Learn how to make money in commercial photography!

---

This article is about how I made over a million dollars in commercial photography. 

If you want to make money in COMMERCIAL photography, this essay is for you. Get yourself a cup of coffee and hang with me.

001

There are no “five easy steps” 

because it doesn’t work that way. However, if you can master the basic disciplines of photography and business, you can make a very good living of $75,000 a year or more. The "mastering" effort is a lifetime commitment. You got to be committed.

002

Photography skills are financially worthless

 until you learn how to apply it to the commercial needs of your clients. Remember, we are talking about commercial photography and not fine art.

If you are entry level, plan on five to ten years before turning profits of $75,000 a year or more. Why? You need to accumulate business knowledge and experience in order to establish yourself with commercial clients and earn the big bucks.

003

My personal story.

 At 12 years old, I taught myself photography via Kodak How To Do books. At 21, I started my business in San Francisco. After starving for several months, I realized I needed business knowledge. So I hired people to tutor me. This was the foundation for my financial success. After 35 years of freelance commercial photography I retired a millionaire. 

004

The point here is that in addition photography skills,

you need real world business knowledge and experience to make money as a commercial photographer. I hope that what I share here will contribute to your financial success in your career.

My name is Ted Kurihara. I’m a photographer. The story you are about to read is true.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." 

Arthur Ashe

Commercial Photography vs. Fine Art Photography. 

005 

Commercial photography exists on a different platform from fine art. 

Commercial photos support a client’s marketing program. That means you must approach commercial photography from your clients’ point of view. You use your creativity to help your client tell his/her story. In fine art, you are shooting to please yourself. 

006

When clients are benefiting from your photos, they pay you money. 

Clients pay you based on what they think you are worth to them, what your competitors are charging or what they can afford. To prepare for a professional photography career, plan on a minimum of 60-hour workweeks for the first five years. Spend your weekends and nights improving your business and photography knowledge. Of course, if you work less, you get paid less. Making more money simply means you are accepting more responsibilities such as learning how to operate in a business environment.

007

Your photography business must exist for the benefit of your clients.

 Commercial photography is not about you. Many of us endeavored into photography for personal “artistic” expression. To be successful in commercial photography, you can still “express yourself” but it must be for the benefit of the client. When you do this well, the clients pay you money. Yeah!!!

008

To make money as a commercial photographer, 

you need to learn the basics of business, marketing, communications, selling and graphic design. Why? Because commercial photos are part of a corporate marketing project to sell products or services. Having this background will make you a valuable contributor to your corporate clients' projects. For instance, I usually start a meeting by saying: "What's the purpose of your project and who are your target audiences?  What kind of photos do you have in mind to communicate your message? What kind of budget are you allowing for and what's the deadline?" The point here is that I'm conducting myself as a businessperson first and a photographer second. The more I understand what my client is about, the more I can creatively contribute to their goals.

009

Misinformation.

 Experts claiming there are "5 easy steps" essentially tell you nothing. What they really want is your “click” on their site for their own benefit. You just got ripped losing time trying to digest meaningless information. Making money in commercial photography requires a healthy philosophy and a no BS career plan. If I am successful here, I am going to teach you how to earn it. You will have to earn it. This is not a welfare article. 

010

You can be an artist and make money in commercial photography at the same time. 

But you must have a valid plan in place to support your goal to make money. Wishful thinking and “passion” for photography has nothing to do with making money. 

011

Your plan to make money must be supported by your philosophy and lifestyle.

Your philosophy must include constantly improving  all your skills for the benefit of others. 

Your lifestyle must support your career plan that must include gaining more business knowledge. In my case, I hired tutors, went to night school and weekend seminars during the first ten years. Absolutely don’t fall for the starving artist myth perpetuated by "experts" on the Internet. You may have to go through the starving part, but it’s just a passing stage on your way to success. Commit yourself to gaining the required knowledge to support your goal to make money. If you can make this commitment, you’re half way there. But don’t celebrate just yet. There’s more to this and I think you’re going to like it.  Do you need more coffee?

012

Making the big decision. 

So you’re on the fence trying to decide if you want to make the BIG jump towards a commercial photography career. But what if you didn’t have to make that ONE BIG commitment? What if you just made one small commitment towards your goal? For instance, the only commitment you need to make is the one you are challenged with right now, such as mastering your photography, marketing, or selling skills. Here’s why:

013

Making a big career commitment can be daunting

 to anyone because there are so many factors to process. But on the other hand, the human mind can handle small decisions easily. When you review a successful person’s career, you will see that it actually consists of many small decisions over a period of time. Their ONE BIG decision was really a collection of many small decisions.

014

My suggestion

 is to break down to the smallest part all the important things you need to learn and commit to mastering them one at a time. This is one BIG decision you came make without any stress.

015

Here’s a story of a motorcycle champion I met years ago. 

He explained that professional racing is grueling. A racing season involves practice during the week and racing on Sunday in track temperatures over 125 degrees. After a race, you travel from Texas to California and rest on Tuesday. Then it’s back to work on Wednesday preparing for next Sunday’s race. Then you go to the next state to race. The mental and physical exhaustion takes its toll, as the racing season is intense. Many riders instinctively try to conserve their mental and physical energy to make it through the season. In doing so, it slows them down a touch.

016

This champion’s “secret” was to race all out for five laps only per race. 

