Thom Loc: Cleveland Ohio

I have noticed its about 50/50 as for DJ to Band in Toledo/Michigan area..... I have learned over the years you need to have multiple streams of income...either in what you shoot or related industries...or converting hobbies into professions.... isnt that how many started there band...gigging in the garage/basement or the photographer that just took pics for fun...I dont think anyone got up one morning and decided yup..."Im goin to get me a guitar or a camera and make money"!!!....Change....is good...diversity is even better!!!

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

How do you know about percentages in the Toledo/Michigan area? Not that I agree with that assessment of the area but your avatar says you're in Cleveland.

Thom Loc: Cleveland Ohio

You are correct...not only do I do photography....but run a PhotoBooth business....I travel all over OH, IN, MI, PA and WV....the gigs I do with my booth its about 50/50...band-DJ....

VixenlyVenimous Loc: Nevada

Your shots gave me the heevie-jeevies.... so you're definitely doing it right!

Pixel Painter Loc: Ogden, Utah

As posted by MarcoMarks "As we discussed in this forum a couple weeks ago, big vulgar watermarking is necessary today on all printed or Internet proofs you create or your clients will try to scan them and have reprints made so they don't have to buy from you. They don't even feel a twinge of guilt about ripping you off."

Watermarking does not stop the 'Chinese'. When I looked at my statistics for visits to my site, I wondered why I was getting so many visits from China. So I started 'Watermarking' and as distracting as that is, the 'Chinese' visits remained the same, but without not even one purchase.

We all know how adept the 'Chinese' are at pirating, and now it seems they just take the 'low res' image off the screen, even with the watermark, and hand it to their 'sweat shop' painters who then paint, by the thousands and flood the worldwide 'Art' Industry with other people's images and hard work.

Meanwhile the 'Chinese' continue to visit my web site and any other place where they can 'steal' art and make 'pennies' into a good living for them.

I was going to say this is not a slam against the 'Chinese' people themselves ... but I guess it actually is. :-(

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I can see how watermarking wouldn't help when they aren't actually printing what you photographed. Terrible. And it's not against the Chinese people individually as such but the religion, government, and philosophy they are raised to believe is the best.

They are raised to believe that working hard for the benefit of their country and government at great personal sacrifice is paramount. If that requires doing shady things that aren't totally legal, their religion doesn't have harsh moral standards like ours against doing so. Thou Shalt Not Steal isn't drilled into the heads of children as they grow up. Then again it's not drilled into the heads of U.S. children as much anymore.

Chinese business owners are doing it for the good of their society and country first and personal gain second. Chinese people work in those sweat shops to survive. The business owners steal copyrighted material, pirate CDs and DVDs, copy patented items, create fakes of real U.S. products with the same names on them, and with you they steal your creative work of photography and turn it into paintings. I'm not surprised at all.

Yet I know westernized Chinese people here who are as nice as can be, enjoy U.S. life and the prosperity here, and don't really act that way. They work here, own businesses here, and send billions of dollars of their profits home to their homeland and families. Not really theft from the U.S. but "using" their U.S. location to still help their society, country, and family. Then again, all Asians from all countries send money home to their families and knowing the poor and starving conditions overseas you can't blame them for that.

It's just evil business greed gone wild internationally- with the help of U.S. industries, I might add. In reality, who can you trust these days except yourself and your immediate family? Even immediate family can be suspect sometimes.

evandr Loc: Tooele, Utah

I guess it all boils down to "don't quit your day job until you cannot afford to work there" - a unfortunate reality to be sure but the obstacles, although very surmountable for the truly dedicated photographer, will sink the casual half interested photographer no matter how sophisticated their gear may be. If that comment discourages you then your battle is all but lost already - sad but true, you cannot let yourself be discouraged in this business; you have to do it for the love of the art first and make money doing it second.

Just Tami Loc: Long Island

Beautiful photos. Nice idea. I have elephant decorations in my living room. I can't be the only one.

Just Tami Loc: Long Island

I got hurt at work and went back to school for photography, including photoshop. I had already been to school prior back when airbrushing was retouching. I was a film person with my AE-1 and my own darkroom.
I started doing events because people liked my photos and asked for them after a while you have to charge. paper and ink are not free. Processing becomes work and time invested. Then someone wanted me to do a sweet 16 that became a referal to another sweet 16. I do photos for a local artist and have 2 more events for December. My husband and kids have been good to me.My husband bought my 1st DSLR for my birthday, my kids chipped in for my printer . Then Christmas got me my light set up. Now I print my own, I sell reasonable packages with an Album and useable cd. Cash up front with a contract and I don't charge for every extra photo I don't process them all. I do the family ones and tweek the ones I like best send out the cd's. They in turn pick out what prints they want and then I deliver the finished product. I am doing this for the love and for some extra money not to support myself. To make a living with the awesome talent out there I wish you talent and personality. It always comes down to who is behind the camera, and a decent portfolio. Tami