Maxx9photo
Active member
Folks, I think we have a troll here… Just saying.
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Building a photography business in 2023, where to start.
- Thread starter BigBoy
- Start date
Will Deleon
Well-known member
Great question!
Given the nature of the forum, I’m probably gonna get a lot of slack for this… We honestly don’t need medium format cameras for 95% of the work being produced commercially. There a few exceptions where an agency / client requests the high MP for Out of Home / in-store prints etc. But to believe you need medium format to be an incredibly successful photographer is just false. I've personally shot for Fortune 500 companies with a Sony A7R (II-IV) before. By the time these images go through retouched and down scaling - not a single person can tell the difference between that and an IQ4 150... im just being honest here. I own an IQ4 150 lol.
guphotography
Well-known member
Hard to define best, you wouldn't use medium format camera to shoot sports, would you?
Camera is irrelevant, that's the bottom line.
If you craft skills to create unique work, art buyers and agencies will come knocking, providing you can successfully market yourself in front of them.
During the course of getting there, you might hit the limitations of tools, hence seek out the better, the more able. That is how for many top photographers today, end up with medium format cameras.
But simply jump into the high end gear may not yield the results you are expecting. The journey is more about learning about yourself, that takes time, once the tools no longer produce what you desire, then move up.
Most commercial work can be done with a FF digital camera. Multi-million dollar companies and their agencies might expect the best gear, but they are usually not going to hire a neophyte. And if they do it's because it's trendy--they really won't care what kind of equipment is being used, could be a smart phone. Those pros using medium-format digital will charge the client rental for that gear as well as a full crew of assistants, digital techs and a studio full of other stuff. Be prepared to spend the equivalent of a small house if that's what you choose.
buildbot
Well-known member
You are the one that came here asking about a 50K camera, then ask about why anyone wants medium format in general, in a medium format forum. It feels like a r/photography post on reddit asking if one needs the very latest Sony A1 to take pictures of kids, and then all the further comments by the original poster are about how a smartphone is actually just as good. I call this "Civil Discussion trolling".
Echoing others, clients first, everything else second. I've never worked professionally, never plan to, but I still have people I have shot for in the past for charity/fun reach out to me for work. I wouldn't bother with a business plan until you are actually making some decent money.
Ok thank you for the advice.
Thank you for the advice I love your photos man. Ok currently I have an s5. I should master myself first and my gear first then think about a business plan and go from there ok will do.
+1 to the advice everyone has given.
when I was finishing up grad school, I tried to make a stab at pro photography. I found no one cared what gear I shot with, no one wanted to buy prints, clients are difficult, and the clients I was exposed to wanted the universe for pennies onthe dollar. I’m just one person and that was only my experience, but I do not think it’s uncommon. Digital photography has flattened the learning curve and there is also a lot of competition, and it’s hard to distinguish yourself….and who knows what is going to happen with AI.
Like others, I’m also not saying don’t do it, but it’s tough out there. I ultimately came to the conclusion that dealing with clients took the fun out of photography and I realized I just wanted to keep doing it as a hobby. I ultimately went a different career path that also isn’t easy regarding clients and isn’t as enjoyable as photography, but it allows me to buy some nice gear that I can enjoy in my free time YMMV.
back to ops questions, if I were starting out today, I would not prioritize gear as a huge portion of my budget, and the budget I had for gear, I’d go on the low end - maybe even a generation or two old FF dSLR like a D810 and not even mirrorless to get a variety of lenses cheap.
when I was finishing up grad school, I tried to make a stab at pro photography. I found no one cared what gear I shot with, no one wanted to buy prints, clients are difficult, and the clients I was exposed to wanted the universe for pennies onthe dollar. I’m just one person and that was only my experience, but I do not think it’s uncommon. Digital photography has flattened the learning curve and there is also a lot of competition, and it’s hard to distinguish yourself….and who knows what is going to happen with AI.
Like others, I’m also not saying don’t do it, but it’s tough out there. I ultimately came to the conclusion that dealing with clients took the fun out of photography and I realized I just wanted to keep doing it as a hobby. I ultimately went a different career path that also isn’t easy regarding clients and isn’t as enjoyable as photography, but it allows me to buy some nice gear that I can enjoy in my free time YMMV.
back to ops questions, if I were starting out today, I would not prioritize gear as a huge portion of my budget, and the budget I had for gear, I’d go on the low end - maybe even a generation or two old FF dSLR like a D810 and not even mirrorless to get a variety of lenses cheap.