You see, the human mind can accept “all out” for five laps. Then he races the next five laps “all out” and the next five until the race is over. He is not focused on conserving his energy. He is focused on five “all out” laps. At the end of the race, he has raced “all out” on every lap. All out for him means he is going through each turn about 1/30 of a second faster than the next guy. After 30 corners, he has a one second lead. At the next race, he repeats this same approach and at the end of the season, he’s a champion. He had a plan to succeed that was supported his philosophy and work lifestyle.

017

Put your plans to a calendar. 

To prepare yourself to make money, commit your plans to a calendar. Your philosophy and lifestyle must support your commitments to learn the necessary skills. The items on your calendar should include, photography, business, communications, selling and graphic arts.

Why learn about business?

Business and commercial photography are synonymous. That's where the money is. Here's an example of why business knowledge is important. I was asked to bid on an employee benefits slide show for the McKesson Company. The slide show was to meet federal requirements in communicating employee benefits. Because of business training, I understood that when a company lost a white-collar employee, it cost about $60,000 in training and salaries for a replacement; and that many employees quit because the benefits offered by a competitor was better. When I made my presentation to McKesson, I stressed that the slide show could be written such to minimize employee turnover in addition to meeting federal communication requirements. I was the highest bidder and got the assignment for $50,000. In addition, I contracted for a 3-month deadline and used the job as a filler to my shooting schedule to make my overall productivity profitable. This is an example of applying business knowledge to commercial photography.

Why learn about communications? 

For large corporations, communicating to the financial world affects the value of their stocks. When Shaklee Corporation opened their plant in Norman, Oklahoma, this was a big deal for Shaklee and Norman, Oklahoma. At that time, the employment there was one of the lowest in the United States and at the same time, Shaklee was rapidly expanding. Having worked with the Shaklee management staff before, they were comfortable with my professionalism. When they heard that the governor of Oklahoma State was attending the grand opening the next day, they sent me there immediately in a Lear jet to photograph the Shaklee president and the governor for financial public relations. They chose me and not a local photographer because the president of Shaklee was comfortable with me. It was important to the client that president was looking relaxed and confident because this event and announcement would have a direct affect on the company's stock value. Also important was that I always wore a suit on previous Shaklee assignments when photographing their executives. 

During my career, I received many assignments because I wore a suit and the other guys didn't. On many traveling corporate assignments, I was shooting for the home office. My clients saw me as an extension of their headquarters and wanted a photographer who dressed professionally and understood business protocols. In other words, if I was shooting for Hewlett-Packard, I represented Hewlett-Packard . Of course, I would change into working attire as needed. 

Why learn about selling? 

Don't bother with this. What you want to learn is the art of communications. Here are the basics:

Communications is the art of asking questions.

The art of asking questions is listening to the answers.

Now you are selling.

In a sales presentation, it is natural to want a potential client to approve your work. The danger is you will probably get what you want, an approval. The client will say, “nice work Bob. Thanks for coming.” And you go home feeling happy but no assignment. The point is, in a portfolio presentation, you must be absolutely clear that your goal is to get an assignment, not an approval. This is why clear goals supported by communication skills are important. 

Having a client approve your portfolio is only an introduction. It does not mean you make a sale. A professional buyer already has a list of approved photographers you are competing with. When the client compliments your work during your portfolio presentation, that’s your cue to change the focus of the meeting from your portfolio to your client needs by asking pertinent questions.

What’s a pertinent question? A pertinent question is a question that is answered in your favor.

Normally, I will make an honest statement followed by a pertinent question. 

An honest statement followed by a pertinent question:

“I would like to do business with you guys. How do you suggest I go about it?"

Samples of pertinent questions: 

“What’s the procedure here to do business with your firm?”

“How can you use my photography in your operation?”

“Can you tell me about your next project?”

“How can I be of help to you on your next project?”

“How can I get a crack at that job?”

“What kind of photography will you be needing on your next project?

“Who else buys photography in your company?”

“Who’s the person I should be talking to on that project?”

“Would it be fair to shoot some test shots for you to show you what I can do for you?”

“What do you look for in a photographer?" 

“May I call on you again in a month or so?”

“Do you mind if I send you samples of my work every now and then?”

“Could you show me samples of the kind of photography you buy?"

When you ask a pertinent question, listen carefully to how the client is answering. Invariably, the client will be telling you how they are going to give you their business…and follow the thread. (Again, this assumes your photography is acceptable to the client.) When you are asking pertinent questions and getting honest answers, you are communicating. When you are communicating, you are selling. 

Tell the truth before you start asking pertinent questions. 

Example: "The reason I'm calling on you is because I want to do business with your company. Can you tell me how I should go about it?" 

THESE ARE THE MOST POWERFUL SENTENCES YOU WILL USE IN YOUR CAREER TO MAKE SALES..

Buyers will trust you more than others because you are telling the truth from the get go.

Bad example: “I just wanted to show you my work.” You will cause the buyer to respond defensively because this statement is not entirely true. They know you want to sell them something but not being upfront about it. Ever have a salesperson call on you and say they just want to come by to say hello?

Why learn about graphic arts? 

As a commercial photographer, you will be getting assignments from art directors and graphic designers for corporate projects. When you have a basic knowledge of layout and design, it allows you to participate effectively in the creative process. The photographer who simply wants others to tell him what to shoot becomes a burden. Often, photo-shoots are collaborations between photographer, client and the designer or art director. A busy art director or graphic designer will select me for their projects simply because they trust that I understand the parameters of the job and don't have to be present during the photoshoot and in turn makes them more productive. In these circumstances, " creative process" includes understanding the client's goals.

