Do you have what it takes to become a videographer? Can you do the training that is involved in becoming one?
It’s not exactly something you just do after waking up and thinking it would be cool to take videos and photos. This is a career that you must invest in—from training to purchasing equipment to spending time cultivating relationships with clients. And then, of course, there’s the politics in the industry.
You will meet a lot of people who are too famous for their own good; who think they are the best in the industry when they are actually not. You would have to deal with them, too, and not burn bridges because the photo and video industry is all about recommendations, partnerships, connections, and cutthroat competition.
Are you willing to sacrifice your personal time?
Videographers don’t just spend time shooting with their cameras. They also conceptualize the stories and the messages and think about how they can create stunning visuals to represent the ideas and concepts. All of these will involve a lot of time from you.
It means missing key family occasions, hanging out with friends, and personal R&R time. You might have to say goodbye to all of the things that relax and calm you down such as seeing your friends and your family. If you are not willing to sacrifice your time for this, then the videography world is not for you.
Can you invest your time, energy, and money into this?
And it’s not just your time, too. You will be exhausted all the time. You will go home to your family and you will just feel crappy because you don’t have the energy to play with your daughters or your sons or your dogs. You would rather just take a nap and attack another day of work the next day.
It’s not just time and energy. You have to invest a lot of money in purchasing cameras, drones, and other equipment. You would have to rent them out at first but eventually, buying them would be more economical.
Do you have a network that you can tap?
Do you have strong connections with local businesses? If yes, that would help you become a successful videographer. That means you can connect with these businesses and offer your services to them. At first, they will try to negotiate a very low deal but you just need someone to trust your skills and show them that your work is worth the money.