Quick intro, and any thoughts on this?

[IndyRick]

Hi, all, I'm Rick in Indianapolis. Just a quick intro, and doing some brainstorming and so on...I'm glad I found this website and these forums!

First of all, I'm a musician by trade, and travel around the midwest doing festivals and other events. (I'm also a storyteller)

I've amassed a LOT of photos in my travels. About a year or so ago, a friend of a fellow musician, who is a professional photog, saw some of my pics and said "Those are pretty good...ever think of marketing some of them?".

Long story short, I started working with and editing some of my existing pics, bought some better equipment, and took some workshops, and started really concentrating on getting some good shots.

So, here's what I'm kicking around. When I'm traveling, I've always got a table set up with CD's, and a couple of books I've written, that I sell at my appearances.

I'm thinking of adding photography in there....maybe some matted prints, note cards, a calendar or two....

Does anyone else do anything similar to this? Any thoughts on it?

Thanks,
Rick in Indy

[adina]

Hey Rick,

did you figure this out?

Add some photography, keep careful records. Should be no different than the cd's or books. Make sure you paying your sales tax....and just remember, the IRS watches photogs as closely as musicians and mechanics. All are "fun" professions, with cool toys. It's very easy to decide to be a business, and deduct your expenses. However, if you are deducting, they eventually want to see some income, and thier share of it.

[IndyRick]

Hey there Miss Adina! Thanks for the reply. And I'm figuring it out as I go. I have the advantage of having run a music biz for quite some time now, so it's pretty much an easy leap for us. Buy a new toy, whether it's a lens or a tuner....isn't that different tax wise. I think I was making it more difficult than it had to be.