Recreation Guide (Ideas for Fun & Inspiration)

Recreation Introduction

Entertainment and recreation are big topics for many of us because they are the most interesting. Very few of us truly love our jobs or businesses so we seek to fill the void by engaging in leisure and social activities in our downtime.

From a commerce point of view, the entertainment and recreation industries are huge business ventures with people spending a lot of money on them such that they contribute a lot to the economy overall.

Despite this, in my research on entertainment and recreation, I was not able to find one resource book that attempts to identify most topics under the banner of entertainment and recreation and offer resource information about where you can go to get more information about these subject areas.

Beyond the books in the #790 to #799 section at the library which deal with some sectors of the recreation field, the only two places in the whole library that I found that specifically deal with recreation is the recreation section of the Encyclopedia of Associations and the Leisure section of a Periodical Directory like Ulrich's or the Standard Periodical Directory.

There are all kinds of hobbies, arts & crafts and sports that people do that I didn't include in this book because I'm just one guy. I can't possibly know all the things people do for recreation but I'm willing to provide a starting point through this book.

Computers and the internet are a major source of recreation but they're so big that I've written a separate book about them. Refer to either #004.00 to #006.00 at the library or refer to my Computer & Internet Resource Guide.

Recreation for Fun, Inspiration & Fellowship

I tried a bunch of different things for recreation and entertainment then settled on a few that mainly tax my physical and creative abilities. Through doing these just about everyday, I stay young, inspired and vital about my life. I'm no different than the 51 year old hula hoop master I met who could balance 30 hula-hoops on her body. She found her joy in life, her fountain of youth in life but it just wasn't there, laid out in front of her. She had to check out a bunch of things before she found that this was what she really liked. This is what I'm talking about. We need a guidebook to show us fun things to check out.

As a 14 year-old kid, I didn't know anything about weightlifting, long distance biking or what the lifestyle of a creatively inspired artist-bohemian was. I was brought up in the straightlaced world of public grade school. I thought I would either work a job or start a business. I never imagined my life would become a continuous journey of inspired-esthetic experiences day after day.

I never conceived such a lifestyle option existed until I went out into the world and start learning about some of the many different options life has to offer.

That's why I wrote this book, to gather all these recreational options in one place for you to explore them and maybe find one or two things that exist in your soul now but have to be manifested by you discovering them, realizing they are a force within you then using them as a source of inspiration andf pleasure for the rest of your life.

That's what I see as the power of recreation. Sure, the frivolus stuff is fun for a season or a filler if you're bored as a young person uncertain about your true identity but there is great power in finding the one or two recreational activities that make you come alive and give you a sense of vitality about your life.

Granted, many of us cannot earn our living through pursuing our recreational passions but some of us can. I'm not about that in this book, whether your recreation is your vocation or vacation.

I'm about presenting as many options as I can find in this guidebook to help you discover what you really, really like to do then maybe you might end up like me and all the other inspired people on the planet enjoying their lives by following the passions in their souls to live inspired-esthetic lives for themselves.

I'm telling you to use this book of ideas to find what you really like to do then follow it for the rest of your life.

From another point of view, recreation gives us friends, fellowship, social contact and love. As a guy who has written a love, sex and romance book with a volume dedicated to dating and courtship, based on what I've observed about people meeting each other and falling in love, the number one way they do it is through introductions between family and friends but number two is not bars or dating websites.

It's through recreational type activities and clubs where people go to meet united by their common interests and from there, they develop a relationship.

There is much less pressure in this kind of situation than going to a bar or to a dating website where there is so much pressure to get hitched so to speak. Here, you join a club or sporting activity and it's not as pressured as a single's activity where it's all about trying to score.

As a result, people develop a relationship more gradually and fall in love over time which is much better than the all or nothing night out at the local bar where you're expected to go on the hunt or preen like a peacock in order to attract possible suitors.

Recreation Information at the Library

Books about recreation and leisure are mostly at #790 or GV (Library of Congress System) at the library. Most sports books are at #796. There are many sports books available at humankinetics.com.

The major recreation section at the library is the 700s as follows:

700. The Arts.

701. Philosophy and theory.

702. Miscellaneous.

703. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.

704. Collections, iconography.

705. Serial publications.

706. Organizations.

707. Study and teaching.

708. Galleries, museums, etc.

709. Historical and geographical treatments.

710. Civic & Landscape Art.

711. Area planning (Civic art).

712. Landscape.

713. Landscape design of trafficways.

714. Water in landscape design.

715. Woody plants in landscape design.

716. Herbaceous plants in design.

717. Structures in landscape design.

718. Landscape design of cemeteries.

719. Natural landscapes.

720. Architecture.

721. Architectural construction.

722. Ancient.

723. Medieval.

724. Modern.

725. Public structures.

726. Religious buildings.

727. Educational buildings.

728. Residential buildings.

729. Design and decoration.

730. Sculpture & the Plastic Arts.

731. Processes of sculpture.

732. Ancient nonclassical sculpture.

733. Ancient classical sculpture.

734. Medieval sculpture.

735. Modern sculpture.

736. Carving.

737. Coin and money collecting.

738. Ceramic arts.

739. Art metalwork.

740. Drawing & the Decorative Arts.

741. Freehand drawing.

742. Perspective.

743. Freehand drawing by subject.

744. Technical drawing.

745. Design and crafts.

746. Textile handicrafts, i.e. sewing.

747. Interior decoration.

748. Glass.

749. Furniture and accessories.

750. Painting & Paintings.

751. Processes and forms.

752. Color theory and practice.

753. Abstractions, mythology, etc.

754. Subjects of everyday life.

755. Religious.

756. Historical events.

757. Human figures.

758. Other subjects.

759. Historical and geographical treatments.

760. Graphic Arts.

761. Relief processes for prints.

763. Lithographic processes.

764. Chromolithography and serigraphy.

765. Metal intaglio processes.

766. Mezzotinting, etc. processes.

767. Etching an drypoint processes.

769. Prints.

770. Photography.

771. Equipment, supplies, chemistry.

772. Metallic salt processes.

773. Pigment processes of printing.

778. Specific fields of photography.

779. Collections of photographs.

780. Music.

781. General principles.

782. Dramatic music.

783. Sacred music.

784. Vocals.

785. Instrumental music.

786. Keyboard instruments.

787. String instruments.

788. Wind instruments.

789. Percussion, mechanical, electrical instruments.

790. Recreation.

791. Public entertainment.

792. Stage theater.

793. Indoor games and amusements.

794. Indoor games of skill.

795. Games of chance.

796. Outdoor sports.

797. Water and air sports.

798. Equestrian and animal sports.

799. Fishing, hunting, shooting.

Some recreation subjects are as follows:

Acting, #791.45-792.08, PN1992.8.

Archery, #799.32.

Arts & crafts, #700-#710. #746.

Ballet, #792.80, GV1785-99.

Basic games like chess, checkers, mah-jongg, etc., #794.10-20 or GV1455.

Basic recreation, #790.

Baton twirling., #785.067, MT733.6.

Bicycling, #796.6, #612.044 or GV1043.7 and RC1220.

Boxing, #796.83, GV1133

Brain twisters, word puzzles, word games like Scrabble, #793.73-74.

Camping, #796.54, GV191 to GV198.

Canoeing, #797.122, GV783.

Card games, bridge, poker, etc., #795.4, GV1282.

Cars, #629.

Car racing, #796.72, GV1029.3

Ceramics, sculpture, #730-739.

Children's games and parties, #793.00-22, GV1205.

Comedy, #792.7028, PN2287-PN6162.

Computer games, video games, #794.815, QA76.76.

Cooking, #641.

Dancing, #793.30-34, GV1751.

Dog sledding, #798.80-83, SF440.

Drawing, #740-744.

Falconry, #799.232, SK321.

Fencing, #796.86, GV1147

Fishing, #799.5, H441-455.

Folklore, #398.

Gardening, #635.

Glass arts, #748.

Graphic arts, #760-769.

Hiking, trekking, orienteering are at #796.51 or GV199.5

Hockey, ice, #796.962, GV847.

Home improvement, home building, #643, #690-699.

Horsemanship, #798.23, SF309.

Hot air ballooning, #797.5, GV762.

Hunting, #799, SK33-SK251.

Kayaking, #797.122, GV788.

Languages, #400-499.

Literature, #800-899.

Martial Arts, #796.809-810, GV505 to GV1113

Mime, #792.3, PN2071.

Mountain biking, #796.63 or GV1056

Mountain climbing, #796.52, GV199.4

Movie and video review guides, #791.430-791.4375.

Movie industry, #792.93, PN1998.

Outdoor activities in general; hiking, backpacking, etc., #796.50, GV191.

Painting pictures, #750-759.

Parades, how to manage and create parades, #791.6, GT3980.

Pets, #636.

Photography, #770-779.

Puppetry, #791.53, PN1972.

