Professional photography studio - Photo By Missvain

I meet a lot of photographers and I meet a lot of people who pretend to be photographers.  Most of the time I can tell them apart at a glance, sometimes it takes two or three minutes of conversation to figure out, but usually I can tell just by looking.

There are myths about surviving as a professional that are well known to everyone in the business and it’s easy to spot people living one of them.

You Don’t Need Expensive Flash Units

That would be wrong.  Be immediately suspicious of anyone calling themselves a “natural light photographer.”  Light is life for a photographer.  Understanding how to use it, manipulate it and get just the right amount in the right place at the right time is such a sophisticated skill that it takes years to get right.

Understanding strobes, wireless triggers, reflectors, umbrellas, snoots and power supplies is not optional, it’s your business.

A Studio Is Optional

Also wrong. A full time studio is not absolutely necessary, but you’ll need to be able to rent one that has plenty of climate controlled space to work, backdrops, fixed lights, c-stands, cookies, flags, fans, rolls and rolls of gaffer tape, light stands, umbrellas, high capacity strobes, soft boxes, umbrellas, props, a dressing room, makeup table, and strobe power supplies.

If you don’t mind hauling all that back and forth to a shared studio space, then you don’t need to buy or rent studio space of your own.

A Backup Camera Body Is Optional

There are two kinds of people in photography: Those who have blown a job and those who are going to because they don’t carry a spare body, data card, and lens.

When you think about everything that’s jammed inside the body of a modern DSLR, it’s really quite amazing they work at all.

I blew a great opportunity to get some amazing shots by not carrying a spare data card.  I used to be a volunteer firefighter and we got a mutual aid structure fire call at a neighboring district.  All we had to do was haul water and stand around.  On the way to the fire my camera started giving me a CARD ERROR message and then stopped recognizing it all together.

So we had a lot of time to stand around with front row seats to one of the most dramatic fire scenes I worked in seven years as a volunteer while my bricked camera sat in the truck.  Ever since I carry two spare data cards taped to each camera strap.

A High End Web Site Will Bring In Clients

Not really, no.  For a web site to work it takes a dedication to understanding SEO and constant effort to make your web site work building relationships with customers.

If you really want to talk to the SEO and web site pros, visit Eric Hardenbrook’s site or Matt Law and discover how much planning and work it takes to make a web site really successful.

A Handshake Is Good Enough

Nothing separates rookies from pros more than understanding contracts and where to get help writing them.  Don’t try this at home unless you’re experienced with contract law, get help from LegalZoom or a real lawyer.