Photography as a career?

[jedimasterkyle]

I'm curious to get opinions on doing photography as a full time job. I'll explain...

I currently work for one of the biggest tech companies in the world and for the past 3 years, I've experienced more depression, anger, anxiety, burnout and complete loss of interest in the IT field all together. Doing IT used to be fun but with everyone moving towards AI, I feel like a countdown has been started as to when my usefulness will expire. I have zero chance of getting a raise because they are actively looking to acquire more companies AND outsource their employees to anywhere but North America and moving up in this company means kissing a lot...and I mean A LOT, of ass and I'm just not willing to do that.

For christmas last year, my wife gave me my Canon DSLR, as a way to expand my hobbies and I've had a lot of fun with it. I've used it on hiking trips, vacations, camping trips and it's forced me to be more observant of nature and life in general.

Starting next year, the company I work for will be implementing changes that for me, are the final straw in terms of what I'm willing to put up with so I'm looking at any and all avenues in terms of career changes. Hence my question about doing photography full time and making it an actual career. Alternatively, at the very least, making it a side job where I can make some extra money.

I would imagine there are a thousand pros and cons that I could come up with as to why photography as a career would be a good/bad idea but I'm curious to hear from people who are actually in the field to give their take.

 

[kenoh]

Master Kyle, if I may express an opinion.

Firstly, I too work for a large leading tech company and I completely agree with you. I am mentally in a similar place and I see Depression, anxiety, fatigue, burn out all seem to be becoming more and more commonplace in our field. What worries me is this cut, cut, cut mentality is reaching impossible levels in terms of doing more with the same resources as is the constant chasing of the next lowest cost delivery location to reduce people costs. Technology centric market disruptors are somewhat major contributors to this challenge too in that they operate in unique ways meaning the traditional enterprises struggle to compete, then the disruptor goes away and the market is left in tatters. Sorry, I am off on a tangent.

Back to photography.

I Think it comes down to a couple of points:

1. There are many types of photographic related careers
2. What sort of income are you going to need
3. How much time can you devote to it

There are countless people making a liveable income from YouTube though they say that monetising content is becoming more and more difficult and often requiring a lot of effort to generate enough revenue to make the effort worthwhile. The caveat, is that one person's liveable income is another person's pocket change, each to their own. The other thing here is that they usually have to do print sales and/or books. Both of which involve a lot of boring labour to handle logistics etc.

There are labour intensive options such as Workshops, Wedding photographers and or event photographers. Both rely on a network of contacts and something unique. I hear you also need the patience of a saint to deal with clients.

There is also stock photos, the ability to build up a catalogue of images that are then used small scale but over time can build up to a reasonable background level of income. This one is a slow burn so if you think this is something for you as part of your many revenue streams, then get started soon as.


Then there is the contract based high end fashion/advertising/fine art photographers. I am in the lucky position to have three professional photographers in my family and close friends. One is semi-pro in that he owns a cafe to support his photography.

The other two are top level professionals. Both of them have clients that are well known brands including L'Oreal, Panasonic, Boss, Mont Blanc, Dom Perignon, Bentley. You get the idea. One of them in particular was on retainer with Conde Nast and GQ magazines. This is to establish their credentials not to show off.

The reason I mention them both is that they are having similar challenges. They are suffering from the Smartphone disruptors. One of them says it has never been so easy to be seen, yet so difficult to be noticed.

He also says that the term photographer has lost it's meaning. The term photographer is thrown around to mean the most novice beginner right through to the most recognised names of our time. I mean it is an insult to Ansel Adams for example to be called a photographer the same as I am a photographer.

They are both having to reinvent themselves. Both of them are moving more towards creative director type engagements rather than photography engagements. They are seeing the day rates decreasing. My brother in law says that his daily chargeable rate has dropped 90% in the last ten years as it is more competitive than ever and more and more photographers are to be found nearby thanks to the internet.

My friend talks about becoming the "red chair guy". What he means is that he gets type cast into a particular type of photography and so gets discounted from the lists if they client isn't needing a "red chair".

He also told me how the image sales for magazines has changed. We all know the printed magazine market is all but dead but the way it was described sounds like torture.

So, when he started out as a staff photographer, he was paid £150 per image used in the magazine. Back in the 70s that was good money.

He was also in the position where advertising houses and brands would set a budget and then give him creative freedom to bring them X number of images. Which he retained the rights to all that were not selected for use and could sell them himself.

