Photographers Are Fish, Too.

There's something to be said for how much I'll go through for something that I love. Today's topic: photography.

What a lovely, and yet simultaneously, painful subject for me.

First let me start by saying that 90% of my photography experience has been positive. Also, at the same time, 90% of my photography experience I have not been paid for.

Photographers, as I see it, are a lot of fucking fish in a big ass pond. (For the sake of this blog I will pretend that the different species I am about to name do not know whether they need to live in freshwater or saltwater in order to survive; that's not the point.)

There's some tiny minnows, which are the people who take a camera with them - nail the lighting in one photo - all their friends on Facebook say, "OMG. What a great photo! You should be a photographer!" And bam-presto - they create a Facebook fan page which they will beat their friends down with until they all "like" it as they post photos of poorly compositioned flowers, and their nieces and nephews for everyone to see - all the while calling themselves a "professional".

Goldfish, I'd say, are the people who really are good at taking photos, but perhaps never really attempt to tap into it as a career, thus, their photography moments are short-lived.

The Angelfish is the hobbiest... enjoying taking photos, probably very good at it, but is either smart enough to have a career in which they get paid lots of money, or knows if they were to monetize photography it might lose its passion.

Clams, starfish, crustaceans; all consistent in their photography, perhaps working as a wedding photographer or for a portrait studio.

The piranha... one word: paparazzi.

The humpback whale is more interested in the artistic aspect of photography than making monetary gain from their work, however, they'll eventually get featured in a gallery somewhere and go on to make a great name for themselves.

Dolphins are photographers who possess talent but lack footing or are, perhaps, too nice. Dolphins want to be sharks, but don't want to bite.

Sharks: the biggest, the baddest, the best. The ones who make money, are good at it and are good at photography.

Several people have tried to tell me that I'm absolutely crazy for doing as much as I do for no pay. However, if I were to have demanded that the bands I shot paid me, I more than likely would have never gotten to shoot them. In turn, I never would have been able to deliver those photos to fans, making them happy and thus, creating a following for myself. I never would have been able to put those photos into my portfolio or use their bragging rights in my resume.

If I would have charged for the first wedding that I shot (which was of a friend from my childhood and I did it for free as her wedding gift), I probably would not have booked the shoot. I then would not have any wedding photos to include in my portfolio and therefore could lose out on other, perhaps paying, gigs from brides who want a photographer who has shot more than just rockstars in random states.

Every now and then I go into a spurt of releasing a new special which is exquisitely priced, I release a photo book (which I make pennies on because I'd rather people hold my art than pass it up because it's priced too high) or I all around try to make a few dollars because it's frustrating to not.

I am still using the first camera that I ever got because I cannot afford a new one, though I have outgrown this one ten-fold. I have managed to earn enough money from time to time to buy new lenses, a battery grip, a BlackRapid, etc. But each and every dime that I accumulate goes back into my photography.

The way I see it is that if I put my name out there enough eventually someone will see my work and seek me out; if not, at least I've created a following who will hopefully RT links and thus bring in more followers, who will hopefully eventually seek me out for something... and if that doesn't work, each and every thing that I have done looks great on my resume - which could potentially land me a job somewhere.

There's several things that I would change if I had it to do all over again. I will not name them as I try not to have regrets or recognize them; I just learn and push forward.

Unfortunately for me, I chose what some believe is the hardest genre of photography: music. There's hardly any money in it... but my god it's fun. I truly would not trade it for anything in the world.

If you wouldn't do your job for free - you shouldn't be doing your job. Do something that makes you happy.

...Also, if you read this and you want to give me a job... let's go. jodie.musicfirst@gmail.com