Have you got paid for your work?

Just wondered how many peeps on here get paid for their photography or do it purely as a hobby.

I have been paid for 6 weddings last year and three possibly four weddings this year.
Also have done lots of portraits.

I class it as a paying hobby.

I would not want to do it full time as it would interrupt my hobby as I always want it to remain fun and not something that I need to pay the bills.

Forgive me Jols, but I'm slightly confused here.

You say that you have already been paid for 6 weddings last year, possibly 4 this year, and have also done lots of portrait shots too. To me, this would suggest that you are somewhat of an established photographer, yet you started a thread just last week called " Check this out! Success! " in which you had only discovered how to blur your backgrounds.
I would have thought that someone with your experience would have figured that out long before now.

Am I missing something here?

no not missing anything it is just i am not good at blurring the background.

i would not say i was established just had people book me through word of mouth and seeing my portfolio.

for me i still feel i have a lot to learn but just because you can do a successful wedding shoot does mean mean you can do everything by a long shot.

Must admit I wouldn't charge anyone unless I really knew what I was doing too.

However if the 'clients' know you just take pics as a hobby, and have seen previous 'work' then it's up to them - they'll get what they pay for! And I guess many of them go to hobbyists cos they're too tight to pay a professional

some of them come to me cause i am cheaper and you have to have confidence in yourself.

I have seen your pics Azz and if you framed them I am sure you could sell them.

Why dont you give it a go.

Find a local coffee shop or something similar and asked them to display them for you and they take a cut if they sell

I would have thought that a successful wedding shoot, would involve the photographer using almost every technique in the book

I suppose, in reality, if the Bride & Groom love what you've done, then it's classed as a success.

Personally, I don't think I would have the guts to take on such an important project, without the necessary expertise to offer the happy couple a wide range of choices and styles, and have the confidence within myself to cope with any sudden changes of location and light.

lol, you must be doing something right to have such good word of mouth.

as I said with Azz I have seen some of your pics and you could sell them.

You just have to have the confidence to sell your product

Have to say im with MD on this. Just because a person is confident, it doesnt mean what is produced is saleable.

Photography is about using a TOOL. I certainly wouldnt employ confident plummer who didnt know what a loo was

Yeah, for sure there is a market out there for cheaper tradesmen, and as long as they are aware of what they are getting and are happy paying for that, you shouldnt run into any problems

Back onto topic, yes i have been paid for work in the past and i have also done work for free As you know iv launced my website this year and hoping to make a living from my work

The pics you see me post here are just a tiny minority of that days shooting, the best of the lot - most of them come out crap

So if I did a wedding, most of them would come out crap too lol

Thanks for the compliment Jols

At this stage though, I think I'm a good bit away from selling any of my photographs.

So to answer your original question, the answer is NO. I haven't been paid for any of my photographs as yet.

I am however, a full-time broadcast lighting cameraman, and get paid for freelance filming work every weekend. I've never filmed a wedding though