I got an assignment from a large design firm to shoot pictures for a trade show exhibit. I was their second choice. The guy that was their first choice insisted on shooting the job on 35mm Kodachrome because he felt he could be more creative. I got the assignment because I was comfortable shooting with a 4x5. The graphic designer was concerned about the image quality because he needed murals for a trade show booth. I was simply trying to help this client meet his goals of image quality. The other guy was trying to protect his creativity with his 35mm camera and lost a $15,000 assignment.

018

Your philosophy is your business plan by default and determines how much money you will make in your lifetime. 

As a commercial photographer, you need to be clear in your philosophy that your business exists for the benefit of your clients. What this means is that you need to change professions and be a businessperson first and a photographer second. The pictures you take in the commercial world are for the client’s benefit. You need to live by the philosophy that you are using your photographic talent to help others achieve their goals. In return, they will pay you money. 

019

Don’t fall in love with your camera. 

It’s a tool. Don’t fall for those ads that tell you, “All you need is the right equipment to make money.” They are lying to you. Throughout my career, no one ever asked me about my equipment before hiring me. If your camera can take pictures suitable for reproduction, that’s a good camera. Buy new equipment based on your needs during the past 6 months. In your early years, rent or borrow if you need more stuff. Usually, the client will pay for the rentals on big jobs. Spend the initial bulk of your cash on education such as business, communication and selling skills. 

020

Success guaranteed. 

None whatsoever. Only you can guarantee your own success by earning it. No one is going to give it to you. Success means different things to different people and your definitions change as you mature. Here’s what I went through:

In the first year of business, my knowledge of business was zero. I was happy just to take pictures and be able to pay my bills. But as I gained business knowledge, my goals expanded. In about a year I realized that the effort to secure a small account was about the same as trying to get a big account. This motivated me to learn more about how big companies operated and going after them was a natural evolution. I couldn’t wait to hit the books, go to a business seminar or class to learn more.

021

As I gained more experience and business knowledge, fears and doubts dissipated.

 I was learning how to go after my dreams. I was shot down many times but in the process, I gained much more than I was originally aiming for. I learned that striving for success was a lot more profitable than trying to avoid failure.

022

Guarantee doesn’t exist.

 However, you can guarantee to yourself that you will dedicate your talents to the benefit of others. You can guarantee to yourself that you will properly prepare for the career of your choice. When you can do that, you are putting yourself in a position that is difficult to fail. You can’t get better than that.

023

Summary:

1) Commercial photography is about helping your clients reach their goals.

2) To be successful, you must be a businessperson first and a photographer second. Photography is the medium you work in as a businessperson. 

3) Clients don’t care about your “passion.” They want your talent to achieve their goals.

4) You can only succeed if you intend to succeed. Trying to succeed doesn’t work.

5) Don’t buy into the “starving myth.” You have an obligation to yourself and others to succeed.

6) I succeed with this essay only if you succeed. Don’t let me down. I know where you live.

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." 

Pablo Picasso

More on the Philosophy to Succeed

024

Your philosophy and lifestyle must support your goal to make money. 

If you intend to succeed, then take the steps that are necessary to succeed. If you have a reasonable amount of talent and intelligence, you’re halfway there because most of the stuff you already know. Pay attention to the following:

025

If you intend to succeed, you must be a businessperson first and a photographer second. 

This does not mean you sacrifice your love for photography. What I am talking about is using your love for photography to make money. Now get yourself more coffee and keep on reading. I promise not to waste your time.

026

Your philosophy is the software for your brain and influences the outcome of your career. 

When you intend to succeed, your mind interprets events and opportunities to support your goal to succeed. If you are simply trying to succeed, you will unconsciously anticipate failure. Use your time and energy on finding ways to succeed rather than trying to avoid failure.

027

How your ego dictates the level of success. 

On my early jobs I worked defensively in fear of screwing up. I was concerned about “looking good.” As I matured, I learned how to focus my energy on the job for the benefit of the client.  As I improved my skills and business knowledge fear became a secondary issue. For instance, I learned to identify the shot first before setting up my lights and camera as opposed to trying to look good setting up my equipment right away. 

028

Learn to interpret your fears, mistakes and challenges as opportunities to further your career. 

Negative thinking is like trying to love someone you hate or trying to get a promotion in a job you didn’t like. It goes nowhere. Fear usually means you need a little more knowledge and experience.

029

A positive attitude gives you the perspective that the world is full of opportunities.

It is difficult to succeed as a commercial photographer if you are simultaneously planning an alternate career. Success requires a total commitment. Your philosophy, your perspectives on life and your work discipline must all be in sync to achieve success on a high level. 

030

Commercial photography is solving problems 

that include production, budgets, weather, deadlines, unprepared people, unreasonable client, not enough equipment, traffic, airline schedule, etc. Your value as a professional is your ability to anticipate and overcome problems no matter what they are. The opposite of solving problems is looking for excuses and claiming "not my fault."

031

The good news is that most problems can be solved 

with preparation and test shooting. In many instances, test shooting allows for more creativity because no one is breathing down your neck. That’s what weekends are for.

032

Making money. 

I started my business in San Francisco at twenty-one. In my first year I billed out about $50,000; and doubled it the next year. By the fifth year of business, I was billing about $250,000. Just nine years into the business, I was billing between $400,000 – 500,000 regularly. There are many other photographers who earned a lot more. Since 12 years of age, I had been improving my photography skills with the intention that I would be a professional photographer. I could not comprehend another career and in turn, did not have a fall back career in mind. Accordingly, it was easy to focus on my career.

