How do you choose a genre in photography? I click everything now.

[keshan]

Holla People,

I'm with this age old question of how to choose what works the best for you. I'm a photography aspirant and i've been clicking for close to 3 years now. By profession i'm a software engineer and i do part-time with photography. I click for events, weddings, street photography, travel, and random stuffs.

When i think about taking photography as my career, i think about making a decision of which genre suits the best for me and i couldn't make a choice. Since I like clicking everything, i'm not able to choose between them to select one and leave behind the rest.

Is it a healthy practice to click everything or should a photographer make a choice with the genres?

[nimitzbenedicto]

Hi Keshan,

If as you said you're going into photography as a career, I guess this answers what genre.

click for events, weddings, street photography, travel, and random stuffs.

However , if you're asking us about what you want, most likely, we aren't the best persons
to answer.

[dubaiphil]

This is something that a lot of amateur photographers have surely debated

There can be a great difference between what you like to 'click' and what 'clicks' earn bucks - dependent on your location, local market, competition etc.

So finding a niche or non saturated market segment that has a potentially profitable customer base in your area and with subject material that you are interested in shooting is the ideal.

What you will find is that a survey of pro photographers will spend only a minute proportion of their time 'clicking' - the vast majority of time being marketing, advertising, promotion, processing and other admin.

So yes, it's best to pick a segment that interests you but you have to be realistic. If it's interesting to you because of the amount of time you like to spend 'clicking' then that will change dramatically if you want to go pro. It may be better to stick to semi pro as a sideline/paid hobby but to always insure that you never under sell your work.

[dabhand]

There can be a great difference between what you like to 'click' and what 'clicks' earn bucks - dependent on your location, local market, competition etc.............

What you will find is that a survey of pro photographers will spend only a minute proportion of their time 'clicking' - the vast majority of time being marketing, advertising, promotion, processing and other admin.

Just to build on a couple of Phil's points. On what 'clicks' earn bucks - this dependents a lot on if you know what your target audience is - to take seascapes, the 'clicks' which will be attractive to someone who really understands the sea will typically be different to those who do not, as one audience is really interested in the 'marine' technicalities of the image whilst the other is more interested in the aesthetic qualities of it - not that either are neccessarily mutually exclusive.

Totally agree that 'the vast majority of time being marketing, advertising, promotion, processing and other admin' - it's as true as it is with any other successful professional in any sector.

steve

[Saorsa]

If you're an amateur, eventually your 'genre' will choose you.

If you are a professional, you will need more than one string for that bow and be prepared to shoot products, events, sports and portraits until you become established enough in one area for it to support you.

If you are a professional, you will need more business experience and a real interest in running one than photo skills.

[keshan]

Absolutely Victor! Its that I've been getting into a confusion and a block in my thought when i think

This thread would sure solve my confusion i believe! Thanks Victor!

[keshan]

So finding a niche or non saturated market segment that has a potentially profitable customer base in your area and with subject material that you are interested in shooting is the ideal.

I totally agree with this! This does help me to write down the idea number of ideas which i have in my mind and i will figure out which sells the best and which excites me continuously.

Thanks much Phil!

Keshan

[keshan]

Thats True Steve! I have faced these problems a lotta times. I click and process the images to give it to them but few tend to get to the ordinary ones and they dont identify the nuances used to click the shot. :|

At times I get confused between their feedback and the plans which i had to click them.

[keshan]

Hi Brian!

If you are a professional, you will need more than one string for that bow and be prepared to shoot products, events, sports and portraits until you become established enough in one area for it to support you.

Yes! I agree to that. Thats what i'm doing right now and my plans right now are to build a firm to provide a complete photography solution. In the process i've learnt how to equally excite you and also do some commercial works. And if i choose to select one, then i'm on the way to horn my skills on that! But moreover i look at it as an art and get satisfied by clicking photos.

[chauncey]

By profession i'm a software engineer and i do part-time with photography

I'm going to try avoiding a rant here but, you have a secure profession...why would you want to shift
gears into a field so fraught with difficulties?
Anyone can learn to take a properly exposed image, but there are other requisites...business experience (billing, banking, overhead, family support, etc.), psychology (dealing with clients in the business aspect,
selling yourself to that client, controlling that client during the actual shoot, etc.)

