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Beginning Free Lance Photographer, can anyone give me any tips? Please only serious answers.?

I want to get in to the business of Free Lance Photography. Can anyone give me any tips for startting out? I recently purchased "Photographer's Market" and I'm waiting on it to be delivered. I would love any other tips anyone can offer. My prefered field would be scenic.

Public Comments

1. find a niche ask specific questions a
2. If you do a search, you will find many links to stock agencies. To sell stock, you need a boatload of images, or images that are unique and desirable. Landscapes are hard to sell, because there are so many of them available. Or you can sell matted and/or framed pictures yourself, or postcards. If by free lance, you mean you have a camera and want to make money without having to do real work, you may be in for a rude awakening. Some people do make a living as free lance, of course, and perhaps you will, too. It takes talent, perseverance, and business acumen. Good luck!
3. It's very hard to make a living starting out in any type of nature photography, because the fees are low due to the small size of the market compared to people photography and because half the photographers out there prefer nature photography. Travel photography is probably the closest to nature in subject area and technique that pays relatively well. Most nature photographers who make a decent amount of money (including me) worked for years in other areas while building up their nature business. And I still make more from workshops than from photo sales.
4. You want to buy an "essential/basic" DSLR system which has an all-around affordable accessory lenses, then consider the award winning Pentax KD series beginning with the Pentax K100D 6.1 mp DSLR with "image stabilization" built into the camera body. "Image stabilization" is essential for allowing you to take telephoto pictures at weddings, parties, while on the go and you don't have to drag along a tripod to steady your camera. Unfortunately, Canon and Nikon have chosen to install their "vibration reduction" devices into very expensive auxiliary lenses. But getting back to the Pentax K100D which comes in a starter kit consisting of two Pentax lenses: a 18-55 mm. normal lens and a 50-200 mm. telephoto which sells for $650 at samys.com. Again, the Pentax K100D starter kit runs circles around the D40 Nikon! Good luck!
5. A book alone will not make you a pro. You have to have talent regardless of what book you have read or what kind of equipment you own. I'd start out as a hobbiest first, then move up to a business venture move. And go with Canon or Nikon, they are what the pros use mostly.
6. Need at least two cameras on hand all the time. on with micro zoom and another with macro
7. The market is extremely limited for scenic or landscape photographers. Unless you have something different to offer clients, apart from the other 10,000 sunsets and ice-covered mountain peaks they've seen, you might want to consider another area of photography. If you classify yourself as a freelancer, it means that that you shoot assignments for clients. If you sell your work through a gallery, you are known as a fine-art photographer. Decide exactly what you would like to accomplish with your work. There might be other things you like to photograph that would be more lucrative. My advice for any photographer starting out is to become proficient technically and to shoot tons of pictures. Develop a style in your composition and lighting. Build relationships with clients by being professional and delivering professional results. And keep your eyes opes for other subject matter that you can shoot and market.