The Bigger Picture: Photography as Entrepreneurship
Are you interested in becoming a photographer? Are you so interested that you’d invest $100,000 and four years of your life towards pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the field? But what would you do if I told you that at least eighty percent of what you are going to need to know as a photographer isn’t taught in the best photography programs in the United States?
I’m not really one to bash education as I have both an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in photography. But even after multiple degrees, I left school without taking a single course that addressed the business of photography. As the graphs above indicate, a successful photography business is just that—a business. I learned how to run my business through trial and error.
Curious to see if any photography programs have added courses on running a successful business in the seven years since I left Syracuse, I rolled up my sleeves and did some research.
| University | Degree | Cost | Total Required Hours | Total Required Business Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks Institute | Bachelor of Science in Visual Journalism | $90,488 for program | 120 | 6 |
| University of Missouri | Bachelor of Arts in Photojournalism | $36,180 per year (non resident) | 41 | 0 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Bachelor of Arts in Photojournalism | $47,336 per year | 122 | 0 |
| Syracuse University | Photojournalism or Illustration Photography | $59,320 for program | 38 | 3 |
I’ve invested a lot of time in the last five years into learning about business of photography. There are amazing photographers out there whose businesses are failing because they don’t understand how to run their businesses. And there are less skilled photographers that are making a good living because they do. I am not saying that photography degrees aren’t teaching valuable skills, but I believe that we are missing the bigger picture of photography as entrepreneurship.
When you create a soapbox, you have no choice but to stand on it. I recently partnered with my friend and collaborator Laura Elizabeth Pohl to teach a business practices workshop for photographers in Rwanda.. We both have advanced degrees that taught us to take great pictures, but we left university without knowing how to charge for our services, market our work to clients, or even do basic accounting. We felt that teaching this course is one opportunity to pass on helpful information developed through experience and help Rwandan photographers to make a living wage.
If the business of photography isn’t being taught to young photographers, how can they obtain the tools to become successful? What can the professional community do to help? I’d love to know your thoughts and ideas on how we can promote entrepreneurship.
In order to do my part, I hope to continue sharing information and teaching in the communities that I live in. Keep your eyes open for the podcast from our workshop.