Are you sure that you're not dealing with the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" scenario?

[Shadowman]

You can't just choose one unless you have the equipment, time, and access to pursue. If you choose astrophotography but live in an area that has ninety percent cloud cover, chances are slim that you'll get many shots.

[Mark von Kanel]

Why choose? the wide area of different types of togging is what keeps it fresh for me, if i get bored i shoot something else.

[William W]

. . . When i think about taking photography as my career, i think about making a decision of which genre suits the best for me and i couldn't make a choice. . . Is it a healthy practice to click everything or should a photographer make a choice with the genres?

I think that one needs to be either very experienced; or very well capitalized and savvy businessperson - or most likely BOTH of these: before even beginning to select a ‘genre’ for a ‘photography career’.

WW

[keshan]

Haha! Yeah you could say that. I agree that it's very uncertain about the returns with creative fields. But the point here is i dont get satisfied with the work i do! And i could feel the difference so easy. A bugging day at work with 8 hours of continous sledging gives me money to pay my bills but leaves me stranded thinking for what am i even doing this ****! !!@!#!?? :S
But I never get tired of clicking! A tiring day with your lenses and tripods pays you off when you transfer them to ur computer and try editing them. Can't die being an ordinary person trying to pay off our debts all time! :P

Keshan

[keshan]

Thats there though! I seriously missed on that. :O But my question is unless you choose your path, one cant really build the expertise to run the show, right?

Keshan

[keshan]

Yeah Mark! Well said! Thats what i've been doing all this time and i just didnt know if the practice which i follow is good enuf to help. There were situations where i got bored of those usual shots and i get into experimenting with stuffs and keep jumping here n there.

Keshan

[keshan]

Yeah Bill! I was thinking that if i could choose on one at the earliest, i can develop an expertise and horn my skills on them. But you have a point here! What if i think after choosing one? I understand that it's not me who can make a choice between them. It should hit me at some point of time. Let me keep clicking everything till then.

Keshan

[IzzieK]

What if for now, you chose to be a photographer because you enjoy "clicking" and thought it is the right path for you now. You bought all the gears necessary, learn more about the line you wanted to bring yourself into, e.g. weddings. Then along the way, halfway through you found out, you can't deal with bridezillas and the parentzillas and relativezillas...and every ...zillas in the genre, do you just pack up and leave?

Choosing a genre isn't just as easy -- photography is to an adult wanting to achieve something nice, beautiful, acceptable to an audience, not like child who wanted to be a policeman for a few seconds then a rubbish bin man the next and the change from an incredible pilot to a bank robber next. Select your genre first, be good at it....drill, no matter what you chose, drilling yourself to take clicks of the same subject, on different angles, at the different times of the day..until you got it. Just like life...we tend to follow a certain pattern until we got the lesson.And I can go on and on and on with lots of examples...it still boils down to the same thing: learn first before spending too much money on something you are just interested in for the moment.

[Mark von Kanel]

What if for now, you chose to be a photographer because you enjoy "clicking" and thought it is the right path for you now. You bought all the gears necessary, learn more about the line you wanted to bring yourself into, e.g. weddings. Then along the way, halfway through you found out, you can't deal with bridezillas and the parentzillas and relativezillas...and every ...zillas in the genre, do you just pack up and leave?

Choosing a genre isn't just as easy -- photography is to an adult wanting to achieve something nice, beautiful, acceptable to an audience, not like child who wanted to be a policeman for a few seconds then a rubbish bin man the next and the change from an incredible pilot to a bank robber next. Select your genre first, be good at it....drill, no matter what you chose, drilling yourself to take clicks of the same subject, on different angles, at the different times of the day..until you got it. Just like life...we tend to follow a certain pattern until we got the lesson.And I can go on and on and on with lots of examples...it still boils down to the same thing: learn first before spending too much money on something you are just interested in for the moment.

Bugger that, spend the money be the child

[William W]

. . .By profession i'm a software engineer . . .

Today - is it your own business that puts the food on the table: or are you an employee?

WW