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Getting a Picture of the Market
It’s difficult to precisely determine how many professional photographers are in the United States because many of them don’t register their businesses. Also, there’s the question of what makes a professional photographer. If it’s anyone who makes money from photography, then the number is much higher than if the definition is restricted to those who make a full-time living from photography. However, we do know by looking at the subscriber files of magazines written for professional photographers that the median age of professional photographers is 40, and they tend to be educated and affluent. According to Nancy Spielmann, senior account executive at Statlistics Management Group, which manages the Photo Techniques magazine file, 90 percent of photographers who subscribe to Photo Techniques are college-educated, and their average income is $102,580.
Professional photographers can work in a variety of categories—such as editorial, sports and events—but the most popular categories are wedding photography, portraiture and commercial work. Fifty-three percent of the respondents in Professional Photographer magazine’s latest reader survey, conducted in late 2006, are classified as full-time professional studio photographers, and 16 percent are professional freelance photographers. “It’s a tough profession to get into,” says Jeffrey Roberts, vice president and publisher of the Hachette Photo Group, which publishes American Photo and Popular Photography & Imaging magazines. “There’s a cachet, and people coming out of schools are trying to get into the business.”
The fact that photographers tend to think of themselves as creatives, not businesspeople, makes getting into the business even more difficult, because it means that they may have trouble marketing themselves and building relationships with clients.
Where They Spend Their Money
According to the Professional Photographer survey, 85 percent of respondents approve or authorize purchases for their organizations. But what do they buy?
Of course, they buy photography equipment and supplies such as cameras, lenses, props, studio rentals, frames, matting, albums and backdrops. However, while they also used to buy developing materials, these days—when 67 percent of the survey respondents capture all of their files digitally—they’re buying software, printers and ink instead. “With digital photography surpassing standard photography, the IT needs at these studios have changed dramatically,” says Keely Vazquez, managing partner at TriMax Direct, which manages the Professional Photographer magazine file. “There’s a whole new set of needs. Photographers need a good Web site, and they need the capabilities for the client to view and choose the pictures online instead of having proofs in a book.”
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