Rafting, #796.122, GV780.

Raising children, #649.

Rowing, #797.123, GV791.

Rving, recreational vehicles, #629.226-629.28, #796.7, TL298, TX1110.

Sailing, #797.124, GV811.

Science, #500-599.

Scuba diving, #797.23-24, GV840.

Sewing, knitting, etc., #746.

Skating, figure skating, #796.91, GV850.

Skiing, cross-country, #796.93, GV853.

Skiing, downhill, #796.93, GV854.

Skydiving, #797.5.

Snowboarding, #796.9, GV852.

Snowshoeing, #796.92, GV853.

Stagecraft, #792.025, PN2091.

Stage costume, #792.026.

Stage make-up, #792.027.

Stripteasing, #792.7028, PN1949.

Swimming, #797.210, GV837.

Tai Chi, #299.5, #615.5 and #796.8155 or CV504

Theater, #792, PN1655.

Travel, #904, #910-919.

Windsurfing, #797.172, GV811.

Wrestling, #796.812, GV1196.3

There are many sports magazines listed in a periodical directory like the Standard Periodical Directory or Ulrich's. The Sports Periodicals Index is devoted exclusively to sports. The Physical Education Index covers sports and fitness.

Sports books at the library are at:

793. Indoor games and amusements.

794. Indoor games of skill.

795. Games of chance.

796. Outdoor sports.

797. Water and air sports.

798. Equestrian and animal sports.

799. Fishing, hunting, shooting.

More specifically;

Backpacking, #796.50, GV200.5.

Badminton, #796.345, GV1007.

Baseball, softball, #796.357, GV865-GV888.

Basketball, #796.323, GV883-GV885.

Bicycling, #796.6, GV1043.7.

Boomerangs, #796.435.

Bowling., #794.6, GV902.5.

Boxing, #796.83, GV1132.

Camping, #796.54, GV191.7.

Car racing, #796.72, GV1029.9.

Cricket, #796.358.

Fencing, #796.86, GV1147.

Field hockey, #796.355.

Football, #796.332, GV939-GV956.

General health, diet, fitness, exercise, nutrition, #611 to #613.

Golf, #796.352, GV979.

Gymnastics, #796.44, GV463.

Hockey, #796.962, GV847.

Kites, kiting, #629.133, #796.15, TL759.

Lacrosse, #796.34.

Martial Arts, #796.8159, GV1114.7

Olympic Games, #796.48, GV7215.

Outdoor activities, #796.50, GV191.4.

Racquetball, Squash, #796.343, GV1003.34.

Rodeos, #791.8, GV1834.56.

Roller blading, roller skating, inline skating, #796.21, GV859.

Running, #796.42, GV1061.

Skating ice, figure, #796.912, GV849.

Skiing, #796.93, GV854.2.

Soccer, #796.334, GV943-GV944.

Sports in general, #796, GV722.5, GV735.

Sports coaching, #796.071, GV711.

Sports officiating, #796, GV735.

Sports psychology, #796.01. 790.01. GV706.4.

Tennis, #796.342, GV994-GV1002.

Track & Field, #796.42, GV1060.

Trampoline, #796.47.

Triathlon, #796.4257.

Volleyball, #796.325, GV1015.5.

Weightlifting, #796.41, #613.71-77, #646.75 (bodybuilding), GV546.

Wrestling, #796.812, GV1196.3.

Periodical directories like The Standard Periodical Directory and Ulrich's Periodical Directory available at most libraries are thick books which neatly list all the magazines and newsletters in a number of different categories. There are travel, fishing, hunting and outdoor/ camping categories as well as many others. If you want specific information about something, find the right magazines and go from there.

Chapter 2. Recreation Resources

Some Recreation Websites

aahperd.org/aalr, assn. for leisure and recreation.

aahperd.org/naspe/, national association for sport & physical education

play.com

thriftyfun.com, gardening, arts & crafts

answers.com/topic/recreation

recreationnews.com, recreation magazine for workers.

findthefun.com

search4recreation.net

leisureideas.com

ace.acadiau.ca/fps/srmk/rlonline/, listing of internet resources aimed at the recreation and leisure profession.

worldhoopday.com

activityreg.com

thingsyouremissing.com

yahoo.com/recreation/

directoryrecreation.com

top10links.com/cat.php/recreation

surftilyoudrop.com/links/outdoorrecreation.html

dmoz.org/recreation

dir.yahoo.com/recreation

questionville.com/games__recreation

google.com/top/recreation

directory.google.com/top/recreation

aftercare.com.au/programsservices/recreationleisure/

ahs.uwaterloo.ca/rec/, recreation and leisure studies.

altis.ac.uk, the guide to internet resources in hospitality, leisure.

ausleisure.com.au

betterliving.co.nz/content/atplay/recreation/default.aspx

usnationals.net, aerobatics.

bored.com

brocku.ca/recandleisure, brock university department of recreation & leisure studies

cabi-publishing.org/leisure.asp

calpoly.edu/visitors/recreational.html

census.gov/compendia/statab/arts_entertainment_recreation/recreation_and_leisure_activities/

cis.ufl.edu/~thoth/library/recreation.html, games and recreation.

cortland.edu/rec, new york state.

cprs.org, california parks and recreation.

cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/tourism.htm, the history of recreation, leisure time, and tourism in america.

csudh.edu/hhs/kr/rls/courses.htm, recreation & leisure studies

csulb.edu/~rls, recreation and leisure studies at csulb

csulb.edu/aux/alumni/membership/chapters/recreationleisure/index.html, recreation and leisure studies.

csun.edu/search/cat9698/leisurestudiesandrecreation.htm

csus.edu/rls, recreation and leisure studies.

departments.ithaca.edu/trls/, department of. therapeutic recreation and leisure services.

dir.yahoo.com/entertainment

dir.yahoo.com/social_science/recreation_and_leisure_studies/

direct.gov.uk/leisureandrecreation

dmoz.org/recreation

drleisure.com

ecu.edu/rcls, recreation and leisure studies at ecu.

e-guide.com, covers music, movies, etc.

eleisurelink.com

emol.org, entertainment magazine.

emu.edu.tr/english/academics/schools/tourismhospitality/leisuresportsrecreation, dept. of leisure, sports and recreation management

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/recreation

eprints.org/view/subjects/gv.html, recreation articles.

esu.edu/academics/rec.asp, east stroudsburg u.

esu.edu/recr, department of recreation & leisure services management, east stroudsburg u.

eurweb.com, euro-entertainment.

familyvillage.wisc.edu/leisure/information.html

forestparkforever.org/recreation/

fs.fed.us

fs.fed.us/recreation/

galaxy.einet.net/galaxy/leisure-and-recreation/games

gorp.com

gorp.away.com, adventure travel and outdoor recreation.

gutenberg.org/browse/loccs/gv, browse books.

hackleylibrary.org/leisure.htm

health.jbpub.com/recleisure, books for sale.

health.utah.edu/prt/, parks, recreation, and tourism.

hg.org/recr.html, sports and recreation law

hhd.csun.edu/lsrc, the department of leisure studies & recreation at california state university, northridge.

hhs.csus.edu/rls, sacramento state

department of recreation and leisure studies

il

imeplace.com/global_directory/sport_rec_leisure.htm

iws.wcupa.edu/campusrec/, department of recreation and leisure programs.

kb.nl/dutchess/76/index.html, rec topics.

keepmedia.com/topics/lifehealth/recreationalactivities/

leisureexpress.com/, pearland parks and recreation.

leisurerecgroup.com/

leisuretourism.com/

lfpress.ca/recreation, london free press, london, canada.

library.csun.edu/mhenry/leisurestudies.html

mygoals.com

mygoals.com/categorypages/pub-setgoal-rec-lev1.html

nau.edu/ihd/aztap/factsheets/recreation.shtml, institute for human development.

ncaonline.org/rec-leisure/index.shtml, recreation & leisure. people with disabilities.

nrpa.org, national recreation and park association.

online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/39-9032.00, conduct recreation activities with groups.

ottawa.ca/residents/health/living/injury_prevention/youth_safety/recreation/index_en.html, safety in recreation.

pacer.org/tatra/myd-recreation.htm

pacifica.recware.com/, online recreation activities.

parks-leisure.com.au

partyguideonline.com/recreation/subjects.html

qualityrecreation.com

railtrails.org/benefits/recreation

recreation.gov

recreation-guide.com

recreationtherapy.com

recreationtherapy.com/tx/actindex.htm, recreation activity and treatment ideas.

rptsweb.tamu.edu/journals/jlr, journal of leisure research.

scholarly-societies.org/recreation_soc.html

semi-house-society.com/programs/recreation_leisure.htm

sfsu.edu/~puboff/programs/undergrad/rec_lsr.htm

sfsu.edu/~recdept, department of recreation and leisure studies.