033

Business and selling skills. 

All clients expect good photography from whomever they hire. What you need to understand is that they will select the photographer they trust will help them reach their goals and not necessarily the one with the best portfolio. In order to help a client reach his/her goals, you need to know something about them and their business. When you can discuss the clients' business needs intelligently, now you are in a better position to get their business.

For instance, a buyer may be discussing a project with two other photographers. But because of an extremely tight deadline (which is often), she will pick the one that has a reputation of being organized and dependable on meeting deadlines. Therefore, from the selling standpoint, you should be communicating that you are organized and dependable. Simple things like returning phone calls immediately and being on time for meetings go a long way. Other things that a buyer is sensitive to are your emails and letters. If your grammar sucks and spell your client's name wrong, you are likely to become the second or third choice. I know a photographer who lost the Mack Truck account because he mis-spelled the company's president's name on his estimate. That one error probably cost him about $500,000 assuming he could've had that account for at least 5 years.

034

Your mind is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. 

When you can imagine exactly what your success looks like, feels like, smells like and sounds like, your daily actions will naturally gravitate towards that goal. And as you gain more knowledge and experience, your imagination expands and becomes more powerful. It will be easier to attain success because you have already been there in your mind. 

035

This is how it works. 

When you can use all your senses to imagine in detail exactly what your success is like, your subconscious doesn’t know it’s a daydream so it becomes a belief within you. Now it’s easier to make success a matter of fact. There are no surprises as you complete your daily tasks. Ever have a nightmare and woke up stressed out? You thought it was real and responded accordingly. Same thing.

036

Olympic downhill skiing. 

The competitor next up is waiting her turn. Standing there, you will see pantomiming her turns. She is already racing in her mind. During the actual race, she is re-living the race she perfected in her mind. In spite of the speed going down hill, the turns are no surprise because she has done it hundreds of times in practice and in her mind.

037

So to be a successful photographer, 

you need to prepare your mind in the same fashion. You need to give your mind quality knowledge and experience in order to accept as reality your dreams of being a successful photographer. It’s no different from taking a test in school. When you know you have studied properly, you look forward towards that A. When you are not prepared, you’re hoping for a C. Your dreams must be supported by practice, knowledge and experience. Dreams alone don’t count for much. But when you back your dreams up with practical knowledge and experience, you become unstoppable.

038

People can respect you only up to the level that you respect yourself. 

You respect yourself by giving yourself the proper education in order to execute the responsibilities of your chosen career. You must take care of your health and not to be a burden to your family and friends. You must keep your promises and honor the commitment you made to yourself to be a successful photographer.

039

When you respect yourself as a professional photographer, only then will your clients have respect for you. 

When a client feels that you are giving 100% of your efforts on their behalf, they will continue to hire you. When they respect you, they give you more money. Stay with me here, there’s more…

040

When you lack respect for yourself, you will respect your clients to that same level. 

There are photographers who constantly bitch about their clients. They are never financially successful. The most common complaint was that their clients were cheap and that’s the kind of jobs they were getting. If they failed to get an assignment, they complained that the client had no appreciation of their work. The point is, if you don’t respect yourself, you will not respect your client and unconsciously treat him or her accordingly. No repeat business here.

041

Freedom. 

I heard a photo expert advising on how great it is to be a freelance photographer because it allowed you to shoot whatever you wanted. Well, I think this is misinformation. When you are broke, you are in a financial prison and a burden to your friends and family. Being a freelance photographer does not guarantee freedom if you don’t know how to generate money. 

“Freedom is not about doing what you want when you feel like it. That’s laziness. Freedom is when you can choose what you want to be responsible for, and have the means and ability to execute that chosen responsibility.”

This quote is from a janitor friend.

042

Do not confuse being busy with success. 

I have known busy photographers who made little economic progress in spite of the fact that they were busy. They never achieved their economic goals because they had no clear idea what their goals looked like or how they were going to get it. They thought being busy taking a lot of pictures was somehow going to translate to money. Working hard and working smart are two different concepts.

043

Your thought comes first and then the action follows. 

Before you do anything, your thought precedes your action. Therefore, if you have quality thoughts, you will have quality actions. If you prepare for your career in an intelligent manner, you can expect quality results. As in professional football, the game on Sunday is really won in the practice sessions in the week before the game. If you don't prepare for your career properly, you will be wasting your passion for photography. 

044

Stay away from those who promise you success in “5 easy steps." 

Don't waste your precious time. There is absolutely no "5 easy steps." Successful commercial photography is a life-long  continuing effort. That is why your philosophy, to dedicate your photography for the benefit of your clients, is vitally important. The demands of your clients grow as your business expands. This is normal in any growing business environment. Professional buyers can spot a fake in just a few seconds. Even after 35 years of professional photography, I still feel the need to learn new stuff.

045

The quality of your past experiences has determined your current status as a photographer. 

You can’t escape this fact. Your future is dependent on what you can learn. You must increase your photography and business knowledge and learn how to apply that knowledge towards your client’s goals in order to get assignments. So, get with it.

046

Creativity is a waste of time. 

OK, this is an overstatement. I apologize. Look. To be a financially successful commercial photographer, the industry expects you to be creative or they won’t play with you. The real challenge is learning how to apply your creativity to your client’s needs. That's why you need to learn about business.

In my opinion, a photographer with adequate professional skills and a good understanding of business will make more money that a highly skilled photographer with no business knowledge.

047

Commercial clients are not buying creative photography. They expect it. 