Then it changed. Then it was £50 an image and the clients would want say 3 images but they would expect 10-20 delivered to them from which to choose from. He still retained the rights.

Then it became a case of submit images to them from the brief and if they used them, they would give credit to him with the image.

To now where they expect HIM to pay THEM to use his images as they are advertising!

I mean that is bonkers!

My brother in law has branched out to interior design and to renovating houses as a secondary income stream.

So, this waffle was all to say be careful, AI is ruining a whole host of industries.

So I would look into a way of doing photography as a stress release generating passive income that you can build up to a point where it overtakes your current income. For the record I wish I could pack it in tomorrow too. That ever elusive Lotto win is long overdue....

I hope you find some relief soon but know we are all hurting in IT wether you are in North America or Europe, we have the same challenges from off shore resources to the cloud. It will bite them soon though when they realise the carbon footprint of running a generative AI solution. Hamsters on the wheel like me will be "en vogue" again....

 

[OldMacs4Me]

My main advice would apply to whatever self employment you choose. Top of the list is to eliminate all debt, having the house paid for and reliable transport that does not require a monthly stipend will go a very long ways to making your efforts pay off.

 

[Analog Kid]

Master Kyle, if I may express an opinion.

Firstly, I too work for a large leading tech company and I completely agree with you. I am mentally in a similar place and I see Depression, anxiety, fatigue, burn out all seem to be becoming more and more commonplace in our field. What worries me is this cut, cut, cut mentality is reaching impossible levels in terms of doing more with the same resources as is the constant chasing of the next lowest cost delivery location to reduce people costs. Technology centric market disruptors are somewhat major contributors to this challenge too in that they operate in unique ways meaning the traditional enterprises struggle to compete, then the disruptor goes away and the market is left in tatters. Sorry, I am off on a tangent.

Back to photography.

I Think it comes down to a couple of points:

1. There are many types of photographic related careers
2. What sort of income are you going to need
3. How much time can you devote to it

There are countless people making a liveable income from YouTube though they say that monetising content is becoming more and more difficult and often requiring a lot of effort to generate enough revenue to make the effort worthwhile. The caveat, is that one person's liveable income is another person's pocket change, each to their own. The other thing here is that they usually have to do print sales and/or books. Both of which involve a lot of boring labour to handle logistics etc.

There are labour intensive options such as Workshops, Wedding photographers and or event photographers. Both rely on a network of contacts and something unique. I hear you also need the patience of a saint to deal with clients.

There is also stock photos, the ability to build up a catalogue of images that are then used small scale but over time can build up to a reasonable background level of income. This one is a slow burn so if you think this is something for you as part of your many revenue streams, then get started soon as.


Then there is the contract based high end fashion/advertising/fine art photographers. I am in the lucky position to have three professional photographers in my family and close friends. One is semi-pro in that he owns a cafe to support his photography.

The other two are top level professionals. Both of them have clients that are well known brands including L'Oreal, Panasonic, Boss, Mont Blanc, Dom Perignon, Bentley. You get the idea. One of them in particular was on retainer with Conde Nast and GQ magazines. This is to establish their credentials not to show off.

The reason I mention them both is that they are having similar challenges. They are suffering from the Smartphone disruptors. One of them says it has never been so easy to be seen, yet so difficult to be noticed.

He also says that the term photographer has lost it's meaning. The term photographer is thrown around to mean the most novice beginner right through to the most recognised names of our time. I mean it is an insult to Ansel Adams for example to be called a photographer the same as I am a photographer.

They are both having to reinvent themselves. Both of them are moving more towards creative director type engagements rather than photography engagements. They are seeing the day rates decreasing. My brother in law says that his daily chargeable rate has dropped 90% in the last ten years as it is more competitive than ever and more and more photographers are to be found nearby thanks to the internet.

My friend talks about becoming the "red chair guy". What he means is that he gets type cast into a particular type of photography and so gets discounted from the lists if they client isn't needing a "red chair".

He also told me how the image sales for magazines has changed. We all know the printed magazine market is all but dead but the way it was described sounds like torture.

So, when he started out as a staff photographer, he was paid £150 per image used in the magazine. Back in the 70s that was good money.

He was also in the position where advertising houses and brands would set a budget and then give him creative freedom to bring them X number of images. Which he retained the rights to all that were not selected for use and could sell them himself.

