It may seem cool to many what aerial photography professionals do. They bring their large cameras and other equipment wherever they go. They look cool kneeling down in front of the crowd to take a single shot of an engaged photo or lying face up to catch a bird soar above. There is something truly artistic with what they do, but people don’t know the amount of sacrifices that photographers do to survive in the industry.
If you want to be in the aerial photography business, you might have to check yourself first if you’re really cut out for this dog-eat-dog-world industry.
You are fond of taking photographs
You cannot enter this industry simply because it looks cool to learn how to take photos. There is much more about photography than taking photos and editing them on your computer afterward. You will know in your heart whether this is something you truly want to do. Do you see photos everywhere?
Do you take them when you’re simply walking down the street then saw a picture-worthy moment? Does it consume you? Can you appreciate a good black-and-white photo?
You are thick-skinned
This industry is not for the faint of heart. It is certainly not for onion-skinned people. A lot of your co-workers here will be out to get the opportunities that are already in front of you (unless you grab it first). Clients will scream at you, demanding things that are completely insane.
Your employers won’t understand what’s creative and what’s not. Your work will be subjected to scrutiny; most of the times by people who don’t know an iota about art. You will have to take all of these in stride and continue with your work as if nothing happened.
You are willing to make sacrifices
Photographers make a lot of sacrifices in terms of their time for family and friends. Heck, they don’t even have time for themselves especially if they are in the middle of a big project. The creative process will consume them and they would have to conceptualize everything—from the ideas to the shots to the editing process. They won’t have time to spend with their families or their friends.
They won’t even be home most of the times because they will be stuck with their cameras and their editing equipment. That’s how busy the life of a photographer can become when he is in the middle of finishing a huge (and even a small) project.