shawguides.com, 800-247-6553, books about artistic and creative schools, vacations, etc. where you can apply to work for.

sjsu.edu/depts/casa/recreation, recreation & leisure studies department, sam jose state.

sociosite.net/topics/leisure.php

thechp.syr.edu/abreclei.htm, materials on supporting children and adults in integrated community recreation and leisure activities.

thesis.haverford.edu/view/subjects/gv.html, haverford college senior thesis archive, subject: gv recreation.

travel.discovery.com/fansites/worldsbest/listing.html, world's best lists.

tsbvi.edu/bib/recreati.htm, specific recreational activities are listed.

tsbvi.edu/recc/rl.htm, recreation and leisure resources for teaching students who are blind or visually impaired.

ua-ohio.net/parksrec/lifelong, akron, oh.

umm.maine.edu/majors/recmgmt/index.shtml, recreation management major at u maine machias.

umpi.maine.edu/programs/pgms/recc.htm, recreation/leisure services, commercial recreation.

unc.edu/depts/recreate/

unc.edu/depts/recreate/crds/poptions/manual/questionnaires.pdf, recreation questionaire to help you discover your interests.

uncg.edu/rth/leisure.html

und.edu/dept/rls, university of north dakota, recreation and leisure services.

und.nodak.edu/dept/registrar/catalogs/catalog/ugdept/depts/rls.htm, university of north dakota, recreation and leisure services.

unhooked.com/recreation/index.htm

uscollegesearch.org/parks--recreation--leisure-and-fitness-colleges.html

weather.com/activities/recreation/

webpages.csus.edu/~sac60031/, interested in trying new recreational activities.

webworldindex.com/phtml/recreation_and_sports

who.int/entity/hia/examples/recreation/en/index.html, world health organization.

worldleisure.org, world leisure and recreation association.

worldleisure.org/wice, school in holland.

yahoo.com/recreation

yellow.byu.edu/~grayh/swdaahperd/swdjournal2005.html, journal of recreation and leisure.

Some Recreation Activities

Probably the simplest way to look for recreational activities is to browse through your local Yellow Pages and see what comes up, look through a dictionary or go to one of those search engines with local features like google or yahoo, type in your zip code and see what's going on in your area.

Type any of these terms into a search engine along with your town.

Air show

Airplane lessons

Amusement park

Antiquing

Apple-picking

Aquarium

Aquariums

Arcade games

Archery Tournament

Architecture

Art galleries

Art gallery

Art museum

Art museums

Auction

Author reading, book store, library

Badminton

Bakeries

Ballet

Ballroom dancing

Ballroom dancing

Bars

Baseball

Basketball

Batting cages

Beach

Beach resorts

Beaches

Bicycling

Biking trails

Bingo

Bird watching

Birds as pets

Bluegrass

Blues

Board games

Boat show

Boating

Bocce ball

Boogie boarding

Books

Bookstores

Bowling

Bowling alleys

Brew beer

Broomball

Cafes, coffee shops

Campfire

Campgrounds

Canoeing

Car show

Card games

Carnival

Carriage ride

Casino

Cat, Cat Show

Caving

Church

Church choir

Circus

Civil War Battle Reconstructors

Clubs

Coffeehouse

College cultural activities at the local college

Colleges

Comedy club

Comedy clubs

Community theatre

Companies

Cooking classes

Cooking classes

Cornfield maze

Country drive

Croquet

Cruises

Dance clubs

Dance lessons

Dance lessons

Dancing

Demolition derby

Dinner theatre

Dirt biking

Dog Sledding

Dogs, Dog Show

Drive to a new, random restaurant.

Drive-in movie

Driving around in the car.

Driving range, golf

Driving ranges

Entertainment

Estate sales, look them up in the newspaper

Fair

Farmer's market

Ferry ride

Festivals

Film festival

Finger-painting

Fireworks

Fishing

Fishing

Flea market

Flea markets

Fly fishing

Food/drinks

Football

Frisbee

Frisbee golf

Garage sales

Garden club

Gardens

Gardens, public

Go-cart racing

Golf

Golf courses

Golf driving ranges

Grocery stores

Gyms

Hayride

Health and fitness

Helicopter lessons, tour

Hiking

Hiking trails

Hockey

Horse races

Horseback riding

Horseback riding

Hot-air balloon

Hunting

Ice cream treat

Ice skating

Ice skating rinks

Indoor rock climbing

In-line skating

Jazz

Jazz clubs

Jet ski

Juggling

Karaoke

Karaoke bars

Karate schools

Kayak

Kite flying

Laser tag

Lectures, free ones at colleges, bt activist groups and by authors on book tours.

Lessons in just about anything.

Letter boxing

Libraries

Line dancing at country bar

Live music

Live theatre

Mall crawler, hang around the mall

Massage

Miniature golf

Miniture golf courses

Monster truck rally

Motorcycle

Mountain biking

Movies

Museum

Museums

Music concerts

Musical, a play or movie with music

Musician, become one

Nature lover

Nightclubs

Nut picker, in season

Opera

Organizations

Orienteering

Outdoor recreation

Oxygen bar

Paddle boating

Parachuting

Parasailing

Parks

Parks

Performance art

Pet stores

Piano bar

Picnic

Pizzas

Planetarium

Planetariums

Playground

Plays, theaters

Poetry slam

Pool tables

Public speaking

Racquetball

Reading

Religious

Resorts

Restaurants

Riverboat cruise

Rock climbing

Rock climbing

Running

Sailing

Salsa dancing

Scenic trails

Schools

Science centers/ museums

Scuba diving

Shell gathering, beachcombing

Shooting ranges

Shopping malls

Singles bars

Ski resorts

Skiing, downhill, cross-country

Sledding

Snorkeling

Snowboarding

Snowmobiling

Spa resorts

Spas

Spiritual retreat

Sports

Sports bars

Square dancing

Squash

Storm Chasing, watching

Sunbathing

Swap meets

Swimming

Swimming pools

Swing dancing

Symphony

Synagogue

Tango

Tea houses

Tennis

Tennis courts

Tubing, go down the river in a tube

TV Show taping in your area.

Underwater park

Vineyard tour

Volleyball

Walking

Water parks

Water skiing

Water theme park

Waterfalls

White-water rafting

Wine bars

Wine tasting

Wineries

Work out

Yoga classes

Zoo

Arts & Crafts Guide, Artist - Craftsperson Business Guide (Includes Graphic Arts, Museum Jobs)

Artist Career 1

This book is a mix of jobs and self-employment opportunities. In order to sell your products, refer to internet auctions and flea markets.

Many people have a delusional idea of an artist's life they got from TV and movies. The coolest people are always artists and they're always making lots of money. The mass media picks a few people and showcases them as star artists while thousands of artists just as good or better at their craft than these stars get nothing. That's the way it is in arts.

There are very few true geniuses out there. A painting is a subjective experience. An actor spews out rehearsed lines. A thousand actors can easily do any role as well as anyone else. The only way to detect a true artist is through a literary work or music that moves you. Everything else is opinion.

I've known plenty of talented, middle-aged poor artists. That's the way most artists live. Most eventually take on another job. Schoolteachers make up a big percentage of artists with day jobs.

Artist Career 2

Most artists are self-employed. Art might be passion but it's also business so be professional and organized about it. You can sell freelance through your studio and website and through galleries who always take a percentage commission out of the deal.

For tax purposes, you're a self-employed independent contractor. If you use a certain part of your home for a studio, you can deduct the costs of all that from your tax bill. Get Publications 505, 533, 534 and 587 at irs.gov, 800 829 3676.

Because you're in business, you collect sales tax for the state when you sell something so you have to get a state sales tax number which entitles you to not pay tax when you buy art products for your profession.

Rather than business card, get postcards made up with a copy of one of your paintings and your website name on it.

Study my business book and my advice for writers for the basic nuts and bolts of establishing yourself and telling people you exist. The process for marketing anything is basically the same. A critical difference is that art is a desire. It's not a need.

The money in art is not in selling originals one painting at a time. It's coming up with a real cool painting or line of paintings like Norman Rockwell paintings, licensing it to some company that sells thousands of posters or prints of it.

My Ode to Artists

The following article comes from my book A Free Spirit's Search for Enlightenment.

Earn your keep by mastering a soulful pursuit to a worthy level for someone to get some use out of it.

Do the right thing with who you are so you can help, amuse or inspire people so the money they give you will be your ticket to a good life for yourself like Geronimo, the great Indian chief, said,

"While living I want to live well. I know I have to die sometime but even if the heavens were to fall on me, I want to do what is right."

Find your soulful passions and figure out a way to parlay them into a means to get cash by filling a need or helping people in some way. It may not necessarily be a pure deal, often you'll have to compromise like the swimmer who becomes a swim coach or the animal lover who becomes a veterinarian although for me, I decided I wouldn't compromise, that I'd live my life out my way come hell or high water so I ended up living like your typical artist does, what is poetically known as "starving" but my spirit is bohemian.

