Portraiture?

A big tripping point for me has been the GENRE of photography to focus on. Weddings? Portraiture? Editorial? Commercial? Photojournalism? Definitley not commercial. Although a little annual report work might be interesting and profitable... but forget complicated studio lighting...  or even a studio... don't want to get to heavily invested, and besides, I live in a shared house.

I've taken quite a few photos of friends children lately and they seem to love them. One friend is even telling me if I just get organised she'll help with the marketing. Child portraiture. It seems too narrow. Is it? I have a couple of ideas for this genre.One involves creating a really unique artwork revolving around a child, but the presentation I have in mind would probably cost a fortune! And where would I present such an artwork anyway?

I've done weddings in the past and really enjoyed them. They were all for friends however, and I'm terrified of bridezillas and their mothers... and it means working nearly every weekend of the year (well, once you're on a roll) and you have to commit so far in advance which is the biggest sticking point for me. I could be working for the NY Times in a years time. Ok, that may be a little far-fetched, but it's a bigger commitment than I feel comfortable with. And if you're really going to put all the effort into marketing yourself as a wedding photographer you'll want to have a long term plan to stick with it a few years.

Photojournalism is a tricky one. I loved working for the newspapers back home in NZ, but they were small town small publications. It was mostly sport, cheesy setups, and portraits. We went to several jobs a day and the photos weren't ever mind blowing. The standard in a city like Melbourne is so much higher. Am I capable? I'd like to think so, but the reality is that I'm probably not. However I could try and squeeze a toe in the door by doing some audio slideshows that they might want to publish on their website, or simply go along to events and take pics and email them to the paper. I've already sent my portfolio in and nothing has come of that. Most newspapers have really been screwed down on hiring so the work that they do still get freelancers to do is probably rare.

So I think I will focus on the child potraiture for a while and see where it takes me. Although there's still a website idea revolving around DOGS that I'd love to try out too. I'm still as indecisive as always. I think my boyfriend is running out of patience!