Archive for February 26th, 2010

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Transitions, Passions, and Sacrifices…The path to becoming a full-time photographer for Nick Onken.

February 26, 2010

“I was recently asked by someone about my transition into photograph full-time. I’ll be the first to say that it wasn’t an easy one, but at the same time I was lucky enough to have a previous job/career that A: was very related to photography and B: was very flexible. I spent 5 years as a graphic designer previous to my photographic journey, and is what I went to school for. Graphic design was my most prominent passion. During my time of freelancing, I picked up a digital camera to shoot content for my graphic design work since most of the clients I had were small and couldn’t afford to pay for imagery.

Eventually I convinced a non-profit client of mine to split a trip to Africa with me to build a photo library for them. Upon my return, I had created some pretty good images, and the client was pleased. It was then, the light bulb went on and thought “That was amazing. I could really see doing this as a career!” a few months later, I connected with another photographer that I was doing some web work for. He invited me out to set just to hang out and see what it was like, so I went. And kept going, and eventually he started paying me to assist him when he had the budget. All the meanwhile, I began shooting weddings, which was great for the learning curve. It taught me a lot about natural light, how to shoot on the fly, etc. It also funded my gear addiction. I juggled assisting, graphic design work, and a few weddings throughout the first year. Graphic design allowed me to make money yet still have a flexible schedule to assist when jobs came up.

I stopped shooting weddings a couple years ago. Simultaneously, I started shooting my pretty friends, then moved on to models with an agency, then got into model testing which became another small source of income. At a certain point my model testing work diverged into more lifestyle, and has evolved to where I’m at now. I’ve been developing my creative vision from the beginning, but the more I shoot, the more I understand what I love.

Becoming a full-time photographer is A LOT of hard work and not an easy endeavor. You have to A: have talent, B: be incredibly self motivated, and C: have a strong business sense. During the beginning and/or transition era there are a lot of sacrifices to be made. The number one sacrifice is consistent income. It was hard enough being single, and going through good and bad times. I couldn’t imagine having a full-time job, or a wife and kids. It takes more time than a normal full-time job to make it work, and it takes a couple years before you start to see the rewards. I sacrificed financial stability, and that’s not something a lot of people like to do. I also sacrificed not having a significant other for the time and ability to focus on what I was doing.

People take all kinds of different paths, and these sacrifices are more of a result of MY path and personal priorities. Just like ISO, Shutter speed, and Aperture, each path is different and has different variables that yield different results. You just have to make the decisions to get what you want and accept the sacrifices that come with them. The most important thing is to figure out what it is you love to shoot, hone your creative style, and build a business around that.” — Nick

You can see more of Nick’s work by visiting his website here. Also check out his blog here.