Then it changed. Then it was £50 an image and the clients would want say 3 images but they would expect 10-20 delivered to them from which to choose from. He still retained the rights.

Then it became a case of submit images to them from the brief and if they used them, they would give credit to him with the image.

To now where they expect HIM to pay THEM to use his images as they are advertising!

I mean that is bonkers!

My brother in law has branched out to interior design and to renovating houses as a secondary income stream.

So, this waffle was all to say be careful, AI is ruining a whole host of industries.

So I would look into a way of doing photography as a stress release generating passive income that you can build up to a point where it overtakes your current income. For the record I wish I could pack it in tomorrow too. That ever elusive Lotto win is long overdue....

I hope you find some relief soon but know we are all hurting in IT wether you are in North America or Europe, we have the same challenges from off shore resources to the cloud. It will bite them soon though when they realise the carbon footprint of running a generative AI solution. Hamsters on the wheel like me will be "en vogue" again....

Hope for thoughtful replies like this are the reason I still sign into MR each day.

 

[jedimasterkyle]

Master Kyle, if I may express an opinion.

Firstly, I too work for a large leading tech company and I completely agree with you. I am mentally in a similar place and I see Depression, anxiety, fatigue, burn out all seem to be becoming more and more commonplace in our field. What worries me is this cut, cut, cut mentality is reaching impossible levels in terms of doing more with the same resources as is the constant chasing of the next lowest cost delivery location to reduce people costs. Technology centric market disruptors are somewhat major contributors to this challenge too in that they operate in unique ways meaning the traditional enterprises struggle to compete, then the disruptor goes away and the market is left in tatters. Sorry, I am off on a tangent.

Back to photography.

I Think it comes down to a couple of points:

1. There are many types of photographic related careers
2. What sort of income are you going to need
3. How much time can you devote to it

There are countless people making a liveable income from YouTube though they say that monetising content is becoming more and more difficult and often requiring a lot of effort to generate enough revenue to make the effort worthwhile. The caveat, is that one person's liveable income is another person's pocket change, each to their own. The other thing here is that they usually have to do print sales and/or books. Both of which involve a lot of boring labour to handle logistics etc.

There are labour intensive options such as Workshops, Wedding photographers and or event photographers. Both rely on a network of contacts and something unique. I hear you also need the patience of a saint to deal with clients.

There is also stock photos, the ability to build up a catalogue of images that are then used small scale but over time can build up to a reasonable background level of income. This one is a slow burn so if you think this is something for you as part of your many revenue streams, then get started soon as.


Then there is the contract based high end fashion/advertising/fine art photographers. I am in the lucky position to have three professional photographers in my family and close friends. One is semi-pro in that he owns a cafe to support his photography.

The other two are top level professionals. Both of them have clients that are well known brands including L'Oreal, Panasonic, Boss, Mont Blanc, Dom Perignon, Bentley. You get the idea. One of them in particular was on retainer with Conde Nast and GQ magazines. This is to establish their credentials not to show off.

The reason I mention them both is that they are having similar challenges. They are suffering from the Smartphone disruptors. One of them says it has never been so easy to be seen, yet so difficult to be noticed.

He also says that the term photographer has lost it's meaning. The term photographer is thrown around to mean the most novice beginner right through to the most recognised names of our time. I mean it is an insult to Ansel Adams for example to be called a photographer the same as I am a photographer.

They are both having to reinvent themselves. Both of them are moving more towards creative director type engagements rather than photography engagements. They are seeing the day rates decreasing. My brother in law says that his daily chargeable rate has dropped 90% in the last ten years as it is more competitive than ever and more and more photographers are to be found nearby thanks to the internet.

My friend talks about becoming the "red chair guy". What he means is that he gets type cast into a particular type of photography and so gets discounted from the lists if they client isn't needing a "red chair".

He also told me how the image sales for magazines has changed. We all know the printed magazine market is all but dead but the way it was described sounds like torture.

So, when he started out as a staff photographer, he was paid £150 per image used in the magazine. Back in the 70s that was good money.

He was also in the position where advertising houses and brands would set a budget and then give him creative freedom to bring them X number of images. Which he retained the rights to all that were not selected for use and could sell them himself.

Then it changed. Then it was £50 an image and the clients would want say 3 images but they would expect 10-20 delivered to them from which to choose from. He still retained the rights.