Every client expects good quality photos but they make their selection based on other parameters such as trust, security, experience, efficiency, price, etc. You need to approach your potential client based on these parameters in mind. Approach your clients with “How can I benefit this client with my talent and knowledge?” as opposed to “Look at my portfolio and see how good I am.” Simply put, you need to know about your clients and their industry in order to discuss their needs intelligently.

048

I know a bunch of photographers that were really creative in their personal work. 

But they starved throughout their careers. They spent years adding beautiful images to their portfolios proving how creative they were but got agonizingly few commercial assignments.

049

Why so few paying assignments? 

Because their whole life was spent wrapped around expressing themselves and telling the world how creative they were. And that’s what happened. Their philosophy and emotional goal was focused on expressing themselves. In turn, they ignored the many opportunities to apply their talent to industry and get paid for it. Thoughts come first and the action follows. 

050

Confidence. 

Early in my career, I lacked confidence big time. Thankfully, my photography was good enough for me to survive my first year. Here’s what I learned about confidence:

Confidence is a word that describes the past. You describe the past by saying “I acted witih confidence or did not have confidence.” You can’t act with confidence in the future because the future doesn’t exist. You only have now and either you got it or you don’t. So what’s the point?

Having no confidence is synonymous to fear. You can’t completely be rid of fear, but you can displace fear with knowledge and experience. Instead of wasting energy trying to act with confidence, put your efforts towards enhancing your photography, business and communications skills. When you are focused on learning about your clients' business and exploring ways of applying your photography skills, now you are operating with confidence.

Part #2: How I Made A Million Dollars in Photography.

051

Operate to win. 

When you are philosophically and emotionally committed towards reaching your goals, it’s easier to achieve them. You must be clear on what your goals are and have a valid plan in place to get it. Many successful people accept achievement as a normal part of their lives. They operate with a matter of fact belief that they will achieve their goals. Every workday is committed towards reaching their goals. How can you possibly fail if you reach your goals every day? That's why a calendar is important. If you execute every important task in your daily life to a high level of perfection, you are making it nearly impossible to fail. 

052

When you invest in your education and disciplined in completing your tasks, 

you are conditioning yourself for a successful career. When every molecule in your body believes you are prepared for a successful career, your perspective of the world changes. You will readily see financial opportunities in the world around you because you know you have the tools to get it. In the last half of my active career, I never worried about doing a good job and getting paid well for it. It's not an ego thing. I expected to do a good job  because I know I had been properly trained for it and that's the reason I was hired. 

053

On the other hand, when not prepared, 

your subconscious is making excuses for failure. If you start your photo career based on the belief that “most people don’t make it”, you have already failed. You need to approach your commercial photography career from the standpoint of, “What do I need to learn in order to succeed?” And then go and learn it. Stay away from the “5 easy steps” junk. They are literally wasting your life in exchange for a “click.”

054

Mistakes and rejections are worth a lot of money. 

Some people unnecessarily handicap themselves with the fear of making mistakes so they operate in a safe environment to avoid failures. For instance, they avoid making cold calls in fear of rejection. Many go as far as saying, “I don’t care to make a lot of money. I just want enough to live on so I can continue my art.” Mistakes and rejections are painful for sure. Fortunately, I had promised myself from the beginning that I would make every mistake and rejection a valuable learning opportunity. Here’s an example of a rejection that resulted in over $1M of business. You’re gonna like this one.

055

The one million dollar rejection. 

Growing up on a farm in Hawaii, I was never exposed to homeless alcoholics until I came to San Francisco. I was 19 years old. For a couple of years, I photographed them in my spare time out of morbid curiosity. I learned that street alcoholics represented only about 3% of the alcoholics in America. The rest of the alcoholics were in every level of society costing America hundreds of millions of dollars in industrial accidents, car wrecks, unemployment, divorces, etc. That gave me an idea to make money for a good cause.

056

Taking months to prepare, 

I made a presentation to the local Salvation Army. I proposed that they use their reputation to lean on the liquor industry to fund educational programs on the causes and cure for alcoholism. They allowed me one hour to make the presentation but terminated my presentation after 5 minutes saying, “Good idea but that’s not what we do. Thank you for coming.” Yeah, I was devastated. Rejected in five minutes.

057

As I dragged my sorry-self out of the building a guy followed me out. 

He introduced himself as the PR guy for the Salvation Army (a vendor, not staff), gave me his card and asked that we meet that afternoon. He wanted to talk. At 4pm, we meet in a coffee shop. He asked, “What else do you think about?” I explained that I didn’t know anything about the Salvation Army until I prepared for the presentation and was surprised to learn how valuable the organization was to the community. I commented that almost everyone in the headquarters building looked about near retirement age and asked where are the new leaders coming from?  We are in the middle of a drug culture and don’t need Jesus freaks praying for their souls. We need grounded educated people joining the ranks to be the future leaders of the Salvation Army along the quality of the Peace Corp volunteers. I suggested that it would be a good idea for the Salvation Army to do stories to recruit college educated young people. Several months later, this same guy calls me up for an assignment to photograph a group of college women, Salvation Army volunteers, dedicating their summer teaching reading, writing and math to migrant worker families in the San Joaquin Valley in California. I was paid $300 per day for 3 days plus all expenses. In addition, they ordered hundreds of 8x10 prints for press releases to various publications, newspapers, etc. But this was only the beginning. You got to read on.

