Blogging, $150 photographers and old age(experienced)!

Part 1: To be honest....I am just not a blogger! Women are more inclined to be good bloggers than men. I am not a great writer or a great story teller!! That is just the facts! You can look back through my blogs and see how many months are between each blog. Photography is my second full time job. I work for an engineering firm and I deal with writing narratives and responding to agency comments so by the time I get to the point of blogging for my photography business I am burned out! Not really funny because I love doing photography! It is more than making money, it is a passion for me, it is my art!

Part 2: The second part is the abundance of $150 wedding photographers coming on to the scene. I thought it was something happening just in this part of Virginia but I was wrong! I have a lot of professional photographer friends in other states(Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, etc.) and they all tell me the same thing. You get someone that got or bought a new camera for Christmas or birthday and because the camera is so advanced that all you have to do is point it and it takes fantastic photos, they immediately think 'I think I will go into business as a photographer'. P is for program, not Professional!! I asked a person, that decided to become a professional photographer,  not too long ago if they knew what an f-stop was or a  shutter speed or aperture, etc. and I got the 'deer-in-the-headlight' look. Seriously if you want to do photography as a business, by all means, go right ahead. But first get a business license, insurance, back up equipment, pay sales tax......at least buy a good flash and then go for it! Expect to learn Photoshop or Lightroom or some kind of editing software and then give up a lot of your free time editing and also learn how to deal with a variety of people! They are your boss now! You strive to make your client happy!

Part 3: Age. I met with a lady, mother of the bride-to-be, and we hit it off immediately. The daughter was in another state and she left the leg work up to her mom. After the meeting I left feeling really good and expected to book in a few days. Wrong! I got an email and the lady said even though she wanted to hire me the daughter wanted someone 'younger'! Ouch! That hurt! I don't look at myself as an old man, I look at myself as someone with a lot of experience! I guess that is what I get for thinking!
As an old comedian, George Gobel (google him please), once said 'I feel like an old brown shoe in a black tuxedo world'. I am being phased out and that is a shame because I have a lot to offer and some are missing out on my 'experience'.
Nuff said!!!!!