Then it became a case of submit images to them from the brief and if they used them, they would give credit to him with the image.

To now where they expect HIM to pay THEM to use his images as they are advertising!

I mean that is bonkers!

My brother in law has branched out to interior design and to renovating houses as a secondary income stream.

So, this waffle was all to say be careful, AI is ruining a whole host of industries.

So I would look into a way of doing photography as a stress release generating passive income that you can build up to a point where it overtakes your current income. For the record I wish I could pack it in tomorrow too. That ever elusive Lotto win is long overdue....

I hope you find some relief soon but know we are all hurting in IT wether you are in North America or Europe, we have the same challenges from off shore resources to the cloud. It will bite them soon though when they realise the carbon footprint of running a generative AI solution. Hamsters on the wheel like me will be "en vogue" again....

Thank you for this fantastic insight! I genuinely mean that. It's nice to hear a real, honest opinion about a major life decision without any punches being pulled. I respect that.

I do like your suggestion of doing photography as a stress release that can generate passive income. I honestly never thought about that before and I suppose that could be one avenue I explore to get my foot in the door.

As for creating content for Youtube, I can totally see how it's getting harder and harder to be unique and original. A lot of the channels I subscribe to are all doing the same thing at this point. AI generated thumbnail images to grab your attention and then the video is only sub par. I can see how the same could apply to photography too.

 

[mollyc]

Ken makes a lot of really good points. Also, if you are just picking up a camera for the first time, you'll need at least a year to become proficient with shooting manual, learning how to read the light, being comfortable to walking to a location never having seen it and figuring out quickly how to set up. Plus if you want to shoot events/weddings, you'll need to learn external lighting - off camera flash, on camera flash, strobes, etc., plus all that goes along with that in terms of modifiers.

Like, there is a lot to learn from scratch, and we all started there and many of us are capable in all that stuff. But starting a business is a far cry from buying a camera and hanging out a shingle.

Definitely start out as a hobbyist and see if you even like it, and then go from there. But please keep asking questions and start sharing here when you get your camera and we can help with whatever you need. 🙂

 

[tizeye]

My main advice would apply to whatever self employment you choose. Top of the list is to eliminate all debt, having the house paid for and reliable transport that does not require a monthly stipend will go a very long ways to making your efforts pay off.

Also, having a spouse that is employed where you can be part of the group medical plan (family coverage option) helps significantly. Also the second income of the spouse isn't bad.

While I did some photo gigs in college and teaching darkroom techniques, had some friends shoot weddings trying to get that extra frame and the film didn't advance or other problems resulting in no photos of a one time event. Didn't want that performance/legal pressure and elected other pursuits social/medical, finance, sales while keeping photography as "advanced amateur" and actually learned a lot when able to experiment as didn't have the performance distraction. It wasn't until I became a Realtor that my fellow Realtors in the office saw my listing photos and encouraged me to turn pro - so I created the second business, shooting for other Realtors and getting an advance look at properties coming on the market if I had buyers. A win-win situation. Now fully retired, trying to get rid of clients so I can travel and do other adventures. Trying to transition to individual photo sales - landscape, wildlife, travel, and just do client based gigs occasionally with client/friends. Worst thing I did - but accomplished a bucket list item - during COVID lockdown wrote my first book. Very photo intensive (with link to purchase prints), then reality hit and never again - no sequels dreaming of as wrote first one. Publishers rip off authors. While the 60/40 split sounded good , that 60%, with the way they calculate the math beginning with $0, it represents a 40% surcharge on their publishing, then a running 40% on the surcharge as it increases to finally create a breakeven, and 40% of the profit above the breakeven, I finally net about 10%, or $2.50 on a $24.99 book. Plus, you have to actively market it, essentially creating business for the publisher. It felt like I was driving business to Amazon as if they needed it. Sell one print and I blow that $2.50 out the water.

Another thing not addressed in photography, the downsizing/obsolescence you are seeing in IT from Ai, happened in photography beginning decades ago. Stock photos eliminated the need for photo journalist with massive layoffs. And then there is the consolidation in labs with no film to process. It doesn't help that some yahoo with their phone camera stumbles on a local event and photo "good enough" for publication. Wedding photographer - little overhead beyond camera/lighting but bloated field. Others may increase costs, such as studio or higher end large format cameras. Entering photography as a career is a difficult path and requires a strong business plan.