058

Prior to my shooting at the migrant worker camp, 

I did some research and learned how valuable the California agricultural industry is to America. The growers belonged to an organization called Tri Valley Growers (no longer existing). I reasoned that rich or poor, black or white, we all contribute to the profits of the agricultural industry. How about some corporate pay back to society such as contributing educational material to schools for free on the subjects of agriculture and nutrition? So, I prepared a presentation to the Tri Valley Growers Association.

059

Now I began to make big money. 

The truth is, I was rejected again after a few minutes into my presentation. “We have no structure in place to execute you ideas.” Fortunately the VP sitting in on the presentation was impressed that these ideas were coming from a nervous kid that looked about 16 years old. I was about 22 at the time. Keep reading, it gets better…

060

About half a year later, the ad agency for Motorola hired me 

for two weeks shooting the Tri Valley Growers operation in the San Joaquin Valley. Motorola had just completed installing their computer system and wanted to do promotional pictures (and 16mm film coverage) of their operation for industry PR release. The recommendation came from the VP at Tri Valley who shot down my presentation. The story continues…stay with me.

061

I did a good job on the Tri Valley project and to my great fortune, 

the ad agency also represented clients including Kaiser Industries, Kaiser Electronics, Kaiser Aerospace and many other large industrial firms. I shot for the ad agency for many years and did numerous assignments for their client companies directly. This relationship continued throughout my career and amounted to over a million dollars in billings. The point here is that I would not have had this opportunity if I were afraid to be rejected on my idealistic presentations. Mistakes and rejections, though painful, can be profitable if you can capitalize on the opportunities that open up as a result of your efforts. Simply put, you got to be on the playing field to participate in the game.

062

People around you must succeed if you are to succeed. 

As a freelance photographer, I did not exist in a vacuum. As a result professional tutoring, I learned that I couldn’t profit unless the people around me are profiting in someway. For instance, I patronized Gasser’s Cameras in San Francisco during my career. For the first two years, I was always behind on my payments. I kept Mr. Gasser informed of my progress and he supported me throughout my career. On credit I was able to buy my first Hasselblad kit, two Sinar 4x5 systems, Balcar strobes and lots of Nikon gear.

063

As my business grew, I continued buying all my capital equipment and supplies from Gasser’s Cameras 

and never asked for a discount. We had a win-win relationship. On one occasion, my Hasselblad super-wide broke during a shoot and none available in rental. Within a couple of hours, Mr. Gasser sent me new camera off the shelf so that I could complete my job. Occasionally on local shoots, I needed a special piece of gear. He would send it over immediately. Of course, I paid for the service. The point here is that my photo-shoots were not interrupted and I could operate with confidence that I could depend on his store for support. 

Once I had an assignment requiring a 360-degree panoramic camera. Mr. Gasser loaned me one of his rental guys to operate the camera, as I had no experience with that gear. Because of our win-win relationship, I had over a million dollars of store inventory and technical expertise at my immediate disposal. The value of this relationship was that it gave me confidence in accepting most any assignment because I had access to technical experts and a huge photo inventory at rental fees. How good is that?

064

I treated all my vendors with respect. 

Respect meaning I would pay them what they wanted. They were professionals and I never worried about being over charged. They were writers, designers, model agencies, makeup artists, hairdressers, set builders, prop makers, etc. Midway through my career, I was getting a reputation that if you had a big job with a short fuse, go get Ted. For instance, I was contacted by Harper Collins Publishing to design and produce one of John Madden’s book covers. I had 5 days to design, photograph, produce and deliver. The success of this project had nothing to do with photography. I got the assignment because I had a reputation of being a good organizer and meeting hot deadlines, a good working relationship with Madden’s staff and the designer. I received hundreds of thousands of dollars in assignments because of my reputation of getting things done on time. My photography was a secondary issue. What I just described is the result of stuff I learned from my tutors and classes at night school on business, management and communication.

065

Make learning an art form. 

You know by now what kinds of stuff you need to learn. The art part is using your creativity to learn fast. For instance, get 3-5 rookie photographers to chip in and pay a trusted professional to critique your portfolios or give you guys tutoring at $100 or $200 an hour at his studio. Research and identify the type of photography that appeals to you and write your own lesson plans for 3-5 sessions. I hired tutors to instruct me on business management, communications and selling skills and it paid off big time. I don't think I spent more than $10,000 on my education. How cheap is that?

066

Make good things happen on schedule for your projects. 

The process of making plans and setting goals prepares your brain to achieve. It’s like formatting your brain to accept and organize new information. Commercial photography is shooting with a deadline. When you can make good things happen for yourself, you can do it for a client and make some bucks. All commercial photography assignments have a deadline. 

067

To beef up you portfolio, 

team up with budding graphic designers or art directors on speculative jobs or pro bono work to get experience. Don’t wait for these things to happen. Make these things happen and on a schedule. At entry level, make getting experience and knowledge your priority over money. The experience you gain is the foundation for making the big bucks in the future.

068

An example of learning how to succeed. 

Paul is a family friend. One morning I arrive at my studio and Paul, who is 12 years old, is waiting for me. He didn’t go to school. I give him the job of mopping my 3,200 square foot studio. At noon, he tells me he finished. I put on a pair of white cotton gloves to check the floor and it comes up a little brown. I yell at Paul, “This is bullshit work” and toss the glove in the trash. After we finish lunch, I have him re-do the mopping. About 4pm, he comes to me saying the job is complete. I ask, “How do you know?” He proudly raises his hand wearing a white glove. The glove is clean. Say “hello” to Paul. 

