a living with it yet, but thats not my goal right now. I'm just thinking about it as a way to get me through a rough patch. I just don't wanna ruin my future reputation by starting now before my work is solid enough . Thank you and I look forward to posting more and hearing from everyone.

Originally Posted by NicolaB

Random thoughts.
Do you feel ready to go pro?
If you had not just been laid off would you have felt ready to go pro?
Would you consider taking on clients at an 'introductory rate for a limited time' (publish your full rates so it won't come as a surprise when they come back next year) eg 50%
Would that give you enough money to keep you fed and watered whilst you build you client list and hone your skills?

Good luck with your decision / venture. Let us know what you decide

No I don't feel ready to go 'pro'
If I hadn't been laid off I wouldn't be considering charging. It's more of a desperate times call for desperate measures situation. Thank you, I will post back after I decide.

Originally Posted by kuul13

I think this is the best opportunity to show your talent and hit big. I second Jim and add that sometimes under pressure you deliver your best. You got some amazing shots. Just go for it! All the best!

Thank you for the compliment and the input. I guess I just need to weight the risks vs rewards and go from there. Nobody has said I shouldn't so that's a good sign.

[mariselafm]

Originally Posted by Doug Sundseth

1) If people are willing to offer you money to do a job for them, you should take it if you want to do the job. (And if you don't think they're just offering out of charity.)

2) The photos in your portfolio set are generally solid. I did notice several that had limbs awkwardly cropped, but your lighting is good, your timing is good, and you seem to have a connection with your subjects. I don't think you should feel embarrassed to charge for work of that quality.

3) The harder question is whether you can make a living with photography. Frankly, that has more to do with your ability to run a business and market yourself than your ability to shoot. Only you can guess at the answer to that now.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

I agree with everything said here. I am sorry about your job!

[Bruce A]

I'm also sorry you lost your job and generally I agree with what's been stated here. It seems to me you have your head on your shoulders and will make your own decision. I wish you good luck.

Oh, and get a new E string for that guitar

[AdrenoJunkie]

Ok so based on the positive response I've received in this thread, the fact that I'm in a tight situation, and the perfect timing of these opportunities. I have to believe that this is good karma giving me a well timed opportunity to test the waters of profitable photography. I think I've come up with a way to charge that will allow me to not feel guilty and for clients to not feel ripped off. I'm gonna post a thread in the Making Money forum to see what everyone thinks about that. Thank you everyone for your input and help with this decision.