Natalie Manuel

Globalphotos, 5 months ago

There is nothing worse than being in a job that you don’t enjoy or want to be there at least 80% of the time…..I gave up a career that everyone thought I was fabulous at and moved in an entirely different direction and have never regretted my decision. Do what you feel in your heart is the right thing and it will work out for you.

Steven Lippis, 5 months ago

There’d be nothing worse than burning out a passion by forcing yourself to make it a business. With it set up, it means any work you do do you can do properly, but there’s nothing at all wrong with not pursuing it as a career.

Noel Elliot, 5 months ago

All the photographers I know go through a ‘non creative’ period but it comes back. There is always a challenge in photography, staying fresh, interested, coming up with something new, if you like a challenge. Never lose the urge to photograph. I have turned photography into a business and the best thing is the great comments even if they do not always buy what they admire.

Coralie Plozza, 5 months ago

a long while ago I asked you natalie for advice on starting out as a dog/animal photographer and your advice was amongst other things to go to the local dog club and offer to take pictures of there dogs for free then sell or give away the prints… I did this and really enjoyed taking the photos and editing them ..putting them in a nice folder to take to the club to show them and then…. the fear set in ..will they like them ? how do I ask for there business etc etc and I never went back .. I now like to think of myself as a art photographer and try and keep away from commission work that way I can think to myself that artworks are to individuals tastes and there will always be someone that likes it and those that dont but you dont have to worry about hearing about it. I hope that helped ..lol

Natalie Manuel, 5 months ago

Actually that helped a lot Cozmist :)

WayneD, 5 months ago

photography is a vast medium….Just because you’ve chosen a particular subject matter doesnt mean you are bound to it for life…You have an eye for detail natalie for any subject matter you decide at anytime. your a great artsist and i really enjoy viewing your work…Perhaps you could take a weeek off and do some freelance shooting…Photography is a very competitive market. maybe you could think about adding portraits to your buisness just a suggestion.Hope my feedback was of use. wayne

Chris Coetzee, 5 months ago

Live every moment as if you are living within your last five minutes, for we don’t know when the end will be… Do only what you feel in your heart is truly what you want to do, and do it with passion.. free yourself, and freedom will find you!! Set your creativity free and let your talents soar, stay humble ..and remember – Everything happens for a reason – !!

Cheryl Ridge, 5 months ago

Could you be struggling with some kind of “burn out”?
I did start to feel this way a bit regarding events related photography
and decided I had to focus on what I enjoyed or risk losing the
passion. I did honestly feel a sense of freedom when I made
my choice. Good luck Nat!

Brett Foster, 5 months ago

You have to take the pespective of “what’s right for you”. Unfortunately, you’ve struck a common problem: Turning your hobby into work sounds ideal until…you get home from work one day to discover you’ve lost your hobby. Hobbies provide freedom to explore, escape from the every day, creative expression…if you find those things fading away then…it’s just a job.
On the other hand, is there a better job?

ECGardner, 5 months ago

I left a full-time position in academia (I even had tenure) to focus on writing full-time. I was a good teacher, popular with students, good retention rates, blah blah blah. But then I started writing, and found something at which I was even better, and that I enjoyed more.

Like you, I’m not a customer service-oriented kind of person, and that’s what teaching in America has become. You are delivering a product, and sometimes people like it, sometimes they don’t, and you’re sort of selling your ‘wares’ for lack of a better word. I did it well, but didn’t really enjoy it. Then I discovered that I could write, and that I did it well and enjoyed it a hell of a lot more. So I held my breath and quit my job and now I write for a living. I’m a whole lot happier. :)

Follow your passion, do what you love and what makes you happy, and if it makes you happier to drop your photography business, then do it. You can always come back to it if you ever choose to do so. :)

Dylanart, 5 months ago

I know just what you mean. The business aspect of anything creative seems to require a fair amount of pushing, networking and constant self promotion. This calls upon a different kind of desire and motivation that has nothing to do with producing the art itself. It can feel as though the whole business aspect is a forceful, unnatural process. If this is the case, then best to let it go, and only do what feels right to you. No need to feel guilty as you help yourself and everyone else best when you follow your instinct. In the end you will continue producing your art and I’m sure you’ll always sell as much as you feel like selling.

mwfoster, 5 months ago

Natalie

Your not selling dog photos your selling your name on those photos. If people want to buy your work that they commision. Its still your work your name. Now if you want to sell the photos that you enjoy then that is your name and its you sell yourself. Its ok to do that your art is your name. Right now I love your amimal photos and thats how I know you here.
I hope this made some senes.

Mark

Natalie Manuel in reply to Cheryl Ridge’s comment, 5 months ago

Probably. Most likely I never really enjoyed it and just ended up doing it because everyone kinda told me to!

I’m way over event photography, that’s for sure, hehe.

Natalie Manuel in reply to Dylanart’s comment, 5 months ago

That’s exactly what I mean. I just hate that kind of stuff. All I honestly want to do is take photos I want to take, put them up for sale and if I make a sale, great. Sure, I will get more money doing dog shoots, but doing that also means doing stuff I don’t like.

And frankly, I’d rather spend time with my own dogs, and be free to do as exactly as I want on the weekend.

It feels a shame in a way but I guess I am just not a marketing kind of person.

So I’m going to take my “dog photo” packages off my website!

Cheryl Ridge, 5 months ago

Personally I think there is alot more work/effort in the behind-the-scenes stuff and the
marketing side of things – and people just don’t get that. I think it could be easy to
lose sight of what one loves in an effort to make others happy. Sometimes one just
has to say NO and give oneself a break. Its not always about the money.

Jacqueline Mar..., 5 months ago

I agree Cheryl… Nat, whilst your work is fabulous, if you really dislike event photography and the ‘business’ side of things to do with making money from photography, then your heart is never going to be in it.
Marketing is a MAJOR factor in creating and expanding any business and it is a hell of a a lot of work (and money for true marketing) which can suck the fun out of what you do.

I think it is a shame that you won’t be doing events and ‘packages’ as others will miss out.. but, as you said.. you started the business because it’s what everyone ‘expected’ you to do…. not because you WANTED to.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. :)

Debra-Lee Sains, 5 months ago

Hey Nat….......I gave up portrait /event photography a few years ago, and I don’t regret it. I still do the odd one here and there but only if it is unusual and interests me. I found it really hard to do wedding photography or events….......not the actual photography bit but dealing with clients and the shite that goes with commissions and pricing etc.

I found that I was getting less and less enthusiastic about my craft and more concerned about the business side and the semantics. I woke up one day and realised that I didn’t actually enjoy taking photographs anymore because I had turned my hobby into a profession.

Now…....this doesn’t apply to everyone and most people cope really well with it. But I realised that what I wanted to do was take photographs of what I wanted (using models which I selected) and then exhibited or sell the images of my choice afterwards.

Different strokes for different folks I guess….........I still love photography but now I produce what I want and not what anyone else wants.

Downside is…........I have to have a day job now to pay the bills!

Natalie Manuel, 5 months ago

Thanks Debra. I think I have made the right decision!