This is a fantastic post by John Harrington about how to be a not-quite-full-time professional photographer…and not suck. Very very good info. 

I’m baffled almost constantly by what I observe in this area. Young, eager photographers (like myself) charging literally next-to-nothing just to “get their foot in the door”. Hey, I’m not putting on airs—I’ve done it too. But the bottom line is this: it hurts everyone—not least, me!

I’ve made it a practice to try to always charge normal rates and push for proper licensing agreements (and apparently in my city “norma” translates as “high”). Believe me, it’s HARD. The looks you get when you try to describe what photo licensing even IS — even to someone who should know! — are certainly not comfortable. 

But in the end, being the cheapo local guy just devalues the industry. And if I truly want to be part of the industry and make it, I can’t go around devaluing it. 

(btw - I really want to meet John Harrington. That guy has such good perspective.)