#4 of Ten Things You Should NEVER Say to a Photographer...

NUMBER FOUR:

"Is this all you do? You don't have a real job?"

This will ordinarily been said to you by either:
A) a relative, or
B) some schlub that makes half the money you make

I had a guy tending bar at a wedding ask me what I did during the week. I told him the truth: "I take pictures."

"No sh*t! Really? Well you probably don't make much money playing around with a camera."

Okay, I took it for as long as I could, and figured this douchebag was not going to be a customer of mine. I asked him, "Hey, what are you driving?" He was driving a 10 year old beater.

"Well. I drive a Cadillac Seville. A new one. Not leased. How much do you make a year?"

He replied, "I have my regular job, then I tend bar at parties like this nights and weekends. I make thirty grand a year buddy!"

I told him, "Wow, that's pretty good. I made that much, too...IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER! So to answer your question, yeah, I make that much money playing around with a camera...dumb ass!"

When the dude told me, "You're full of horsesh*t," the guy helping him tend bar - who was actually a customer of mine - told him, "Hey, this guy is the best in town. He has three studios. He makes more money by mistake than you make on purpose, so I'd shut my mouth if I were you."

The guy kept shooting off his mouth, making comments that I was "stealing my pay," and the like. Remember Steve's number one rule of life: "There are far more horses' asses than there are horses!"

Now if you are not making a ton of money as a photographer, that's okay. There are different levels of everything. I made good money for me, but I didn't get close to what guys like Gary Jentoft or the late Monte Zucker made. So it's all relative.

That being said, don't ever apologize for earning money from your photography. You have a skill, you should get paid for it. After all, it is Photography for Income! Til next time!