The Profitable Photographer

The Profitable Photographer


204: Luci Dumas "No More Starving Artist!"

May 10, 2023

In this solo episode, Luci takes on the topic of how to handle the challenge of artists who want to have a profitable photography business.

Here are some tips on how to just say NO to being a starving artist.


  1. See your photography as a product, learn to separate yourself from what you create emotionally. When you do this, your next step is to be skilled at sales and marketing and running a consistent business.
  2. Don’t take rejection personally. It is about them and not you and your photographs
  3. You are selling love, or success, or memories, not your soul. Focus on them. Serve them.
  4. You are selling your time. To make a living you MUST charge enough and learn how to sell to compensate you for the time you could spend at a different job.
  5. Good enough is all you need to be. They don’t need to be award-winning images. Awards don’t pay bills
  6. You do need to be proficient and results need to be repeatable. Learn the basics of photography. Study lighting, learn how to pose people in a way that makes them look their best AND evoke natural expression. And have the right equipment and skill to make it happen.
  7. Style. You don’t need to figure this out to make a great living. You need to know how to take photographs people want to pay for that also make you happy to create.
  8. Of course, it is vital to have the passion to produce the best work we possibly can every time. As your work is continually better, success does become easier.




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