On the second day that he came, I told Paul to change the oil on the motorhome. He replied, “I don’t know how. I’m only 12 years old.” My reply was, “F**k you, Paul. You can read. Don’t you ever use the words “I don’t know” around here. There’s a manual in the vehicle. Read the manual then change the oil.”

OK, I know I’m being tough on this street kid but he can take it. So he reads the manual and I discuss the procedures with him. Then I have him write down the procedure sequence and list the tools and supplies we are going to need. Then we discussed the environmental concerns, how to dispose used oil, to make plans to buy new oil and filters in advance for the next oil change. He learned that changing oil also meant checking the tire pressure, brake fluids and battery water. He learned that when changing the oil, he also had responsibility for the whole vehicle and the knowledge he needed was in the vehicle manual. Paul was learning the art of learning and he became a master at it.

069

After work, I usually took him to dinner at a fancy restaurant. 

I’m teaching him to get used to what success feels like, looks like, sounds like and taste like. During one dinner I apologized to Paul. He asked, “What for?” I said I apologize on behalf of my generation because we really screwed things up. We got a government that cheats, telephone companies and banks overcharging and all kinds of bad behavior. Paul responds: “So?” I tell him, “So you have to fix it. I’m not referring to your generation. I’m referring to you personally. You have to dedicate your life and knowledge to fix this society because somebody has to do it and you are capable of doing it,” Paul’s response, “OK.” I love this kid.

070

At another dinner I explained to Paul that he will be managing employees one day 

and described that managing does not mean bossing people around. Managing means you help your subordinates as well as your superiors to succeed in their jobs; that your success is measured by the success of the people around you; that you can’t succeed if your employees are not succeeding. Paul’s response, “OK.”

071

Fast forward: Over the following 20 years we keep in touch. 

One day he calls saying he needs help on a problem. The problem is this. He is the production manager of a pharmaceutical firm making $95,000 a year. Another division of the company wants him to come over and offered him $105,000 a year. But he feels he owes his current boss some loyalty for having groomed him to his present position. What to do? But I don’t tell him what to do. I just ask a bunch of questions. Finally, he figured out a plan. He’s going to call a meeting with these two guys and explain to them his predicament and tell them the truth; that he’s torn between his loyalty and a substantial raise. Then he’s going to leave them alone and let them sort out the problem. Paul got the raise and remained on good terms with his first boss. 

072

OK, what’s the point of this story? 

The point of this story is that Paul’s success started at 12 years old. He learned to perform every task to perfection as a matter of routine. When he successfully completed a task, I simply gave him another task. He learned that every task is supposed to be done successfully and that was normal behavior. He accepted at an early age that one day he will be managing people and that there were responsibilities attached to it. If there was knowledge required (as in changing oil), it was his responsibility to gain that knowledge. These concepts were presented to him as a matter of fact, not an option in life. Paul does not know the concept of failure in his life. Achieving his goals was just a normal habit he formed and didn’t know there were other options.

073

Imagine yourself going through your photography career with no concept of failure 

because you will complete each task to perfection. By doing so, it is near impossible to fail. What would happen if you made a promise to yourself that from this moment on, you would complete to perfection every goal you set for yourself?

074

Summary:

1) Your Philosophy and lifestyle must support your career goals. When you intend to succeed and make more money, your mind interprets events and opportunities to support your goal to make more money.

2) Commercial photography is about solving problems before and during the shoot. Assume total responsibility to make the right things happen. Everything on a shoot is your responsibility. Don’t ever allow a situation to happen that you blame others for. When you accept full responsibility, you naturally pay more attention to details and that’s were the great shots are.

3) How you go about your job is just as important as the job itself. Execute your shoots with the idea of protecting the client's operation. For instance, when shooting on location, operate to minimize the interruption to your client's productivity.

4) As you master your photography and gain more business knowledge you become more valuable to your clients and they pay you more money. How simple is that?

5) Learn to make detailed plans in writing and assign your tasks to a calendar. In most cases, when you write a detailed plan, you already accomplished 50% of the task. 

6) Clients can respect you only up to the level that you respect yourself. Your self-respect rises when you know that you are taking the responsibility to properly prepare yourself for your career.

7) Achievement is executing your daily responsibilities with intelligence and common sense. It is near impossible to fail if you execute all your daily goals to its intended conclusion. 

8) Before you perform any action in your life, a thought comes first and then the action follows. Therefore, if you have quality thoughts, you will have quality results.

9) Dedicate your talent to helping your clients succeed in their goals and they pay you money.

10) Confidence. You can’t fake it. You gain confidence with knowledge and experience. 

11) Mistakes and rejections are worth a lot of money. Mistakes and rejections are learning opportunities.

12) The people around you must succeed if you are to succeed. This includes your clients, your employees, your vendors and your family.

13) Make learning an art form. Your current status in life is based on what you already know. Your future is dependent on what you can learn.

"Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don't have a plan."

Larry WINGET

More real world stories to learn from.

075

To get real world experience, approach your local Salvation Army, 

Red Cross organization or any large charity organization and offer your services pro bono to the PR director or communications officer. This could be a joint effort with a budding designer. Tell them the truth that you are trying to build up a professional portfolio. At this point you don’t want money. You want experience and a valid portfolio. Now you just created a real life photo assignment so take full advantage of it. You will learn to operate under pressure. You will learn valuable experience working with a large organization. Their structure is similar to a corporation. You will find that many different departments need photography and not just the headquarters. You will make many mistakes and that’s great because now you have more opportunities to learn. Take your photos to an experienced professional for a critique. Now you are learning professional commercial photography.