 

[Fishrrman]

I reckon a career in photography is not unlike one in farming:

Start with as much money as you can, and keep going until it all runs out...

 

[Apple fanboy]

I think anyone trying to make a living as a professional photographer will need many strings to their bow.
Exceptional work does not guarantee success. You need to be good at
Marketing yourself (if you are not being seen, then it’s irrelevant how good your work is).
Networking (leverage the crap out of every shoot and client).
Sales (up selling your services to your clients).
Web design (for all of the above!).
I work for a company that distributes and sells photographic equipment.
Many of our staff are photographers.
Most make no money from their (sometimes exceptional) images.
Those that do, probably don’t even cover their equipment costs.

AI is making many paid jobs obsolete. I’ll not go as far as to say photography is one of them yet, but there are apps out there that can make an image out of nothing. Yes I couldn’t do that for a picture on the cover of a magazine, but I could get product photos very easily for some uses without a camera even.

 

[mtbdudex]

^^^^
Truth, lots of my friends who made very decent $$$’s as weekend photographers have given it up.
The $ and fun went away they told me.
These are talented souls mind you, much more than I.

Time to watch this movie again

 

[mollyc]

^^^^
Truth, lots of my friends who made very decent $$$’s as weekend photographers have given it up.
The $ and fun went away they told me.
These are talented souls mind you, much more than I.

Time to watch this movie again

this is one of my favorite movies ever

 

[ipaqrat]

Consider posting your original question on forums at PetaPixel and DPReview. Read all the threads on the business angles. Also pay attention to what Jared Polin (FroKnowsPhoto.com) has to say on... well, pretty much everything. Take to heart every lesson learned on everything from equipment (less important than it seems) to contracts (more important than it seems), models, copyright, travel/transport, backups, security, branding, workflow, delivery...

In a nutshell: As with any creative media endeavor, being a sole proprietor in photography can be a soul-sucking grind that ruins a perfectly nice hobby. You're gonna need passion, perseverance and tireless hustle - plus a family who understands and accepts that you're poor, now, because that's how creative media endeavors typically end up.

I left my first career in graphic design because of anxiety, lack of advancement and general recto-cranial inversion. Now I do cloud cybersecurity for one of the worlds biggest firms, where kissing a lot...and I mean A LOT, of ass, is a welcome relief every payday.

It's awesome that you have the chutzpah to go out on your own. Just make sure you have a deep, self-renewing conviction for WHY, before you worry about the HOW.

 

[JamesMay82]

I'm new to photography and like you got a proper camera a few years ago and love it. I see lots of professionals marketing on FB in our local area doing couples and family shoots on a regular basis in addition to their wedding photography and I think they all do quite well for themselves. Our wedding photographer is earning 100K a year doing so which I think is a very comfortable living, providing you don't live in a major city with expensive housing etc.

Just before covid I did some work as a second shooter for free for a local photographer and I really enjoyed it and was happy with my photos, some of which came out better than his so I was very happy. I never really got into it again since covid but I do keep meaning to.

My summary would be that it's something you can pick up and grow slowly or at your own pace to see if you enjoy it before you ditch the day job. I've followed quite a few photographers on social media and you can see how they grow their businesses so it's interesting to watch their progression. I've seen a few just make a nice living photographing property for estate agents and for local companies like restaurants and schools and community groups etc.

 

[MBAir2010]

My friend is a professional photographer with her own studio
her subjects are mostly families and weddings and that framing job as well.
From 2010-2018 I freelanced for a real estate company located several states away.
my projects were taken photos of commercial office spaces that were on the market way too long.
My college friend photographed for the NYTimes and peaked during the 2000s.


We will alway need a talent photographer with that eye

 

[kenoh]

Something another friend of mine did was to get a press pass to be able to go pitside at smaller motor racing events (UK). Not F1, mainly Rally, Superbikes and Touring Cars. This saw some OK returns but it really only covered the costs of travel and maintaining his pass.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Something another friend of mine did was to get a press pass to be able to go pitside at smaller motor racing events (UK). Not F1, mainly Rally, Superbikes and Touring Cars. This saw some OK returns but it really only covered the costs of travel and maintaining his pass.

Someone I know did that for a lot of years. He is very good at it and has a lot more patience than I. Not just in the shooting, but the editing. I couldn’t sit through all those frames he does deciding which one to develop.
Despite having a website and being known on the circuits he never made any money at it. Spent a load on gear though!