There's nothing else for me. I don't fit into the capitalist way of doing things nor can I unless it comes down to a matter of survival.

I feel that my lifestyle is better than the way most people live even if it is with a pauper's roof over my head.

It's easy for a lone individual to be enlightened and free while the organized world system around him is repressed and neurotic in what it does and how its citizens approach life but I'm warnin' you, you'd better have cast iron nerves of steel and a good dose of self-belief if you want to make it as a pure artist with something real to offer to the world to earn your cash as opposed to being a pop culture gimmick because the world is ruthless against original people unless you happen to be one of the rare lucky ones who gets an investor or benefactor early on.

True enlightened free spirits don't want fame or recognition for anything other than doing something worthy and/ or original being themselves. They don't wanna be manufactured clones of the system as with most of our pop culture stars these days.

It's more about the art, inspiration and lifestyle of it rather than letting the suits market you to the hilt until you don't know who you are anymore but you're making money, that image is the bottom line.

This is what separates the fakes from the real people as far as I'm concerned.

When the once revered folk artist from the sixties Bob Dylan sells his soul to do a lingerie commercial then you know that it's all about money these days. There are very few pure artists who wouldn't sell their assholes for the right price.

The mentality of our system is such that you work to earn money to live a good life but the mentality of an inspired free spirit is to work at what you love to do because it creates the most important thing within you; inner strength, power, inspiration and spiritual esthetics. We're aware enough to know that we must do what we love in order to win the game of life.

Money is the standard of our capitalist system, there's no doubt about that nor any doubt about the fact that money buys material freedom but the problem starts when we cross the line in the sacrifice of our most precious commodity TIME in order to work dull jobs to acquire material things.

Your reality is in your head. You don't really need much beyond the modest basics in order to be happy and the cash to do what you wanna do when you wanna do it.

Many artists, musicians and free spirits in general don't make much money through their soulful pursuits but they're aware enough to know that life goes beyond material things.

If you're born with a song in your soul, you should consider it a divine gift and honor it no matter what. If you're lucky enough to have a soulful talent, nothing else should matter but to live it out.

People like to be inspired by beautiful, esthetic things or horrible things that make them see something new about the human condition but it only encompasses a minimal part of life and there are way too many starving artists out there struggling for a piece of this minimalist pie so be ready for a battle if you want to take that route even if you have exceptional talent because the world is more concerned with practical things like cars, houses, food, bills, plumbing, etc. so seek what you love to do that can help people in a bonafide way by making their lives simpler, cheaper, easier or better.

One exception to this is the artist or creative type who can create a work of art so original, unique, different and beautiful that ordinary people come out of the woodwork to buy it as I've seen from time to time in the realm of crafts, music, the performing arts and visual art.

Barring one of the few who make it exclusively through their creative talents like a great singer/ songwriter or a great storyteller, focus on tailoring your passions to fit into the real world need of helping people in a real way somehow and you can win the game by getting to do what you want and getting paid for it.

The ideal lifestyle is to make money while being free to do what you like to do anyway like an inventor, a self-employed lumberjack, a fish farmer, artist, freelance graphic designer, architect, craftsman or a writer. That's the prize to shoot for.

Or combine two things. Many people combine jobs they like to do along with their creative talents. There are hundreds of people who work part-time or seasonal jobs in things they like to do then spend a few hours writing their music or novels at night or in their offtime.

It doesn't have to necessarily be esthetically inspirational. I spent some time as a lumberjack because I wanted to live out the process of hard manual labor. I enjoyed the work, outdoors all day expending myself in a basic, primal way.

I worked for an escort service for awhile, answering phones and driving girls around. It was fun until my boss got busted for living off the avails of prostitution.

As long as you love it, it doesn't matter what you do. There are some interesting jobs out there. You just have to find them. Look at my job books and my business books.

If you're an extreme artist who only wants to do your own thing, there's a good chance you might not eat anything beyond beans, rice and popcorn unless you have the guts to redeem food stamps in public which makes you feel like a pathetic dog so you have to look at the marketplace, see what's selling and come up with some kind of practical solution.

You could spend part of your time true to your art and part of the time pumping out stuff for Joe Middle Class to make money. It should be something practical or functional art that sells cheaply.

People'll pay $25 for a nice lawn ornament or a nice picture but that's it so try to tailor your artwork to the middle class who'll never appreciate true art anyway nor be able to afford it nor give a damn besides something that looks cool on their coffee table or their wall so that's your market.

If you come up with something cool and unique like a lava lamp or the psychedelic pastel posters of the past, you could get rich by licensing it out and selling it to major distributors. Think of something that inspires people. That's what they'll pay for.

I read about one artist who painted cool looking inspirational, inexpensive paintings and sold them near a college campus to mostly students. He said he didn't have to sell them, they sold themselves.

Make something so good and inspiring that it sells itself. Make the right painting, copyright it, get it printed onto posters, license it to sell worldwide and you could make a lot of money like Roger Crumb did with his psychedelic art back in the sixties..

The life of a free spirit can be a hassle because of financial need except for the few who luck out with their talents but even so, there are many who accept the lifestyle because it's all they feel within themselves that has any meaning.

A free spirit is so inherently free that he simply must go his own way regardless of the consequences in the material world.

I've lived out my stint as a struggling artist but, as with the many out there like me, I realized that I can't change who I am, time is all any of us owns so I'll do whatever it takes to keep a pauper's roof over my head but beyond that, it's life as it happens for what I feel within.

Artist Soul Searching

The critical question about doing crafts for a living or for extra income is do you love this enough to do it for free? The reason for this is that you won't get rich unless you create a unique product that a lot of people want, patent it or otherwise protect it as your intellectual property then mass produce it.

Those bits you see on the news sometimes about some kid or even an adult painting a picture and selling it for $100,000 or so is a pipe dream, a sensationalized piece of journalism that doesn't happen much in the real world.

Secondly, crafts is a fickle business. Flea markets and garage sales are full of craft knick-knacks. Craft products come down to home décor, a frivolous affectation for bored, middle aged housewives. They ain't exactly like toilets and computers which people need.

There is a possibility that even after all your work, you won't sell your products and will lose the money you put into it not to mention the time spent creating the craft products.

If you truly love crafts, it might be an option for you but you have to be business-minded about it. There are some millionaire success stories through arts & crafts. One woman created bows that you put on gift packages that are much nicer than the generic ones that were on the market. With this little niche, she got some big department store contracts and became a millionaire.

I read about some guy who created a few psychedelic posters in the seventies, got them copyrighted and ended up selling millions of copies of them.

There was a couple who started a greeting card business with down to earth, rustic greeting cards that worked great until everybody else copied their idea. They sued but that's a big headache.

Doing crafts is fun in the esthetic, creative sense but if you're in it to earn money, you have to think pragmatically. It's not good sense to produce an elaborate, time-intensive work of art or craft if the price will be higher than similar works of art.

You have to come up with something you can produce cheaply and sell quickly at a profit. You also have to know where and how to sell your stuff.

There are many books and websites that can give you ideas on what to create and sell.

Many crafters sell their wares through garage sales, flea markets and crafts fairs but there are other potentially profitable ways such as through your own website, through another, larger website run by somebody else, through a mail order catalog run by another company, on consignment through small retail gift shop type stores in your area and the potential biggest way of all if you've got something neat that can be packaged and sold is to get a contract with a large department store chain that could potentially net you millions in worldwide sales but you have to pitch it first.

It has to be unique, practical or cool enough such that the executives think it will sell well in their store. If they accept it, they will recommend changes like packaging and offer you a price per unit. You either negotiate for a higher price, accept it or reject it. They might even recommend that you move production to China to lower your costs.

The problem with making it as an artist is that everybody thinks they're an artist, hence, intense competition.

You may be living in a fantasy thinking that you're better than you really are.

Art products, in and of themselves, are luxury products, hence, a large segment of the population is not interested.

There is an overabundance of products on the market; the art world itself at the so-called higher levels is a very phony, snotty affair dealing with egos and so-called chic rather than true talent. During hard times, the art field goes on the back burner for nearly everybody.

To make it as an artist, you have to be a business person. Learn about business through my business book or at #650-659 at the library. The federal government's Small Business Administration, 800-U Ask Sba, sba.gov, might be able to help you out.

You have to promote your product just like anything else is promoted, with aggression. Get out there and show your stuff whenever and wherever possible.

Get your stuff shown at galleries. Price it reasonably. Always get a sales contract in writing.

Rejection is part of the life of an artist except for the few lucky ones who get manufactured to be pop stars as kids. Learn to deal with it or get out of the business.

Check out the grant and foundation scene for some free money. A sideline job is to teach art classes and offer retreat type workshops.

Trade things for your work. Paint a mural on the side of a furniture store in exchange for a bedroom set. It's a business, not some romantic fantasy.

