Marburg lives in the Houston area, USA and works part-time from home.

Q: Do you work from home part-time, full-time, just for extra cash or do you freelance?
A: I work full-time for a company and Freelance as a hobby.

Q: What type of work do you do?
A: Full-time job in accounting, freelance in Photography.

Q: How did you get started?
A: I was a photo hobbyist for years. I began by taking wedding reception and family photos for friends and family. Co-workers who saw my photos encouraged me to start a gallery or to try selling photos. I first came across a photo stock image site photos and saw they offered feedback from their reviewers so I submitted a photo there. To my surprise it was accepted. I started uploading to this site. I then came across Geckostock and really liked it so I began submitting photos to Geckostock.

Q: Is this a difficult sector to break into?
A: Yes it is. The competition is fierce.

Q: Do you enjoy working from home?
A: Yes. I love photography.

Q: Why did you choose home working?
A: I like the freedom to choose when I do a photo shoot and what to take.

Q: How do you motivate yourself?
A: I love photography so the motivation is there. One way is to pick subjects that I'm interested in and try to photograph them. I recently completed shooting a series of Japanese Ninja dolls. This was something I was interested in but had never tried.

Q: What are the positive aspects of home working?
A: Freedom to work, when and where I want.

Q: What are the negative aspects of home working?
A: Uncertainty of jobs and sales.

Q: Would you say that the type of work you are doing pays you a good wage?
A: Not yet, but I hope it will. I know of some people who are making a decent living doing the same thing I'm doing.

Q: Do you find home distractions a problem when you're trying to work?
A: No. I find that I can concentrate very well in an environment that I am relaxed in.

Q: How many hours do you work a day?
A: The amount of time depends. I generally do most of my photography during the weekend and edit the photos during weeknights.

Q: Would you recommend this type of work to anyone?
A: No. It takes skill, dedication and patience.

Q: Do you need any skills to carry out this kind of work?
A: You need to have an eye for images.

Q: Do you need any special equipment or tools?
A: Yes. You need a decent camera, proper lens, lighting equipment, filters, backdrops, and good photo editing software such as Photoshop and noise reduction tools such as DCEtools or Digital Gem Pro.

Q: What advice would you give to a newcomer in your field?
A: Be patient and keep working to improve your skills. By improving your skills and knowledge you will see enhancement of your final output. Do your best and put your best photos at the stock sites. Read the agreements carefully for each site (some places require exclusivity and/or personal identifying information). Make sure to obtain proper model releases from each person in a photo. And most importantly, BE Patient.

Q: Have you been doing this for long?
A: About a year.

Q: Would you return to the 9-5 grind in the future:
A: I still maintain a 9-5 job. My photography keeps me sane.

Q:Would you recommend working from home?
A: Yes.

Q: Anything else that you’d like to add?
A: Find what you love to do and work hard at it.

To visit Marburg's gallery click here

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