 

[Jumpthesnark]

@kenoh and some others here have some great advice, as you can see. They have years of experience and hopefully they have helped to answer your questions, or at least given you some valuable food for thought.

You haven't even mentioned what kind of photography you want to do, so it's a little difficult to provide any direction. What is your photographic passion that you want to build a business around? Someone who wants to do family and senior portraits is going to have a different business model from someone who wants to shoot weddings, or events for corporate clients. And all of those are different from an editorial freelance business model.

To run a successful photography business you will need to be better at business than at photography. You will need to learn copyright, marketing, social media, how to price your work (you need to pay yourself a salary, plus you need to cover your expenses and gear and software and health care and insurance and save some for taxes and save even more for retirement) and negotiate, how to find clients where they are. You will need to figure out how to deliver images to clients. You may have to make upselling large prints and frames part of your business.

And I don't mention that list lightly. You will probably spend 90% of your time on running a business, and just 10% on photography, if you're lucky. You will spend so much time just finding a client and negotiating with them. Then as soon as you've delivered images to them, you've lost their business and you have to start over, because it's pretty likely that the same client won't be back tomorrow, needing you to shoot another wedding or senior portrait.

Several here have mentioned AI, and how that has changed photography. I couldn't agree more. So if you want to build a business around stock and landscape photography, I'd think real hard about that if I were you. That's the kind of stuff that AI can create. Instead, give some thought to building a business that thrives in a space where AI cannot compete with you. Weddings and portraits are obvious examples - you can't type some words into a generative AI bot and have it spit out photos from a specific couple's wedding. That couple needs to hire a photographer. But the caterer who makes finger foods for the wedding? They can use AI-generated imagery for their marketing all day if they want. So look for where the opportunities are.

Oh, and you will never stop waking up in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling and wondering how to turn your cameras into money so you can pay for that ceiling. Good luck.

 

[kenoh]

Someone I know did that for a lot of years. He is very good at it and has a lot more patience than I. Not just in the shooting, but the editing. I couldn’t sit through all those frames he does deciding which one to develop.
Despite having a website and being known on the circuits he never made any money at it. Spent a load on gear though!

I would love to do this but yeah, sifting through a couple of thousand images to find the one must take a special level of patience.

I wish I was in to Photography when I was young, during the British Touring Car seasons where the Volvo 850s, and the Audi A4 quattros were are their peak.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I would love to do this but yeah, sifting through a couple of thousand images to find the one must take a special level of patience.

I wish I was in to Photography when I was young, during the British Touring Car seasons where the Volvo 850s, and the Audi A4 quattros were are their peak.

I thought it was all horse and carts when you were young? 😜

 

[tizeye]

Spent a load on gear though!

In the US (and perhaps other countries) if you incorporate your photography business and file business tax returns, you can deduct the cost of the gear, reducing your taxable profits. However, if you work for someone as an employee rather than an independent contractor in the name of your business, then you can't deduct that gear. It may also create an issue with copyright as normally, whomever takes the photo owns the copyright (at either level) but if you are an employee working on a job assignment, then the employer owns the copyright to the photos you took.

One other issue on "gear". When a professional accepting money for your work, it is unprofessional not to have backup. So you need to double your critical gear to cover if your primary needs repair or is stolen and you have a wedding to shoot. Obviously, it can't be rescheduled because your gear is down.

 

[Apple fanboy]

In the US (and perhaps other countries) if you incorporate your photography business and file business tax returns, you can deduct the cost of the gear, reducing your taxable profits. However, if you work for someone as an employee rather than an independent contractor in the name of your business, then you can't deduct that gear. It may also create an issue with copyright as normally, whomever takes the photo owns the copyright (at either level) but if you are an employee working on a job assignment, then the employer owns the copyright to the photos you took.

One other issue on "gear". When a professional accepting money for your work, it is unprofessional not to have backup. So you need to double your critical gear to cover if your primary needs repair or is stolen and you have a wedding to shoot. Obviously, it can't be rescheduled because your gear is down.

Yes it’s the same here. But you only file tax returns as a business when you earn over a certain amount. I doubt he crossed that threshold.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

An excellent, and fascinating thread with some superb (and informed) advice tendered by people who know about, have thought about - and have lived and experienced - what they have been talking about.

A must read.