A ceramic studio might sound quaint but what's the good of it if people can buy mass-produced ceramic pieces at the dollar store for a buck apiece.

The bottom line is that a work of art, no matter how good, is just a piece of décor. To people like me who live for spirit and not material things, all art is meaningless.

Except for the big phony art afficiandos out there, most art is just middle ground stuff. There are very few true, totally stunning works of timeless beauty anywhere.

The Statue of David and the Wall of the Cistean Chapel are great works of art but they mean nothing to a guy like me except a momentary feeling of inspiration about Michelangelo's dedication to his craft then I feel nothing for them so as such, even if I were to become a billionaire, I would never buy any artwork or décor for my house because it goes against my life philosophy of live in the moment, don't surrouind yourself with material crap just because your society tells you to.

The reason I'm saying this is because I'm basically revealing what's in the true soul of your basic guy. I'd rather watch a porno than go to an art gallery so get real, don't take your so-called art too seriously.

Anyone I see who calls themselves an art connoisseur or has an art collection, I immediately brand that person as a fake out of touch with the real world. It implies elitism, that you're sitting around pretending to admire art when there's some kid starving somewhere.

Go to exhibitions, fairs and trade shows to see what your competition is up to and to see what's going on. Get all your work copyrighted. Pay your taxes.

Artist Job Possibilities

Some ideas are:

A comic strip artist

Animation

Art appraiser

Art auctioneer

Art center job

Art consultant

Art conservator, fix up old paintings, restore them.

Art critic

Art exchange

Art gallery job

Art museum job

Art rental

Art teacher, art educator

Art therapy

Artist agent, manager, representative

Calligraphy

Cartoons for TV

Computer graphic artist

Costume and set design for TV

Creating ads for advertising agency

Custom-designing wallpaper

Decorating children's rooms

Designing packages for manufacturers

Designing theater sets

Exhibit designer for trade shows

Graphic design

Interior bottle painting

Interior designing

Make up artist

Making ceramic statuettes from photos

Making decorative screens

Making theatrical costumes

Mechanical artist

Medical illustrator

Mobile art gallery

Modeling busts for the wealthy

Museum conservator

Oil portraits for executives

Oil portraits from photos

Painting murals

Painting on china

Personalized greeting cards

Police sketch artist

Political and gag cartooning

Portrait sketching

Potter

Promoting art shows

Sculptor

Selling caricatures

Sign painting

Silhouettes

Sketching houses

Sketching stores

Stained glass

Store window displays

Suntan body tattooing on beaches

Teaching art

Traveling painter in holiday resorts

Wood carving

School Shows Info/ Performers at Schools

Schools bring in both for-profit performers and nonprofit groups to entertain the students.

schoolshows.com, a nationwide directory of school shows, school assemblies, school assembly programs, workshops and residencies.

abcfeelings.com

academicentertainment.com, representing performers nationwide.

antrim-assemblies.com, the antrim bureau representing performers in the northeast and midwest.

armadillojim.com/helpingpublicschools.htm, how businesses, parents, churches and other organizations can get involved with public schools.

artshorizons.org, new york, new jersey and connecticut tri-state area.

assemblyline.com, bureau of lectures & concert artists representing performers nationwide.

bickley.com

classactsarts.org, a non-profit organization bringing multicultural performers to schools and communities in maryland, d.c. and virginia.

encoreperforming.com, encore performing arts

mobileedproductions.com

schoolassemblies.com, national school assemblies representing performers on the west coast.

schoolgigs.com, how to make money performing in schools

yagc.org/network.htm, young audiences network directory

Sell Art Via Website

You set up your own website to showcase your stuff plus you put your art on both free and for-a-fee art gallery showcase or art exhibition websites. There are probably a hundred or more websites where you as an artist can display your work for other people to look at and possibly buy. Just about every art gallery website has a process for an artist to submit his or her work to them for online viewing.

The for-fee ones either charge a flat fee or a percentage of works sold.

beyondthenorthwind.co.uk, software to add pictures to your website.

ebay.com

worldartistdirectory.com

artcyclopedia.com, art search engine.

theartshopper.com

wwar.com

etsy.com, mostly for crafts.

Chapter 2. Artist Resources

Art Law/ Art Politics

artswire.org/~aaa, the american arts alliance. an advocacy organization for freedom in the arts.

ceep.com/artactivist, artactivist.com. bay area virtual organization, a forum for dialogue between art and political activism

breadandcircuses.com

calawyersforthearts.org, california lawyers for the arts.

gag.org, graphic artists guild.

voyagerco.com/gg, guerrilla girls fighting sexism in the arts.

artsusa.org, national arts policy clearinghouse.

ecna.org/nca, national campaign for the arts; independent lobbying organisation that represents all the arts.

bantaba.net/artsvote, project artsvote.

Artist Agent/ Artist Representative

Writers, actors and others in the entertainment business have agents who sell their stuff or find gigs for them in exchange for a 10 to 15 percent commission.

theaoi.com, society of illustrators, london, england.

Society of Photographers &

Artists Representatives

60 E. 42nd St.

#1166

NYC 10165

212 779 7464

spar.org

Society of Artists Agents

21c Montpellier Row

London SE3 0RL

07870 628 709

thesaa.com

Artist Resources

To make it as an artist, regardless of your talents, get a copy of Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market by Writer's Digest books, writersdigest.com. You can find it at #706 at your local library.

Your library is a valuable resource. The entire 700-779 category is dedicated to the arts particularly #700-710 and #745-748. Books about organizations are at #706.

Some art reference books are:

American Art Directory

Art Research Methods and Resources: A Guide to

Finding Art Information

Artists's & Graphic Designer's Market, writersdigest.com

Directory of Art Libraries and Visual Resource

Collections in North America

Information Resources in the Arts: A Directory

Who's Who in American Art

There's an Art Index and an Art Bibliographies database online and in CD-Rom form.

You can find art magazines in a periodical

directory like the Standard Periodical Directory or Ulrich's. Some are:

American Artist

Art Bulletin

Art in America

Artforum

ArtNews

Artist's Magazine

Arts Magazine

Arts Review

At the library, a lot of art goes from #750-759.

750. Art.

751. Processes and forms.

752. Color theory and practice.

753. Abstractions, mythology, etc.

754. Subjects of everyday life.

755. Religious.

756. Historical events.

757. Human figures.

758. Other subjects.

759. Historical and geographical treatments.

airbrushaction.com

artmaterialsretailer.com

artcalendar.com

dreamwidth.org, online journal for artists.

aiamagazine.com, american indian art magazine.

airbrushaction.com

americanstyle.com

artcalendar.com

artichoke.ca, western canada art.

artisannorthwest.com

artistsmagazine.com

artmaterialsretailer.com

artpapers.org

arttimesjournal.com

bombsite.com

cmagazine.com

decorativeartist.com

dreamwidth.org, online journal for artists.

espace-sculpture.com

howdesign.com, graphic arts.

mixmagazine.com

modernismmagazine.com

myamericanartist.com

pasteljournal.com

printmag.com

slowart.com

sunshineartist.com

watercolorartistmagazine.com

wildlifeartmag.com

American Artist Magazine

Bpi Comm.

Pob 1944

Marion, Oh 43305

800-745-8922

bpi.com

bpicomm.com

Sells A Directory of Art Schools.

American Craft Council (ACC)

21 S. Eltings Corner Road

Highland, NY 12528

800-836-3470

American Indian Arts and Crafts

Association (IACA)

122 La Veta N.E., #B

Albuquerque, NM 87108

505-265-9149

iaca@ix.netcom.com

iaca.com

Americans for the Arts

Washington, DC

202-371-2830

artsusa.org/

American Style

800-272-3893

americanstyle.com/

Quarterly magazine for the arts scene.

Art Dealers Association of America

(ADAA)

212-940-8590

artdealers.org

Art in America

800-361-4132

enews.com

Magazine for artists

Canadian Craft and Hobby

Association (CCHA)

403-291-0559

cdncraft.org/

Center for Safety in the Arts (CSA)

2124 Broadway, Box 310

NYC 10023

artswire.org/csa

College Art Assn. Positions Listing

275 7th Ave.

Nyc 10001

212691-1051

Bimonthly.

Country Business Magazine

904-446-4873

sampler.com/cbizsubscrlbe.html

Country Register Magazine

602-942-8950

countryregister.com/

Craft Emergency Relief Fund

Box 838

Montpelier, VT 05601

802-229-2306

craftemergency.org/

Helps crafts people who make their living in

crafts who are in a tough situation.

Crafts and Needlework Age

CAN Creative Data ServIce,

650 5. Clark St.,

Chicago, IL 60605-1702

800-258-0929

Trade publication for retail stores.

