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The answer to surviving in photography is relatively simple – just keep working (Learning).

The only way you’re going to survive is if you come up with a long-term strategy. People don’t need a license to become a photographer, but if you listen to some people, they think there should be some way to keep photography restricted somehow.

The solution isn’t to try to make photography exclusive, but to think of it as a “club” where it’s up to you how to become the club champion and leave all the wannabes in the dust because you’re that good.

You have to figure that for every hundred photographers and GWC’s (Guys/Girls With Cameras), there’s three or four willing to do what it takes to make the cut and actually make a living behind a camera.

The secret to getting by is to stop worrying about them and start focusing on how you’re going to make yourself indispensable. Make it difficult for a client or an editor to call anybody else when they know you’re around. The first name an art director thinks of when hiring should be yours.

You can do this by making it your mission to always deliver more than is expected out of a project. Anybody can do the basics and just get by, but people are always going to look for someone that’s willing to give a project 110% effort (or even 150%, if necessary). The other 95% of wannabes won’t be thinking about these things, so all you’ve got to worry about are the select few who might be just as focused on doing as great a job as you’re doing.

Can you do that? Do you want to do that? Or, would it be easier to moan and complain about all the photographers “who are ruining it for you and the industry?” It doesn’t make any sense to concern yourself with things over which you have no control, especially when they’re willing to do it for far less, or even free.

Now, what you can do is control is how much you’re willing to work for, what rights and licensing you need to take care of, and what kind of living you expect to make out of your work. If the deal’s a bad one, say no. Easy as that.

You should think of “free” as a four-letter word. Don’t give away your work hoping others will find it as valuable as you do. You are the one that assigns its worth. When you give your work away, you imply that you don’t think you deserve to be paid or otherwise compensated in some way. Work out a trade if you must, but make sure your client realizes the value of the work they are receiving.

The best way to get people to meet your asking price is to produce something unique and in demand. More than that, you need to be the kind of person people want to work with; otherwise, you’re probably not going to be hired, no matter how good you are.

Bottom line: it’s impossible to make any kind of decent income if you’re producing images that buyers can get from a multitude of sources. If what you can produce on an assignment is something people haven’t seen, they’ll pay for it. If it’s something they can get anywhere else for less, your competition’s going to pull you to the bottom every time and you won’t be able to make a plug nickel.

And it’s not just about pictures, either. Working in photography is like maintaining a relationship between you, the buyers, and other photographers. When you get hired by an editor or art director, they’re taking a chance on you. When you make them look good, they’ll be more likely to hire you in the future because they like the idea of making their bosses happy. The more you make them look good, the more you work – that’s what’s meant by a “relationship” – it’ll keep growing and get stronger if you do a good job.

Soon enough, they won’t even bother calling anybody else because the plain truth is that people love knowing what they’re going to get and that there won’t be any issues or problems – it’s a trust thing. The same goes when you’re working with other photographers. You respect them, respect their space and don’t steal their clients. This way, if something comes up and they can’t cover it, they’ll think of you first because you know the rules. It’s also a good idea to do the same for others. If you’re busy with something, give the job to somebody who’s been nice and treats you square.

This is why it’s not a good idea to trash people, even if they deserve it. Photographers and people in the industry have a long-term memory and they’ll remember if you’ve been a jerk to somebody, did something stupid to embarrass the profession, or when your ethics weren’t what they should’ve been because you wanted to get grabby with a model. People talk – get used to it.

The second survival strategy is to be able to cover a wide range of photo skills and do it well. This doesn’t mean you have to be a jack-of-all-trades when you promote your work, and you don’t even have to put it on your business card, but you should able to do a project when somebody orders something that’s not on the menu. It happens. Often.

During bad times like this, you need to be able to play the field and give people what they want, even if it’s not your cup of tea. Do what you like on your own time, but give the customers what they want so you can have a steady paycheck coming in. Also, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Even if you do have a steady client, there’s no guarantee they’ll keep you around if they have to make budget cuts and either cut you out of the picture entirely by farming the work out to somebody cheaper.

A good rule of thumb is to not let a segment – glamour, fashion, weddings, etc. – of your projects (or client) become more than 20% of your income. When the economy slows, so do photographers. Some photographers will be hit harder than others, depending on what they do. For example, photojournalists really took a hard hit two years ago when newspapers started folding left and right. However, sports photographers, even though they took a hit as well, were able to mostly keep their head above water because you can’t hire a low-paid noob and expect the same results.

The jobs might be few and far between, but the thing is to keep working. Sometimes it’s even difficult in the same photographic field. For instance, no matter what the economy says, people are still going to get married and need a photographer. If your shots look like everybody else’s chances are that people will be picky about who they spend their money on, and for that you need to be at the point where people come looking for you, and not you looking for them and offering mediocre shots and packages. You might still be tight on cash, but at least you won’t be cut off completely and that’s because your work isn’t a commodity.

The third and most important survival strategy is to realize that if you’re ever going to make any money in photography, you’re going to have to be good, and to be good, you’ll have to put in a lot of time and money perfecting your craft. This means not only taking a massive amount of photos, but going to the best to learn the right way to do things instead of doing things trial and error, gambling on things coming out right and hoping people don’t notice your mistakes.

On the way to a successful career, you’re going to stumble (and not just once), but at least let them be errors you can learn from and grow photographically and professionally. If you want to take excellent photos, you’re going to have to learn from excellent photographers. If this sounds like a plug for Shoot The Centerfold, it’s not. It’s just the naked truth (forgive the pun).

FACT: The reason STC photographers work at Playboy is because they’re the best. Out of all the people that dream about working with Playmates, they’re the ones that got hired. This doesn’t mean you don’t have what it takes – all it means is that you have just as much chance to make it if that’s what you choose to do.

FACT: It’s not impossible. It’s been done before. There was a point in their lives when Arny, Jarmo, Ric, Byron and all the other Playboy photographers had never picked up a camera before. Never. They knew nothing about photography, they didn’t have a clue how to take a photo, they probably even had trouble loading film the first few times… but they did know that they wanted to be the best photographer they could be. Same as you.

FACT: You have every opportunity and every right to have your dreams come true. You have a right to be happy. You’re the one who has to want it, and you’re the one who has to put plans into motion. While others may have helped along the way, the success will be completely yours to have.