Picture This: Photography As A Mobile Career
By Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer
Winter 2008-09
“Follow your passion and success will come.”
Sounds great, but it’s a difficult predicament for many military spouses – how to do something you really love while earning a respectable income and maintaining the ability to pick up and move yourself, your family and your career when duty calls.
Meet Michelle, Marianne and Janelle – three military spouses who followed their passion for photography.
“I chose to make [photography] a business because I saw how I could earn an income, stay home with my children and move with the military,” says Michelle Ocampo, a military spouse and professional photographer. “There are always families who need photographs.”
Ocampo did not start out in the photography business. She worked as a teacher until her children were born; photography was just a hobby.
“I started photography as a business two years ago,” she says. “Many friends were approaching me to photograph their kids. I would do photos of friends, then word spread and their friends were contacting me to ask how much they could pay me to do it!”
Marianne Marshall’s story is similar. She also started as a teacher, turning to photography as a business only after friends encouraged her.
“Photography has always been a part of my life,” she says. “In fact, I even started out in college majoring in fine arts with a concentration on photography, and I worked at a photography studio while in college.”
“In 1998 while my husband was stationed in Korea on an unaccompanied tour, I found myself taking photos of our son for my husband to ease the pain of his missing out on how fast this little boy was changing,” says Marshall.
Friends saw her work and loved it. She became interested in hand-painting black-and-white portraits of children and decided to start her business, Pattycake Photography.
These women love their work – and are very good at it. Just because digital cameras make it easier for more people to take pretty pictures, not everyone has the skill to turn it into a business. Plus, it takes time and study to learn the photography skills and develop your business.
“Read everything you can get your hands on,”
Ocampo suggests checking into the resources within your own military community. “On our installation,” she says, “Giant Campus offers different photography classes for free to teach Photoshop.”
Janelle Mock is a military spouse and photographer who works primarily as a wedding photographer. She also has published the book Portraits of the Toughest Job in the Army: Voices and Faces of Modern Army Wives, which includes portraits and memoirs of Army spouses.
“Build your portfolio and practice, practice, practice,” Mock advises. “This means grabbing your neighbor, friend, or anybody and doing mini-portrait sessions everywhere, inside, outside, day and night.”
“Start small,” she adds. “I have met too many photographers who are working to pay off huge credit card debts from equipment costs.”
Photography business expenses include professional-grade cameras and lenses, lights, props, backdrops, computers, editing software, website/blog expenses and fees, business licenses, liability insurance, professional associations and ongoing training.
“Most of my income maintains my current equipment and purchases the newest equipment to stay competitive in the market,” says Mock.
A photography business may allow more flexible hours than a nine-to-five job, but it also demands considerable time outside of the photography itself for networking, marketing, accounting and learning.
The three photographers agree that this is a mobile business since you can work out of your home and promote yourself online. However, several moving-related challenges remain.
“You are always having to restart your career and build clientele in a new area,” says
Mock points out that photography is an art, and art – and the fees for art – are viewed in different ways in different parts of the country.
“In one area, my style of wedding photography might be sought after and earn a lucrative hourly rate,” she says. “It might not be as desired in other areas, or the income of the residents wouldn’t allow for the same rates.”
An added challenge for wedding photography is the need to commit to dates far in advance, when military spouses don’t always know where they will be located.
Although each of the women currently work as independent contractors,
“I have worked at a photo studio,” she says, “and I would recommend that to a spouse starting out before you jump in.”
Mock teams up with a studio to shoot weddings.
“I have worked for a studio out of
Partnering with businesses such as wedding planners, wedding facilities, baby stores and children’s stores and others, can help generate leads for both sides. Another idea is to shoot some free photos for store décor or marketing materials in exchange for referrals to store clients.
Their websites are key to the women’s photography businesses, for marketing as well as the processing and sale of the photos they take.
“My website is where I have information on my business such as my style, cost and samples of my work,” says
The military lifestyle adds challenges to the business but also can result in opportunities.
“I’ve been blessed to shoot a book cover, cover photography for a local magazine and a wedding at a castle in
Marshall has enjoyed her greatest satisfaction in taking photos of children to send to military members off on a deployment. “I also love doing complementary sessions with new Army dads on leave who are meeting their newborn babies for the first time,” she adds.
For these photographers, their business provides a sense of pride and satisfaction as they make a difference in the lives of others. They constantly stretch themselves to learn new ideas for their business, developing their sense of self and growing personally as they grow their businesses. In pursuing their passions as they move with the military, they open opportunities for ever-increasing success.
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Military spouses Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer are public speakers and co-authors of the second edition of “Help! I’m a Military Spouse – I Want a Life Too: How to Craft a Life for You as You Move with the Military.” For more information or to request a presentation at your community, go to www.militaryspousehelp.com or send a message to kathie@militaryspousehelp.com.
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Online Resources
ppa.com: Professional Photographers of America includes 20,000 members in 64 countries; benefits include malpractice coverage, equipment insurance, credit card merchant services, business liability insurance, forms and contracts, Professional Photographer magazine, ongoing education, networking and webinars such as “Earn $1,000 an Hour from School Photos” and “Protect Yourself: Copyright, Trademarks and Model Releases.”
blogs.photopreneur.com: the business of photography, with entries such as “Photography Niches You’ve Never Considered” and “47 Things People Will Pay You to Shoot.”
thesecretphotographyworkshop.com: a workshop focused on the business aspects, along with important photo techniques
ilovephotography.com: for photographers of babies and children