The Beginning

Hi, my name is Mac Schaaf, I am a photographer trying to create a business from nothing and I have no idea what I am doing…

I learned awhile ago, almost a year from when this is written. That one way to really make money with photography is biting the bullet and photographing things you wouldn’t normally photograph. I think to better explain what I mean, I should give you a little bit of a background on my photography. I am and landscape and animal photographer (more specifically exotic animals the type you find in zoos). The dream was to make money and live off of commissions people would pay to have my artwork hanging in their homes or on gallery or museum walls, honestly that is still the dream. I wanted to be like Peter Lik, a world renown landscape photographer who sells his images for tens and hundreds of thousands and sometime even millions of dollars.

That is still the goal, but that kind of progress doesn’t just happen overnight. So, where do we start? Well for me I started with quitting my safe job of 10 years out of frustration and starting my very own photography business. But, what would I photograph? People? Food? Real Estate? Why not all of it? It is my hope that this blog will be not only a reflection of the journey for myself but also maybe a bit of a roadmap or a resource for those brave souls who have decided to also enter into the competitive world of professional photography.

Here is lesson one I have learned in my first year of freelancing. Be open minded. You will learn real quick, that you don’t know everything about a certain subject matter, in fact if you’re like me, you will probably spend hours and hours online and on YouTube hunting down “How to” videos for different subjects. For me it was real estate and portraiture. Yes in my time at the University of Memphis I was trained how to take a photo of both subjects but I don’t believe I was ever taught how to stage or pose for images, so yes you will most likely spend more time learning than actually doing. That being said, doing is always the best practice. I look back at my real estate photos from when I started and to know, and it looks like an entirely different photographer.

Going with theme of Being Openminded, I hope you all realize quicker than I do, that just because you label yourself as a photographer you are so much more than that. I don’t mean that in an inspirational way. I literally mean you are going to have to be more than a photographer. First and foremost, you are a salesperson. Even though you aren’t selling a physical item, doesn’t mean you aren’t. You are selling your services, so get good at talking about yourself and your work. (I will admit I still get nervous with this part). But if you are like me and you want to try and do the most bang for your client’s buck, you offer more services. I’m also a blossoming videographer now, and drone pilot (or will be once I get the Part 107). My point is, if you are doing this on your own, chances are you will have to be more than just a photographer. And, I genuinely wish you the best of luck with it all. I know it is a struggle at times.

I think that is all I am going to write for this blog, I will go more in depth about real estate photography in the next post, settings, and gear, etc…

Hope you all have a wonderful day and best of luck to those crazy people like me giving this a go!