076

Early in my career, I worked pro bono for a local YMCA branch. 

The YMCA branch director found the photos valuable to his operation, so he hired me as a youth counselor paying me $1,000 per month to cover my time and expenses. I will elaborate more on this story later. Fast forward. One of the Board of Directors of the YMCA owned a large electrical contracting company that installed the electrical systems in skyscrapers. He saw my photos exhibited at the annual YMCA dinner, tracked me down and hired me to do his corporate brochure. I worked with his advertising agency on the brochure. Later, the agency hired me for numerous jobs for their other clients over the next 15 years. This story is important because I often hear veteran photographers advising new guys NOT to give your work away. Well, I don’t know about stuff like that. I was just trying to get experience and survive as a photographer and it worked out great for me. 

077

OK, here’s another YMCA story that resulted in many commercial assignments.

I’m dating this girl who works at a school for mentally disturbed children. The school is located in the building adjoining the YMCA. While waiting to pick her up one day, I met the YMCA director. During our conversation, he told me about his disappointment of having just received notice from YMCA headquarters that they plan to shut down his branch due to lack of funds. His successful youth program would have to be canceled. He went on to explain that the majority of the YMCA’s funds came from United Crusade. Fast forward.

078

I suggested a plan that could possibly keep his branch open. 

I  documented his program and provided photos to the PR department of United Crusade since they provided the majority of the funds for the YMCA. In addition, I made photo albums for the teenagers who became PR reps for the YMCA branch. They took the photos to the community relations department of several TV and radio stations and got on air coverage. United Crusade responded with a major PR blast touting the youth program showing their contributions to society. The teenagers also used the photos to get donations from local businessmen to help fund their youth program. At the annual YMCA dinner, the youth program photos were exhibited and highlighted as one of the great accomplishments of the YMCA that year. At this point, there was no way that the YMCA headquarters could shut down this branch. But the story gets better.

079

The school for disturbed children:

 they saw my YMCA photos and asked that I do pro bono work for them for a fund raising brochure they had in production. The school was not happy with the photographer they had hired. His photos were of tear-jerking pictures of kids freaking out in emotional pain. They were great shots but hard to look at. I suggested that I could show the positive side of the school efforts, that there was hope that these kids could be helped. After all, this was a fund raising brochure and they wanted people donating money to help these kids. You get the picture. The graphic designer appreciated my enthusiasm and subsequent photography. I was helping the designer and the school meet their goal of producing a successful fund raising brochure. After completing that project, I started receiving commercial assignments from the graphic design firm that was also working pro bono. See, it’s not that hard.

080

Use your photographic talent for the benefit of others as a way of life. 

In the first years of business, I shot pro bono work to enhance my photography, business and communication skills and to build up my portfolio. In the process, I found unexpected opportunities to secure commercial assignments. The importance here is that I was trying to use my skills to help others attain their goals and good things came of it. The photos were not about me “expressing” myself. The photos were about helping others achieve their goals. If you can apply this concept to your commercial work, you will do fine. 

OK, I said this before and I will say it again because this is how you are going to make more money. Your photos must be of genuine value to the people paying for it. So your primary focus must be on helping others with your talent.

081

Scheduling a successful career. 

Make a two-year schedule if you are entry level with a detail list of all the things you need to learn and improve on. Assign an exact date and time you will execute each learning event. In two years, you should be proficient enough to seek commercial clients with a reasonable portfolio and confidence. Many of the disciplines you need to learn can be had simultaneously. That’s the value of doing pro bono work. Plan on repeating your lessons at least 6 times over the two-year period. Nobody gets it on the first try. Putting your lessons on a schedule prepares your mind in advance to absorb the lessons. First comes the thought followed by the action. You can only accomplish what you planned to accomplish. Nobody accidentally make it in this business.

082

Summary:

1) Photo skills represent only 25% of the business of commercial photography. The other skills required are business, marketing and selling.

2) To become a successful commercial photographer, be a marketing businessperson first and a photographer second.

3) Photography is the medium you use to assist your clients in their marketing and communication programs.

4) Make planning an art form to support your career. Without a valid plan assigned to a calendar, you will waste your youth chasing dreams that have no substance.

5) Corporate buyers expect good photography but choose photographers they trust. So, sell trust by having basic business knowledge and an understanding of your client's goals.

6) You need to learn photography, business, marketing, communication, selling, and the basic of art direction and graphic design. Plan these lessons to a calendar.

7) You cannot accomplish more than you believe you can accomplish. You must support your dreams with knowledge and experience. If you don’t have it, go and get it.

8) Don’t work hard. Work smart.

9) Don’t try to keep up with your competitors. Make your competitors keep up with you by doing your job professionally every time.

10) Be aware of your client’s perception of you. Perception is everything.

11) Clients don’t ever want to hear you say, “Not my fault.” Be responsible for the entire shoot. 

12) Control your financial destiny by taking the responsibility to gain the necessary knowledge and experience that you will need. Only you have the power to become a financially successful photographer.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." 

Charles Darwin

_____________________________________________

Now pay the author and his crew.

This is a for profit site. But you pay us only if this information is of value to you.

You get to choose the amount. 

The professionals who contributed to this site are:

John Williams: Project Designer and Editor

Mike the Knife: Photo coordinator

Ted Kurihara: Author and Photographer

Send payments via PayPal to: tedkurihara98@yahoo.com

Thank you for your visit. 

Ted Kurihara

COPYRIGHT TED KURIHARA