What’s It Really Like to Be a Pro Photographer?

Chris Sale and I used to lead similar lives. We both had senior jobs in corporate IT and our spare time was dominated by our passion for photography. In fact, it was that love for landscape photography and for producing YouTube videos that we became good friends. Over the years since we’ve been friends, we’ve met up for numerous shoots and even produced a few videos together.

Twelve months ago, Chris made to decision to leave his job in IT to become a full time, professional landscape photographer. Without a doubt, this was a major decision by Chris and a risky one at that. However, as risky as it was, Chris didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to turn pro (as you’ll find out in the film). I thought it was an incredibly exciting decision and I was keen to try and support Chris where I could.

Chris’ transition to professional photographer follows a path that might be quite different from a lot of other photographers, particularly those who have a more established presence in the industry. It’s those key differences in both Chris’ journey and the way he runs his business that gave me the idea of producing this documentary.

As I try to be as supportive of Chris, so he is supportive of me. When I proposed the idea of creating this documentary, he was more than willing to support me and most importantly offer me his trust. The trust element was particularly important as he was going to let me film him for a day, and then edit that down to a short film.

We were hoping to make the film earlier this year, but a certain pandemic put an end to that plan. We still thought it was a great idea, so as soon as it was safe to travel and meet up again, we put a new date in our plan.

I am now absolutely delighted to share the film we have made. I hope that by viewing it you not only get a good idea of what it is like to be a professional landscape photographer, but you also learn about Chris’ interesting journey. Most of all I hope you enjoy it!

Do you have an interesting or compelling photography story that could make for a good film? Let me know in the comments below.