The Top 10 Best Things About Being a Photographer. | Milwaukee Wedding Photographer.

There seems to be an underlying negativity rumbling lately within the industry. Maybe it's just end of the season burn-out. Maybe some of us just had one too many Uncle Bob's to contend with this summer. Maybe getting undercut is getting old. Who knows what it is...but I'm guilty of having the grumblies too, believe me. So, I thought I'd put together a positive spin on things....The BEST parts of my job. Why we get up early every Saturday and put in the long hours documenting the big days, why we stay up until 2 AM finishing up that last bit of editing. What keeps us driven?

There are hundreds out there clutching their new SLRs just WAITING to get into the game. Do I blame them? Honestly, no! My job rocks. And here is why......

1. My Word is Law.
Ok, being self-employed DOES have its negative points: I don't have a bookkeeper on staff to figure out all that fancy schmancy tax stuff (though I do have the best accountant in the world who has let me know that although I color coded my spreadsheets for the end of the year, it's not nearly as helpful as I thought it would be). If a problem arises, I can't just say "Hey, the CEO will deal with it. I'm just the help". Nope....it's on me.

But this is a POSITIVE. I make the rules. I run the business the way I want to. If I don't feel like taking a job, I don't. If I want to take 35 weddings in one year, I do. It's up to me to make it what I want it to be. It's a TON of work...I think people sometimes underestimate the amount of work...but it's incredibly gratifying and worthwhile. At the end of the day, I can look at what I've done and say "I did that".

2. That Certain Appeal.
People are gonna laugh at this, but it's true. People. Love. Photographers. If you're a working photographer, people are interested in this. They want to know more. They want to see your work. It's an interesting job that appeals to people. More so then say....insurance contract specialist (shudder.)No one ever asked to see the latest insurance contract I wrote. I would tell people what I did and literally watch their eyes glaze over. No offense to the poor sap that has my old job now : )

3. Meet Market.
The amount of people you will meet and befriend in this line of work is astonishing. It's truly awesome, because unlike a lot of other jobs...the people you meet become invested in you as much as you are invested in them. You learn about their relationships, their tastes, what they find funny and all about their connections to their friends. I've gained new friends and it's a priceless part of this job.

4. Creative License.
When you're self-employed and a photographer, the sky is kind of the limit creatively. Which is awesome, especially coming from the corporate world where creativity is not necessarily an asset in most cases.

5. Food.
Ok, I may be an anomoly here, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: I actually really like wedding food. I've had some awesome wedding meals this season. And the CAKE. What other job is there where you regularly get CAKE at the end of the shift??

6. Down. Time.
If you play your cards right, and work it out correctly...you can have a nice bit of downtime in the off season, enough to work on fun things like marketing, rebranding, or sleeping.

Yes, summers are nuts. Straight up hectic city. But it's worth it when in the dead of winter you have a nice span of time where you don't have to drag your tired butt out of bed at 6AM when it's still pitch black and fight morning traffic to get to the office. (Though you probably still will to jump on DWF or edit those Christmas sessions...because you're obsessed and a bonafide workaholic)

Being self-employed and working mostly weekends and evenings also affords me time to stay home with my daughter, which I love and am extremely grateful for.

7. But I NEEEED it.
Because I do it for a living, I can totally justify all camera-related purchases. Because I NEEEDED it. I did. I swear.

8. Web Surfing.
Surfing the web and Facebooking during work hours can be considered market research or networking. Not only would I encourage it, it's completely necessary.

9. Geek Love.
Being a geek is an asset. Staying on top of pop culture, art, new technology....this is a must. I don't have to apologize for being a complete geek. I can use it to my advantage. And the best part? The industry is FULL of geeks. Just like me. Embrace the inner geek, folks....it can only help your work! Geek is not a bad thing. Being a geek for our craft leads to great work....and constant improvement.

Deep geek respect.

10. Cheeseball.
I'm going to be cheesy, but it's completely true. Finishing a wedding or a portrait package and delivering it to the client is extremely satisfying. When you're proud of the work that you do, and you respect the craft, it shows. When I get an email from a bride, groom, or parent saying how much they LOVE their pictures, it makes my day. It really does. It's not very often that you get that kind of instant feedback from work. When I worked a desk job, I would get a quarterly performance review. Yawn. Not the same effect. Even if they tried to make it fun by giving me the company equivalent of "Schrute Bucks" if I did a good enough job.

So, take heed other photogs. It's not all doom and gloom. As we wear down from the busy summer season, let's remember how much we love this job. How lucky we are. And how fun it really is.