Becoming a business owner

I never really thought of it as "I'm owning a business" when I started this. I just figured I was a dude with a camera, a selection of lenses and lighting, a functioning computer which runs Photoshop, and the desire to take pictures of people and things. Of course, I also wanted to get to the part where I could convince other people to pay me for my pictures. That started a couple of years ago when a brewer in India saw a picture I'd taken and asked for a high-def image.

Since then, I've had friends ask me for large pictures for their homes. I've given a few away as gifts, as I thought the people I gave the pictures to would like them. I even have one of my recent pictures as a 16x20 in my bedroom because, well, dammit I just like it a lot.

I am self-taught, and I somehow figured that meant that I'm not a real photographer. I'm just some dude with a camera. Thinking on it, however, I figured that if people like what I'm making enough to ask me for prints (and better, I have recently had folks even want to pay me for some of those images) that does make me an artist of sorts. At the very least, I figure that the fact that people want to see my pictures makes them "photographs" and not "snapshots." I think that's pretty cool, now that I think about it.

Of course, if I'm going to have people pay for these images (especially since I will do some events), I figure it's probably best to set it up as a limited liability corporation so that when people sue the company, they don't necessarily bankrupt the next four generations of my family. I also have to get some insurance and all that. A web presence is easy, and that's ready to go when I've got the rest of it done.

Bill Pappert. Professional Photographer.

That has a neat ring to it, especially as I am (as noted earlier) self-taught. I will never be able to retire on the income from it, but it should be fun. The only thing I like better than getting out and making photographs is cooking. While my mother's example seems to indicate that hard work and chutzpa are enough to make one a chef, I don't see myself following in those footsteps.

Anyone who is looking for photo work in Colorado Springs, please look me up. I'll be hanging a shingle soon... as a business owner. Go figure.