Please excuse the dust, mates, I’m going about redesigning PartTimePhoto.com to bring you even more delectable content!

Thank you for your patience!Similar Posts:

• How to get your first client in a new photography business – the Your First Customer Series
• Practice because you love to perform
• You’re going to get screwed doing part time photography
• 40 ways to help your clients prepare for an awesome photo shoot
• Your first photo proofing and sales session – Your First Customer Series, Part 9

So who am I to give you advice on how to make money as a part time photographer?

My name is James Taylor.

I own Outlaw Photography of Bandera, Texas.

I shoot almost entirely portraits; seniors, children, brides, couples, families. My wife shoots maternity and baby photos.

I fell bass ackwards into professional photography over 12 years ago. I landed a job as a photojournalist with my hometown newspaper, and as people saw my photos in the paper, they began asking if I also did family portraits. One good paid photo shoot led to the next, and I continued to do off-and-on professional work until I launched Outlaw Photography ‘officially’ in 2005. Since then, I’ve worked hard to improve my art and my business acumen while learning to balance a full time day job, part time photography job, and life.

Life for me includes my better half Jacklen and three young kiddos, McCayla (7), Canon (4), and the newest addition, Athena Corinna (celebrating one year in November 2011). Yes, Canon, as in my son is named after my preferred camera manufacturer. But that’s a story for another day.

I have been blessed with a great deal of success as a part time professional photographer over the years, and after a decade, I’ve hit a stride which now allows me the chance to share this success with others. Success to me is happy clients, happy family, happy self. A big part of the latter for me is giving back, which is what I hope to do here at PartTimePhoto.com.

After years and years of studying the art, business, and industry of photography online and here in the real world, I’ve learned that the people making the transition from unpaid amateurs to part time professionals is a massive, confused, underserved, underappreciated community.

That’s about to change. Drastically.

You generally have three levels of photographers:

• Amateurs and enthusiasts who shoot for fun and don’t care about making money off their work (Hi Uncle Joe!)
• Amateurs interested in making money with their photography (that’s you!)
• Professionals actively earning good pay for their time

Certainly there are, as the supermodels of ModelMayhem call them, “GWC’s” or “Guys With Cameras”; you have insanely talented amateurs and students all over Flickr; and you have a wide range of professionals from starvings artists to the Vincent Laforets and Anne Geddeses of the world.

This entire web site is targeted squarely at that Middle Category: amateurs, enthusiasts, students, part-timers, stay at home dads, unfulfilled day job moms, teenagers looking for summer work, etc.

I’m living that dream right now, and have been for many years. It is fun, it is stress-free, it is a perfect creative outlet, it’s a great way to meet interesting people, and it pays well. It took a lot of trial and a lot of error to learn how to achieve that sweet-spot balance between art, business, and life.

I hope that through sharing here on PartTimePhoto.com the whole of my experience in this journey, I will help others achieve the same success I have as a part time professional photographer.

Here’s some boring background bio info for you, just to show you how small-town I am and that it’s possible to be successful anywhere:

James Taylor’s “If I can do it…” Profile:

Me: Outlaw Photographer James Taylor.

Born in Tarpley, Texas, population: 30.

Graduated from, got a job in, and started part time photography business in Bandera, Texas, population: 957.

Still working for the same newspaper over a decade down the road.

Still a happy part time photographer.

Won gobs of big fish, small pond journalism awards, for sports photography, feature photography, news writing, page layout and design, etc. Voted “Best Photographer in Bandera County (population < 20,000) in 2007, 2008." Most recently picked up my biggest contest win yet, a first-place sports photography award from the Texas Press Association.

Everything I know about being a successful part time photographer, I look forward to sharing here on PartTimePhoto.com. It will take time and plenty of writing, but I truly believe you have the capability to better your life and the lives of those around you through the art and business of part time photography.

It’s benefited my life, and if you so desire, it can benefit yours.

Next Steps

• Surf over to Flickr and find three photographers whose portraiture work inspires you. Bookmark their photo streams. Contact each one: say by phone, e-mail, or picture comment, “I am an aspiring professional photographer and your work on Flickr is really inspirational. May I contact you once in a while to talk about photography?” You’ll learn that the most successful photographers are often the most open to helping you.
• Brainstorm session: make a list of all the people – famous, celebrity, or otherwise – with whom you would love to do a portrait session. From the President to a favorite comedian to Grandma. Save in your Brainstorms folder.
• If you’re down with the clown until you’re dead in the ground and would like to continue benefiting from the articles posted to this blog, please feel free to click the “Subscribe” button at the top of any page of this site.
• Who inspired you to take up photography, and then take it to the next level by doing paid work? Leave a comment below, e-mail me, or call or text me at 830-688-1564.

Similar Posts:

• Want to make money as a part time photographer?
• How to make money as a part time portrait photographer – Startup Series, Part 1
• Debate: Is longevity the selling point for photography studio prints (and their prices)?
• What does a successful part time photographer look like? – Startup Series, Part 4
• How do I get my first photography client? – Your First Customer Series, Part 4

If you’re here, you know you’re here, and that’s good enough for me.

If you have a few hours a week, access to a camera, and a hint of gumption, it’s my goal to help you make money as a part time photographer.

