I have a friend who has been a professional photographer/videographer his entire career, and he is very successful doing it as well.
The one piece of advice he gave me that really makes a lot of sense is “take pictures that someone actually needs to buy.” No, not weddings or artsy flowers, etc…. but instead take pictures of products that people/companies need for their catalogues, websites, and marketing materials. He started taking pictures for Apple computer back in the early nineties, and now he takes pictures for a bunch of computer hardware companies. Check out his website He’s even taken pictures of celebrities and travelogues, but what pays the bills is product photography.
His speciality is using view camera (for tilt-shift photography), medium/large format, and properly lighting the product.
I think the lesson here is that making money from photography is much more about how you handle the business end of things rather than all the equipment and skills you have. This is something I need to get a move on. I have all the gear and lots of skill, but now I need to start marketing myself.
