Reply To: Let's talk about the cost of being a pro.

[Nightrose]

In short: yes it costs a lot to be a pro.

That blog may not have the exact numbers that every pro photographer will have, but included are many of the costs that do happen, such as  gear, web hosting, insurance and whatnot.

I’ve just built a studio. Costs included: Arctic white paint for the walls and ceiling. Blackout curtains for the windows in my room. A large piece of seamless vinyl laid on the floor after having to rip the carpet up (try putting backdrop paper on a soft surface – ugh!).    Two large pieces of wood screwed into the wall to provide a strong support for the backdrop brackets. Two rolls of backdrop paper – black and white. Chains to lift and drop the paper easily, thus eliminating the need to schelp the bloody things up onto the brackets all the time.

Gear: Three head studio lighting kit. Cable to set off the lights from the camera (Pocketwizards are going to have to wait as they cost way too much), gizmo to remotely trigger the camera shutter, props for posing, like a funky chair and a beanbag.

And I still want a beauty dish, grids, continuous light, softboxes of various sizes and all sorts of bits and pieces which will have to be purchased somewhere down the track.

And that’s not counting all the actual camera gear I have – bodies, lenses, cards, bags, insurance….blah blah blah.

But hey, it’s only money 😉