Making a living in wildlife?

[DougAxford]

I ran into a friend of my son's today who is just graduating from high school and is thinking of becoming a professional photographer in wildlife. He's sold a few shots for under $100. He was upset that I suggested strongly that he go to college for his second choice, firefighting and keep photography as a hobby. He's got dreams of working for National Geographic. I told him when I left school I had dreams of working for Hugh Hefner (maybe wet dreams).

Anyway, I told him that I would post on a good forum and let him know what other pros who shoot wildlife for a living might say. He's thinking of going to college for photography and I said that if his love was wildlife only, he had no use to learn how to shoot corn flakes boxes or costume jewelry. Better to find a great wildlife pro and work with them

I have no idea how good he is or what equipment he has worked with. I did tell him that of all the college graduates in photography I personally know, NONE are still in the business.

Any thoughts?

[Dennis_Vied]

Tell him he MUST complete college. I have been through so many different careers I lost count, but the thing that has kept me going is a well-grounded fundamental college education in the basic subjects.

Rather than wildlife photography, he should possibly major in zoology, veterinary medicine, or animal husbandry, or some such, and keep photography as a hobby until he becomes more established and able to see where his interests take him.

There is no substitute for having a firm grounding in basic subjects, such as math, science, and social subjects. It's amazing what one can do with this, as there's hardly a subject on earth that doesn't fall within these parameters.

[Jerry Skrocki]

Pete Turner, Jerry Ulesmann, Jack Reznicki, and Jonathan Blair are all professional photographers that graduated from R.I.T. They have all had successful wide ranging photographic careers from fashion to National Geographic.

I would not discourage a formal education in photography. Here is a link to the RIT School of Imaging Science: RIT

Photography was always a part time job for me until I retired from my "real job" with New York State. I went back to school and got a degree in Graphic Design with a concentration in Printing to round out my photographic education. I wish I had done this years ago.

Please encourage your son's friend to pursuit his passion and not settle for a photographic "hobby".

Jerry

[David_Buzzard]

The most successful wildlife photographer, probably in history, would be Art Wolfe. He had a portrait studio in Seattle for 10 or 15 years that paid his bills until his book sales took off.

Another guy I know who's a working wildlife photographer started as a naturalist, and worked his way to doing just photography. He works really hard selling post cards, and $200 calendar shots to pay his bills. It seems to be me to more work than it's really worth.

Most of the National Geographic photographers who do wildlife, like Jim Brandenburg and Joel Sartore, started out as award winning newspaper photographers.

The key to being successful as a wildlife photographer is to get shots that look different from everybody else's, or to long range, in depth stories.

David Buzzard's Technical Blog

[BobSmith]

Tim Ostermeyer is a Dallas, TX area portrait/wedding photographer that has also made a decent income off of his wildlife photography. Like so many really successful pros I know, Tim was a success in an another career first. He was an engineer. It's very difficult to start any career in photography properly on a shoestring budget... especially one in wildlife photography. There will be many very lean times before you have enough of a collection of images and a wide enough reputation to generate a steady income from that type of work.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife department publishes a great magazine promoting various state parks and outdoor activities. I've known a number of good nature photographers that got their start there. There are probably similar operations in your area. I tried to get on there right out of college (early '70s). The pay was low and all of your images would be owned by the state, but they provided you with the use of state of the art equipment and your shots were reproduced well in very high quality publications. It was a great way to build a name for yourself and hone your skills with almost zero financial risk. Those types of opportunities are hard to come by, but they are out there for a well trained photographer. At the time I applied they told me they loved my portfolio but that they couldn't afford to hire another white male... things you can't get away with saying now. I heard exactly that from several potential employers at the time. The early seventies was was not a great time to be a young male WASP trying to launch a career. I became self employed and successfully struggled to find any kind of paying photo work that i could... been doing it for almost 33 years now.

Bob Smith

[Ronald Garrett]

Too many young men now-a-days don't want to do anything at all. If this young man has a dream, and the gumption to go for it, then support him enthusastically {sp?}. Let him determine when he has failed. You both will know if what he is doing makes him happy.

Won't hurt to be ready with advise if he does fall, but............... with your support and guidance he will stand a much better chance of success.

[Brian_Wilcox]

How about a field workshop with a pro wildlife photographer? I can recommed John and Barb Gerlach. They will tell you how it is and what one would need to do to make a living at wildlife. I do not have a link but I am sure you can google them....Brian