One Year Down, Many To Go
November 11, 2022 started just like many days had for the four plus years before it. I woke up, ate breakfast and had coffee, then got dressed and went to work. However, November 11, 2022 was unlike any other day in my career to that point. After going about my business and taking care of my responsibilities throughout the day, when it came time to turn off the lights in my office and close the door behind me, I was no longer going back. From that moment on, I was on my own. From there, I was taking the first steps on my journey of pursuing photography full-time.
Prior to becoming a full-time photographer, I enjoyed a brief career in marketing and real estate - first at a small local distillery running their social media and helping behind their tasting bar, then as a rental agent/property manager for a local brokerage before moving into a marketing and administrative position with them. There were things I loved about each of those jobs, and of course things that I hated. But one thing, in hindsight, was the same with all of them - they never got me excited when I woke up in the morning. I never really looked forward to going to work or felt a sense of fulfillment in the work I was doing.
That all changed after I started purusing photography full-time. Now, each day is different and brings with it a sense of excitement about what may happen next. This sort of predictable unpredictability is something I hadn’t felt before, but is now something I would never want to give up.
Being a photographer full-time may seem like an easy career, but I can assure you from my experiences over the last year that it is anything but easy.
I had been dabbling in photography as a passion/side hustle for several years before going full-time. I’d seen steady improvement in my work and with it, the number of followers I had online grew as well. But I didn’t take it that seriously because I had a traditional job that required more of my time and energy.
After making the decision to go full-time, though, that’s when I quickly began to realize how difficult being a full-time photographer really was.
It is not as simple as saying, “Hey, buy my prints!” or “Here’s this service I offer. You should hire me.”. If it were that simple, everyone would do it. You’ve got to put your head down and do a lot of hard work to establish yourself in the space and find a niche that works for you and your business.
Thankfully, having worked in real estate previously, I had a somewhat easier route to getting started - I had a network and some other resources that allowed me to launch into real estate photography relatively quickly. Even with this at my disposal, though, I still didn’t find success immediately.
Over the last month and a half of 2022 and into the early stages of 2023, work was actually really hard to come by. I didn’t have much happening or income coming in, and was actually setting aside a little time here and there to drive for DoorDash to make it work while establishing myself.
Without that drive, hustle, and struggle early on, though, I don’t think I would have ended up where I am today.
All the hard work I put in at the start laid a strong groundwork for me to find slow, yet steady, growth over the rest of 2023. One by one I gained new clients on the real estate photography side of my business, and I also steadily grew my audience for the nature photography side (when I started out full-time on Facebook I was around 900 or so I believe, and now, am just over 2,000). Because of this, it is also clear that more growth will come with more time and dedication over the coming weeks, months, and years.
Being a full-time photographer has also opened up so many doors and opportunities for me as well that I am incredibly grateful for. First and foremost among them are some of the connections I’ve made with other photographers and things I’ve learned from them. Though there are too many to mention here (I’ll be sharing blogs about them in the future - keep reading for more on that), I do want to give a special shoutout to Kevin Lynam and Elliot MacGuire here. Kevin introduced me to so many amazing places to shoot and that has led me to create some amazing new work for my portfolio, while Elliot served as an inspiration and has given me a benchmark to work toward having been on this same path for some time before me. Both of them are incredibly, incredibly talented photographers who deserve immense amounts of credit. If you don’t already, I highly encourage you to give them a follow and support them as well.
Since becoming a full-time photographer, I’ve been fortunate to adventure to Assateague Island many times, make my first trip to the Outer Banks, and do so much more than I ever did with photography when it wasn’t my career. I truly cannot put into words how much this path has done, and how exciting it is knowing there are countless other opportunities that will come up in due time.
Looking Ahead with Excitement
Though the past has shaped me and guideded my journey to where it is, it is the future that excites me the most. Like I said, the predictable unpredictability of each and every day in the life of an entrepreneur and photographer is incredibly exciting and unlike anything I’ve ever really experienced.
Already I’m looking forward to 2024 and making plans for new types of content and how I can do even more for all of you - after all, there’s more to being in the photography business than just snapping photos!
Of course, there is the Birds of Delmarva book slated for a first-quarter release, and there will be an annual calendar drop at some point as well. But that is only the beginning.
I’m going to be starting a vlog soon on my YouTube channel with lessons I’ve learned since taking photography full-time. Admittedly, this is something I probably should have started when I began this career move, but better late than never!
There will hopefully be a trip or two next year that take me off the Delmarva Peninsula to grow my portfolio and share some unique experiences with you all as well. The trip earlier this year to the Outer Banks really opened my eyes to the opportunities that exist off of Delmarva, and I’d love to take advantage of them more than I have this year. Stay tuned for details on those as they come up!
Another thing I'm working on is a new blog series where I share some of my favorite photographers and works of theirs that inspire me. Some of the names will be familiar to you, but others maybe not so much. The world is full of talented photographers and creators, and I’d love to be the one to introduce you as I discover them myself.
Overall, I’m also looking to become more consistent with blogging, doing more than just the In Review series. I’m working on a list of potential content ideas now that I can work on in 2024 and hopefully you’ll get to learn a lot through these posts down the road.
Finally, I would love to make 2024 the year I finally start doing a few shows, selling some more work, and really try to get the word out more about my photography. I’m not saying this to be salesy in any way, but I feel that is the one piece truly missing from my business and validating that I’m on the right path. Just like anything else in this business, it takes time, and I understand that. However, seeing consistent sales of my work and getting it displayed in local businesses or licensed in different advertising pieces would be the icing on the cake so to speak.
Onward and Upward
If you’ve made it this far into this blog post, I applaud your commitment. This is definitely one of the longer blog posts I’ve done, but there was a lot to reflect on and share. After all, it may have gone by in the blink of an eye, but I had a whole year to consider when putting this together for you, plus some future plans!
But that said, I wouldn’t be where I am without amazing readers and followers like you. You are a driving force behind what gets me going each day, and the excitement of creating something new to share with you is arguably the biggest thing I love about this career path. You chose to join me on my adventures and to share in these lasting moments and memories. For that, I am eternally thankful and appreciative.
Here’s to adventures past, and more to come in the future. Onward and upward!
- Tyler
If you liked this blog post, here is some other content you may like:
FOLLOW TYLER SMILEY PHOTOGRAPHY ON SOCIAL MEDIA