I’m in kind of unique position in photography being both a photographer and in a job where I regularly interview professional photographers and sometimes work with them on interesting projects.

In the process of doing that job I’ve met a lot of amazing photographers and many people who want to be in the business. After a while you start getting an idea of who’s going to make it and who’s going to end up in another line of work.

Harder to pin down are the qualities that separate the successful from those destined to do something else. The reason it’s hard to make that distinction is that successful photographers come in all shapes, sizes and personality types. Some are sullen and antisocial, some are happy and outgoing and quite a few on the continuum between those extremes. Most are older, but there are many younger faces breaking into the top ranks of photography, men and women.

image by Tax Credits

So I can say with some certainty that your personality and demographics won’t dictate your success in photography. There are some behaviours that are common to successful photographers and some that are common to those not making it. Here are five factors that will guarantee failure in photography.

You Lack Motivation

Successful photographers are shooting all the time, whether it’s a paying job, a pet project or testing out new equipment. I have several professional photographers I visit on a regular basis and I’ve never walked in to their studios when they were not busy with something new and almost always with a stack of books they’ve been reading to get ideas on new techniques.

If that doesn’t describe you then your probability of success in the business is quite low.

You Don’t Understand Business

Being an awesome photographer is great but if you want to make a living at it you also have to be an awesome businessperson. If you don’t understand the value of insurance, you’ll be one accident away from going out of business.

If you don’t understand contracts you’ll get stiffed on payment and eventually sued, again out of business. Filing quarterly taxes, obtaining permits, model releases and balancing a check-book are all skills that are equally important with being able to take great pictures.

You Don’t Like Sales

Think your work is going to sell itself? Better get your resume together. Photographers with agency reps have found a way to offload sales for a percentage, everyone else is going to be pounding the pavement. That means cold calls, dealing with rejection… a lot of that… meeting with advertising reps and pitching your portfolio.

If you’re a wedding photographer that means constant pitches to prospective brides shopping for wedding services, setting up booths at bridal fairs and scouting venues. Sales and self-promotion are never ending jobs in the photography world unless you’re one of the lucky few to land a rep.

You Undervalue Your Services

Part of market research is understanding the going local rates for photography services and making sure your prices are in line with those norms. There are many hobbyists negotiating for paying jobs by undercutting those rates.

Doing so will almost certainly mean eventual failure in the business. Once you start competing on price, there’s no bottom to that slope. All you have to look forward to is working more and more for less income. No one can stay in business with that pricing model.

You Don’t Work With Other Photographers

Remember up above I mentioned that photographers come in all personality types? I know that because whether they’re grumpy or happy, they’re all getting together regularly at professional association meetings, working on projects together and providing support to each other during times of illness.

Most photographers are lone wolf types, but who is going to take your place if you get sick or in an accident right before a wedding? The best professional photographers are friendly competitors, each knowing that the day may dawn when they have to rely on one another for support. If you’re not part of that scene, you’re not going to make it. You’ll get sick or hurt and the bottom will fall out of your business because there’s no one to step in and help.

Conclusion

If you read through that list and find yourself in it, you can decide to start adding those activities or regulate photography to a hobby. There’s no shame in being a hobby photographer. Photography can be an amazing career, but it is a tough business and it’s not for everyone. It’s one of those businesses where if you can do something else, you’ll probably be farther ahead.