Crafts Report Magazine

800-777-7098

craftsreport.com/

Gifts and Decorative

Accessories Magazine

800-309-3332

Fax: 212-683-7929

giftsanddec.com

Gifts and Stationery

Business Magazine

800-950-1314

giftline.com

Gift Association of America/ GAA

612 West Broad St.

Bethlehem, PA 18018-5221

610-861-9445

Fax: 610-861-0948.

Graphis

307 Fifth Ave.

10th Floor

NYC 10016.

(212) 532-9387

Fax: (212) 213-3229.

info@graphis.com

graphis.com

Visual arts.

HOW

F+ W Publications

4700 E. Galbraith Rd.

Cincinnati OH 45236.

(513) 531-2690

howdesign.com

The design industry.

Kennedy Center

Education Department

Washington, Dc 20566

202-416-8822

artsedge.kennedy-center.org/ cuesheet

Krause Publications

715-445-2214

krause.com/crafts/

National Assn. of Artists' Organizations

918 F St. Nw

Washington, Dc 20004

202-544-0660

202-347-6350

Bimonthly, Bulletin.

National Assn. of Schools of Art & Design

11250 Roger Bacon Dr.

Reston, Va 20190

703-437-0700

Fax: 703-437-6312

info@arts-accredit.org

nasad.arts-accredit.org

National Art Education Assn.

1916 Association Dr.

Reston, Va 20191-1590

800-299-8321

703-860-8000

Fax: 703-860-2960

naea@dgs.dgsys.com

naea-reston.org

National Gallery of Art

4th St. & Constitution Ave. Nw

Washington, Dc 20565

202-842-6273

nga.gov/resources

Free Educational Materials.

National Arts Job Bank

Western Arts Federation

236 Montezume Ave.

Santa Fe, Nm 87501

505-988-1166

Biweekly.

National Craft Association (NCA)

1945 E. Ridge Road #5178

Rochester, NY 14622

800-715-9594

Fax: 800-318-9410

nca@craftassoc.com

craftassoc.com

The major trade organization.

National Guide To Funding

In Arts & Culture

79 5th Ave.

Nyc 10003

800-424-9836

National Museum of American Art

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, DC 20560

202-357-3095

si.edu

Free educational brochures about artists and art.

Print

F+ W Publications

4700 E.Galbraith Rd.

Cincinnati OH 45236.

(513) 531-2690

info@printmag.com

printmag.com

Reed-Elsevier

Pob 31

New Providence, Nj 07974

800-521-8110

elsevier.com

American Art Directory; Who's Who In

American Art and The International Directory of the Arts.

Small Business Administration

409 3rd St. Sw

Washington, DC 20416

800-U ASK SBA

202-205-6740

sba.gov

Free SBA catalog plus pamphlets containing information and a bibliography about crafts, both as an art and as a business.

The Crafts Center

1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, #525

Washington, DC 20036

202-728-9603

craftsdc@erols.com

A nonprofit organization, helps artisans achieve career success.

Art Career Exploration Websites

adigitaldreamer.com

appliedartsmag.com

arlisna.org/resources/onlinepubs/careers/careers.html, art librarian.

bc.edu/offices/careers/careers/careerfields/arts.html, careers in the arts.

bced.gov.bc.ca/careers/artsjobs/new-media/welcome.htm, media industry careers.

bls.gov/oco/ocos065.htm, archivists, technicians and curators cacareerzone.com, art, design & media careers.

bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm, graphic designers.

bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm, artists & related workers.

bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm, artists and related workers.

calmis.cahwnet.gov/file/occguide/commart.pdf, commercial artists.

career.berkeley.edu/arts/arts.stm, arts and entertainment careers.

careerclusters.org/clusters/16cc.php?cluster=arts, arts career cluster.

careers.govt.nz, arts, design and crafts.

collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/11.0803.html, computer graphics careers.

connexions-direct.com/jobs4u/index.cfm, art therapist.

connexions-direct.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?pid=13, computers & it careers.

eace.org/networks/creativecareers/directoryartsrelatedresources.pdf, creative careers.

gain.net

ilc.org/cfmx/cm/careers/cm_career_bottom.cfm?career_id=404, arts managers.

ipl.org/div/pathways/comp-tech/brdcstanim.html, broadcast animator.

iseek.org, arts and communications careers.

jobfutures.ca, creative & design arts.

jobfutures.ca/fos/c040.shtml, creative designer arts.

jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/occupation/view/129979a, arts administrator.

jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/occupation/view/253100a, cartoonist.

jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/occupation/view/253179d, craftpersons.

jobprofiles.org/artedit.htm, cartoonist.

learnmoreindiana.org, craft artist.

learnmoreindiana.org/careers/exploring/pages/careerprofiles.aspx, art teachers.

Photography Guide

Photography Business 1

Even with cameras in cell phones, people still need professionally-made photographs in business and for personal pictures because they want them done right. The hard part is advertising. In most local areas, if you do an internet search for photography service, a few websites will come up. That’s what you have to do if you want to be successful as a photographer. Set up a website and try to load it so that it comes up for local internet searches for the term photographer (local area).

Armed with your camera and some good advertising, you can do weddings, models, family portraits, passports, student photos, real estate pictures, aerial photography, local newspaper coverage and almost anything else that requires a picture.

You can easily start this work part-time and work into full-time work based on your success and inclination. Not much equipment is necessary to get going.

Photographers and camera operators use their cameras and film to portray people, places and events much as a writer uses words.

Because the procedures involved in still photography are quite different from those used in news and motion picture photography, workers generally specialize in one or the other.

Those who are skillful can capture the personality of individuals or the mood of scenes on film.

Photographers specializing in scientific, medical or engineering photography expose worlds normally hidden from our view.

Most photographers use a wide variety of cameras to achieve desired results. Unlike snapshot cameras, which have a lens permanently attached to the camera body, the professionals' cameras are generally constructed to use a variety of lenses designed for close-up, medium-range or distance photography.

In addition, professional photographers use a vast array of mechanical equipment from the simple tripod to specially constructed motorized vehicles.

Besides cameras and lenses, photographers use a variety of film and colored filters to obtain the desired effect under different lighting conditions. When taking pictures indoors or after dark, they may use electronic flash units, floodlights, reflectors and other special lighting equipment.

Some photographers develop and print their own photographs in the darkroom and may enlarge or otherwise alter the basic image. Many photographers send their work to laboratories for processing.

In addition to the skilled use of cameras and accessories, photographers must be able to compose their pictures with creativity and style.

Still photographers may specialize in a particular type of photography such as portrait, fashion or advertising. Portrait photographers take pictures of individuals or groups of persons and often work in their own studios.

For special events, such as a wedding or christening, they take photographs in churches and homes.

Portrait photographers in small studios, like other small business owners, frequently handle all aspects of their business. They arrange for advertising and schedule appointments, set and adjust equipment before taking the pictures, develop and retouch negatives, develop proofs, and mount and frame pictures. They also purchase supplies and take care of billing and recordkeeping.

Advertising or industrial photographers take pictures of a wide range of subjects including livestock, manufactured articles, buildings and groups of people.

They frequently do photography for catalogs. Companies use their work in publications to report to stockholders or to advertise company products or services.

To create attractive eye-catching promotional pictures, advertising photographers must command a broad array of photographic techniques.

Industrial photographers also photograph groups of people for employee news magazines or take motion pictures of workers operating equipment and machinery for management's use in analyzing production or work methods.

Scientific photographers and biological photographers provide illustrations and documentation for scientific publications and research reports.

The photographs and slides they produce are also used for teaching purposes. These photographers usually specialize in a particular field such as engineering, aerodynamics, medicine, biology or chemistry. Some design photographic equipment for use as a research tool.

Medical researchers often use ultraviolet and infrared photography, fluorescence and X-rays to obtain information not visible under normal conditions. Time-lapse photography (where time is stretched or condensed), photomicrography (where the subject of the photography may be magnified 50 or 70 times or more) and photogrammetry (surveying an area using aerial photography) are other special techniques.

Photojournalists photograph newsworthy events, places, people and things for publications such as newspapers and magazines. They may also prepare educational slides, filmstrips and movies.

Freelance, press and commercial photographers may travel frequently and may work in uncomfortable surroundings.

Sometimes the work can be dangerous, especially for photo-journalists assigned to cover stories on natural disasters or military conflicts. When working on assignment or on location, photographers and camera operators may be away from home for long periods.

Most photographers and camera operators work under pressure. Deadlines and demanding customers must be satisfied. Freelance photographers may find soliciting new clients frustrating and tedious.

About 4 out of 10 photographers are self-employed, a much higher proportion than the average for all occupations.

Some self-employed photographers contract with advertising agencies, magazines or others to do individual projects at a predetermined fee while others operate portrait studios or provide photographs to stock photo agencies.

Most salaried photographers work in portrait or commercial photography studios. Others are employed by newspapers, magazines, advertising agencies and government agencies.

Although a high school education is desirable, entry level jobs for photographers have no formal education or training requirements.