Perhaps:

• You have an unfulfilling day job and want to stretch your legs as a professional photographer
• You have a good day job that doesn’t pay enough, and you want some extra money to pay down debts, save up, or play with as fun money
• You’re a stay-at-home mom or dad and would like to earn some money working part-time with a set-your-own flexible schedule

Whatever drives your desire to explore the world of part-time professional or ProAm (professional-amateur) photography, it’s my own desire to help you be successful.

There are metric tons of information online about starting your own business and becoming a better photographer. Where I saw a need was while surfing photography forums and seeing so many men and women asking best-guess questions about how to get started. You don’t know what you don’t know, right?

In the same threads, I saw a lot of full time professional photographers give half-hearted advice and plenty of negative feedback.

“It’s not as easy as it looks.”

“Your photos are horrible; perhaps you should find another job.”

“The market is saturated with amateurs like you killing the industry.”

“If you’re not doing it full time, and you don’t have my expenses, and you don’t charge what I do, you’re not a real professional and you’re taking food out of the mouths of my babies.”

To which I indelicately respond, “BS.”

Anyone who has studied business will tell you there are many, many markets and demographics for any given product range. Professional photography is no different from car sales or widget sales or interior decorating.

From “budget” to “luxury,” there’s a lengthy scale of customers seeking different levels of service at different prices.

Everybody has to start somewhere, every journey begins with the first step, and it’s my goal through PartTimePhoto.com to help you transition and grow into the ProAm or Part Time Professional Photography business. I want to help you make money with photography.

I have no love for overcomplication, hidden agendas, withholding information, snobbery, and bait and switch games. I like simple instructions, “do this this way” clarity, and obvious next steps. Reading this blog and learning to make money with your photography shouldn’t be an exercise in existential thinking.

On a daily basis, you’ll find within these pixelated walls my best advice in developing your artistic and business skills to make good money for your time. I’ll give you concrete examples, walkthroughs, visual examples, step-by-step tutorials, equipment buying advice, marketing pieces and projects, a hell of a lot of encouragement, and a holistic approach to doing good business that serves your own life as much as your customers.

Who am I to give such advice? Tune in tomorrow for my self-indulgent bio, but all you really need to know is that my name is James Taylor, I own Outlaw Photography in the rural town of Bandera, Texas, and I’ve enjoyed the life benefits of part time professional photography for over 10 years now.

Next Steps

You’ll find that I am very big on clear, specific Next Steps. David Allen’s system of Getting Things Done is a brilliant one, and one of the biggest things I got out of his book was the practice of establishing Next Steps.

I think the two biggest things missing from most instructional-type web sites are real world examples and well-defined Next Steps, so you’ll find plenty of both here on PartTimePhoto.com. At the end of every article, I’ll provide one or several Next Steps to give you an exact idea of what you can do at that point to better your part time photography business.

Here are today’s Next Steps:

• Take a deep breath and let go of any preconceived fears or doubts you have about becoming a part time professional photographer. Shake them haters off.
• Get a sticky note or piece of paper and tape – write down the three biggest ways being a successful part time photographer would improve your life. Put this piece of paper on your monitor or somewhere you will look at it on a daily basis.
• Grab a piece of paper or open up your computer’s note pad and brainstorm – this will be a Next Step for nearly every article I post to PartTimePhoto.com. I cannot overemphasize the value of a good brain dump, pouring your ideas out on paper or to a text file. Today’s topic: Envision how your life would be different if you could earn some money through part time photography. No idea is too stupid or simple – write everything down. Spend several minutes on this. Try to build off every item you write down. Don’t do it any specific order, just get it out on the page. Grab a folder for your paper or create folder on your desktop in which to place these brainstorm sessions.
• If this all sounds like a good thing for your life, please feel free to click on the “Subscribe” link at the top of any page on this site.
• What experiences have you had in your search for information and inspiration in becoming a part time photographer? Leave a comment below, e-mail me, or call or text me at 830-688-1564.

Congratulations – you have taken the first steps toward enjoying the lifestyle of a part time photographer!Similar Posts:

• Your source for making money as a part time photographer
• How to make money as a part time portrait photographer – Startup Series, Part 1
• The legalities of starting a part time photography business – Startup Series, Part 3
• Vision: as a photographer, as a business owner
• 36 ways to better your photography business today

This is a test.

It is only a test.

It is the best test.

This is the rest of the test.

It’s sort of a test fest.

Sometimes these tests are too much to digest.

Some tests testers truly detest.

And this is a test of getting it all off my chest.

It’s hella better than getting a testes test.

Keep your hands off my untested love nest.

I don’t make this caveat in jest.

That’s some ish that won’t come off with Crest.

It’s time for me to get dressed and wordpressed.

So go out today and be love, be joy, be blessed.Similar Posts:

• Sharp photos – how to get them, in camera and in post
• Your first photo shoot: expectations and results – Your First Customer Series, Part 7
• What the super-rich can teach us as entrepreneurs
• Top 10 money-making outdoor photos of people – Your First Customer Series, Part 2
• It’s digital: go crazy! How to make great photos by accident

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!Similar Posts:

• Hello world!
• Should you buy an Apple iPad for your photography business?
• Culling and post-processing your first photo shoot – Your First Customer Series, Part 8
• How to watermark your photography proofs for the web
• What does a successful part time photographer look like? – Startup Series, Part 4