Employers usually seek applicants who have a broad technical understanding of photography as well as other photographic talents such as imagination, creativity and a good sense of timing.

Technical expertise can be obtained through practical experience, postsecondary training or some combination of the two. Some jobs require that applicants have specialized knowledge of the subject area that will be photographed.

Photographic training is available in colleges, universities, junior colleges, public vocational education programs and private photography and art schools.

Over 100 colleges and universities offer 4-year curriculums leading to a bachelor's degree in photography. Many of these schools offer courses in cinematography, however, very few schools offer a degree in cinematography.

Many schools offer photography courses as part of their communications and journalism programs. Some colleges and universities grant master's degrees in photography.

In addition, some colleges have 2-year curriculums leading to a certificate or an associate degree in photography.

A formal education in photography gives a fundamental background in a variety of equipment, processes and techniques. Art schools offer useful training in design and composition but not the technical training needed for professional photographic work. The Armed Forces also train people in photographic skills.

People may prepare for work as photographers in a commercial studio through 2 or 3 years of on-the-job training as a photographer's assistant.

Trainees generally start in the darkroom where they learn to mix chemicals, develop film and do photoprinting and enlarging. Later they may set up lights and cameras or help an experienced photographer take pictures.

Amateur experience is helpful in getting an entry job with a commercial studio but post-high school education and training usually are needed for industrial or scientific photography.

Here success in photography depends on being more than just a competent photographer and adequate career preparation requires some knowledge of the field in which the photography is used.

Photographers must have good eyesight and color vision, artistic ability and manual dexterity. They should be patient, accurate and enjoy working with detail.

Some knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry is helpful for understanding the use of various lenses, films, light sources and development processes.

Some photographic specialties require additional qualities. Commercial or freelance photographers must be imaginative and original in their thinking.

Those who specialize in photographing news stories must recognize a potentially good photograph and act quickly, otherwise, an opportunity to capture an important event on film may be lost.

Writing ability sometimes is important for photojournalists, who may write captions and accompanying articles for their photographs. Portrait photographers need the ability to help people relax in the presence of the camera.

Newly hired workers are given relatively routine assignments that do not require split-second camera adjustments or decisions on what subject matter to photograph. News photographers may be assigned to cover events such as civic meetings or snowstorms.

After gaining experience, they advance to more demanding assignments and may move to larger newspapers or magazines.

A few gain national recognition for their work and exhibit their photographs in art and photographic galleries or publish them in books.

A few industrial of scientific photographers may be promoted to supervisory positions. Magazine and news photographers may eventually become heads of graphic arts departments or photography editors.

Photography, particularly commercial photography and photojournalism, is a highly competitive field because there are more people who want to be photographers than there is employment to support them.

Only the most skilled and those with the best business ability who have developed the best reputations in the industry are able to find salaried positions or attract enough work to support themselves as self-employed photographers.

Many have full-time jobs in other fields and take photographs or videos of weddings and other events on weekends.

Most salaried photographers work full time and earn more than the majority of self-employed photographers who work part time but some self-employed photographers have very high earnings.

Earnings are affected by the number of hours worked, skills, marketing ability and general business conditions.

Unlike photojournalists and commercial photographers, very few artistic photographers are successful enough to support themselves solely through this specialty.

This is a competitive field but there are a lot of outlets with all the magazines out there. Go to a periodical directory, get a list of the outdoor and photography magazines and contact them about freelance work.

The big companies usually plan out their own "coffee table" outdoor type books. Get the books The Writer's Market (#808 at the library), writersmarket.com and The Photographer's Market.

Photography Business 2

Cameras are so sophisticated today you don't even have to be an expert at picture taking. Digital cameras are the latest. Check out some of the photography magazines for info.

Your advantage over professional photographers is that you can charge a lot less and still produce the quality pictures your clients will love.

Whether it's weddings, portraits, models, greeting cards, newspapers, aerial photography or some other form of photography, the opportunities abound for the person willing to give it a try.

There is competition but if you expand your natural market of family and friends, there are plenty of jobs to go around.

You'll probably even find a certain type of photography that you like best and gravitate towards that almost exclusively.

Books are published annually in the thousands, many of which have a demand for photographs, even if it's only of the author on the back cover.

There are specialty books that are produced consisting almost exclusively of photographs and designed for the coffee table. How about local businesses? They may be doing a sales photography piece which requires a photograph.

An insurance plan that's intended to be used as a savings vehicle for a child's college education likely needs a photo of a child or a teen in a cap and gown for its cover.

The more versatile your photography exhibits, the better chance you have of making a good living.

A lot of photography is seasonal, thus your ability and willingness to do all aspects of photography gives you year round possibilities.

While you may have no weddings to shoot in November and December, you could be filming portraits for holiday gifts and cards. Some great shots can be achieved by a regular camera you can purchase in a retail store. Add a tripod and maybe a spotlight for certain shots and you're in business.

Beginning your business is as simple as establishing an objective for your work. Is it to do occasional portraits only? A few weddings on the side? Photography contests now and then?

Or is to do all three in increasing numbers of hours per week? Are you willing to work weekends? Are you able to travel? Do you want to specialize? These are the types of questions you need to ask in order to develop a proper game plan.

Do you need any additional training? Do you know how to photograph a wedding? Are you familiar with light ranges? Should you take a couple of photography classes from the local community schools?

Build this into your initial game plan. You may still be able to practice your photography on the weekends, taking shots which you can submit to newspapers and photography contests.

Some of your best clients can be real estate agents, residential and commercial contractors and architects. Real estate agents know that photographs are more effective in advertising a home or business than the typical classified ad. Doing all of a real estate agency's listings can add substantially to you income.

Get out to the golf course and take pictures of the golfers teeing off. Get over to the bowling centers and take candid shots of the bowlers in action. Do the same thing wherever there's a sports event taking place.

Be on the spot and ready whenever there's an opportunity to take team pictures. You might follow, or hire someone else to follow a Little League team through its season, take candid and action shots.

You then arrange the best of these pictures in a photo album with the team's name and year on the front.You should be able to sell one of these albums to each member of the team.

There's also the idea of just strolling through the park on a Sunday afternoon. You take candid and interesting pictures of couples, children and people in general spending time with their relatives. Wear a t-shirt saying, Photographs, $2 Each.

Keep tabs on the announcements of new births. Send advertising literature to the new mothers and follow up with phone calls efforts to set up photography sessions.

Keep tabs on the engagement notices in the weekend papers. Send your sales literature to the brides-to-be and follow up with phone call efforts to take the wedding pictures.

Set up household and business photo inventory service. With this idea, you contact the insurance companies and determine if they will approve and endorse photographs you take of their policy holders' household, personal and business property in loss claims.

Portraits don't have to be only of people. Families keep a lot of valuable items and heirlooms in their homes. To assist with a potential insurance claim if any of these precious items is stolen, a good picture with the current date on it can be critical evidence in not only identifying the object for the police but in appraising it for the insurance company.

Be sure you get a complete shot, brand name and any specific identifying marks that can help recover the item. In addition to material things, people often like pictures of their pets.

Along with your normal advertising, you can leave your card and a sample pet shot or two at pet stores, grooming places, veterinary clinics, kennels, any place where a pet owner is bound to turn up.

When you take family portraits it's best if you don't use a studio. People always act and look more natural in their own homes or yards.

Family pets are also easier to include when they are in familiar surroundings. You can promote your "on location" family portrait service in the Sunday newspaper. Note the fact that they won't even have to leave the comfort and privacy of their home because you will come to them.

Charge an initial fee, which includes the first portrait (16x20s and 20sx24s are not uncommon) plus travel expenses and other shooting costs. Always promote the Christmas card portraits, which the labs will offer.

Some large antique dealers have photos taken of their items for sale and send the photos or color slides of special or unusual pieces to other dealers or customers.

Back in the 1940s and 50s photographers would travel the country and go door to door. For a fee, children could put on a cowboy hat, vest and chaffs and climb onto a saddled pony to have their picture taken.

All you have to do is rent a gentle-natured pony, have a three-piece (one size fits all children) cowboy outfit and an assistant standing by just in case the pony gets skittish or the child decides to jump off.

Then make arrangements to appear at 'crazy days' festivals, school carnivals, family reunions, shopping mall promotions, parades or any other place where crowds gather.

Make arrangements with the band or booster club and make arrangements to take color group photos of the band and individual members. Mail sample prints to band directors outside your area and arrange for appointments to show your work and explain package offers and fees.

People who have show pets are good candidates for portraits, as are breeders looking to show off their pet, too. Getting pets to sit for their portrait may require a special touch.

If you have a toy for the animal to play with or some proper food, that can usually put the animal into positions from which you can get a good portrait. When you get some good shots, don't forget to get a release from the owners.

You can use those shots in advertising, or there are a number of pet magazines that may be interested in paying you for the photo.

As with all publications, you should contact them first with a letter and send a self addressed, stamped envelope requesting writer's/ photo guidelines. This will get you information about their submission procedures and what they are currently interested in receiving.

You should also check the library or bookstore (or request a back issue from the publisher) to see what kind of photography is typical in that particular magazine.

For more listings of potential magazines, check The Photographer's Market or The Writer's Market at your local library. You may reach a point in your portrait photography career where it makes sense to open your own studio.

Many photographers have progressed beyond their own home studios to a building in which they can set up a specific portrait studio.

You would have a foyer with the walls decorated with some of your portraits, maybe one or two rooms used for portrait photography, and a number of varying backgrounds.

It should be in an area that is convenient for your customers. Moreover, you should always maintain your ability to bring your portrait show on the road with you.

If you've set up a portrait studio in your home or outside your home, you can likely find work in shooting products for businesses to use in advertising and sales brochures.

Almost any type of written work published by a company has some type of artwork to it, at least on the cover. Often, this artwork takes the form of a photograph.

The shots could be for a catalogue, a brochure, a manual, a trade show layout, inventory, ID pictures, etc. There are endless possibilities with businesses.

You probably know the larger-sized businesses in the area. Call on them first, armed with your portfolio. While they may have a photographer as an employee, there could well be too much work for one person to handle.

It's not enough extra work to justify hiring a second employee but sufficient to hire a freelancer. Your local Chamber of Commerce can give you a listing of area companies ranked by size. Work your way down that list.

Just as school graduations are an excellent time for photos, so, too, are graduations in church. Baptisms, confirmations, bar mitzvahs (in the Jewish faith), all are important life events for the participants.

If you belong to a church or synagogue, let the minister, priest or rabbi know that you are available to do photographing. In addition to the graduations, there are youth activities, prayer meetings, bake sales and other special events which these religious institutions hold that are meaningful to them to be remembered in pictures. These institutions also honor their own memories in anniversary celebrations.

Picture books are often sold as a means of fundraising. There is a substantial amount of photography involved with a commemorative edition type of project. As you photograph these events for the church, try and think about how you might use the photos otherwise.

Remember, local newspaper publications may publicize a church or synagogue event. This means you can be hired by both the institution and the newspaper to get the same photo. Be smart, get paid twice for the same job.

The holidays are great occasions for pictures, not only portraits but for cards that are mailed out by the millions. Whether it's Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or another holiday, photos and photo cards are very much a part of the holiday mail.

You must be well organized to be sure your card assignments are completed on time. Pictures must be taken, developed and converted into cards (a photo lab can help with this) well before the holiday to leave the client plenty of discretionary time to mail them out.

In addition to the cards, you should encourage portraits or other pictures as a holiday gift. There are many memorable moments when a picture arrives of a grandchild, a nephew, a niece, a cousin.

You can earn substantially more by processing picture and portrait orders in addition to the card work. The other card opportunity is with new babies.

Most of the time the new parents like to notify their relatives and friends of the new addition to their family. What better way than with a birth announcement card, complete with picture?

This is all part of working with and staying with families over the years. There are so many special picture moments in the lives of people that a good photographer can almost be like a member of the family, having participated in all of the special occasions in life.

Remember your clients on their special days. Sending out cards is entirely appropriate to commemorate the holidays or a birthday or anniversary.

If you took the wedding photos, you will know when an anniversary is coming. If you took a birthday picture, you will have that date. Get as much information about your clients as you can.

Not only will they appreciate the remembrance, the opportunity to keep your name in front of them will work to your advantage the next time an important picture moment arrives. So cards have two meanings here.

First, you can build a nice business creating holiday picture cards. Second, a card and a note to honor special occasions in the lives of your clients can remind them that you truly care about them.As a photographer, the photos in the newspaper are probably of special interest to you. While others linger over the headline or perhaps even the story, you are studying the picture to look for technique or maybe how you would have taken the shot.

Small towns have publications that go beyond the scope of normal news reporting, preferring to concentrate instead on the events that effect the local community. It might be a Friday night football game, a charity ball, a church bazaar, an historical commemoration event, these are all local news stories that weekly publications will have an interest in covering. This means pictures.

Smaller publications, especially of the free variety, are not likely to retain a fulltime photographer so freelance work is relatively easy to come by.

Good pictures often sell these publications, especially to locals who like seeing their faces in the town tabloid. Keeping track of school events, whether it's sports activities, talent shows, plays, dances, contests and, of course, graduations can keep you busy.

There are also important community meetings which are held such as council or school board events. Someone will be there with a pen to record the proceedings but a photograph to accompany the story is always welcome.

Many writers would prefer to write and leave the picture taking to someone who is professional and reliable rather than have to worry about it.

Many editors of small publications don't necessarily have the time to get to every event to shoot the necessary film. They're usually a one person band and need any and all the help they can get.

They probably have a small budget for pictures but once you develop a reputation for being there with your camera and getting good shots, you'll have regular work. Start by taking a few shots of events and bringing them in to the editor. The editor may well be interested in what you've already taken and you can discuss fees at that point.

You may even want to give a couple of the shots away in exchange for ongoing work. If you live in a small town, you'll be familiar about where to get information about events of interest to the paper.

The editor may give you assignments but you can often come up with your own ideas. Visiting the local businesses regularly can get you both the town gossip and news about potential photo opportunities. You may even find potential advertisers for the paper.

There is a job to photograph accident victims and locales to return to the barrister to see if there is sufficient evidence for a lawsuit.

Attorneys need this kind of photography. In many cases, it isn't for the weak stomach. There are car crashes, fires and other difficult situations into which you'll be thrust. You have to want to do this type of work. If you do, there's plenty of it out there for you.

Start by contacting attorneys in town and sending them a resume and samples of your work. While they're not looking for great art with these photos, they want reliable pictures and photographers who will know what angles to shoot and who can make snap judgments at a scene.

Scheduling flexibility will be important here. An accident will occur and you'll be needed. Expect late night calls and the need to drop what you're doing and rush to a scene.

Since this information may well be used as evidence, you will need to be accurate in your written description of the photograph as well as precise in noting exact time and date for the record. Sign the back of your photos so that you can easily identify them if called on to testify in a court of law.

This also prevents other pictures from being slipped in and misidentified by you as you'll only swear to the authenticity of the photos you signed. You'll probably be paid on a per scene basis plus mileage expenses.

You might also work out an hourly rate instead as it could be time consuming work in some cases. Either way, there is a substantial amount of legal photography business available.

You could work either with an insurance agent, the agency itself, or on your own to contact owners of property and sell them on the idea of taking pictures of the household goods they have insured.

You take pictures, a pictorial inventory of everything they're claiming or would like to claim on an insurance policy, and then identify the pictures, giving one set to the property owner and the other set to the insurance agent or company.

Picture inventories of household and personal property is still a new thing but everywhere it's been introduced, it's definitely proven to be a super money-maker for the people willing to get out and hustle.

You can encourage existing clients to bring you new ones by offering a discount on their next service or additional copies of photographs you?ve already taken. New people are the lifeblood of any business and rewarding your clients with freebies or discounts is well worth the cost since it will be more than made up by the new work. You can work under your own name or create a company name for yourself such as "Picture Perfect".

If you do decide to name your business, you will need to acquire a business license which is usually a simple process. Once you have the license, establish a new bank account in that name and "Picture Perfect" is ready to operate.

If you use your home as your studio/darkroom, you'll need to check with your local city and/or county council to be sure you aren't violating any zoning ordinances by running a business out of the house. Don't ignore the codes, especially as you'll be having clients come to the house.

If your city/county prohibits your home-based business, you can either open up your own studio in a commercially zoned site or you can do photography away from home like aerial, weddings, etc.

If you do run a home based business, be sure you acquire liability insurance for the home in the event a customer has an incident there.

Make sure your home/studio is safe and free of any objects which a client could stumble over or otherwise come in contact with and incur an injury.

You can advertise your business in a number of ways from leaving business cards at area stores to taking out a full page advertisement in a local paper. You may be able to trade advertising space for photographs and not have to spend any money other than on film and development which you would have done anyway.

You will need to accurately record all of your expenses as many of them will be tax deductible. This will offset your tax liability on the earnings you receive for your photography work. Set up separate statements per client. Write down all the work you do for that individual or company, especially if you are on an hourly rate.

This is the best and most accurate way to keep track of your time, since depending on your memory recall can be unreliable. Finally, if worse comes to worse, you can combine your regular job and your photography part time job on your tax return and you can deduct all your photography equipment and deduct all your losses from the business on any taxes you would have paid from your regular job.

Photo Agent/ Photo Representative

Writers, actors and others in the entertainment business have agents who sell their stuff or find gigs for them in exchange for a 10 to 15 percent commission.

Society of Photographers &

Artists Representatives

60 E. 42nd St.

#1166

NYC 10165

212 779 7464

spar.org