I’m already on one clear road: three sessions a week for 105 weeks, building finished portfolios—work that can sit on a gallery wall or land on a publisher’s desk.
But there’s a second road running alongside it, and I’m done pretending it’s optional.
After I turn sixty, I want photography to supplement my pension—roughly $32,000 a year, part-time. Not as a hustle. Not as a second career, I resent. As a sustainable system that supports the life I’m trying to build.
That means two commitments at the same time:
- The artist’s commitment: bodies of work, coherence, voice.
- The business commitment: packaging, buyers, friction, and repeatable offers.
If I ignore the second one, I risk spending years building something beautiful that has nowhere to go—the exact trap I called out in my product owner reality check.
The Retirement Constraint: 20-Hour Weeks, Big Travel, Real Life
I’m not building this like someone in their twenties trying to grind 60 hours a week.
My assumption is 20-hour weeks, with the occasional 40-hour sprint, and 2–3 weeks off every quarter to travel—because I’m retired and that’s the point.
So the real game isn’t “work more.”
The game is make the hours count by building a few income streams that are:
- aligned with the work I already want to make
- understandable to buyers
- repeatable without draining me
The Target Isn’t One Big Win. It’s 4–6 Small Machines.
The safest version of $32,000/year isn’t one magical stream (like fine art prints alone).
It’s 4–6 income streams, each contributing $4–7k. That’s not glamorous. It’s durable.
Here’s what that looks like when it’s aligned to the way I’m already building my practice.
One Voice, Multiple Pillars
In my multi-genre post, I planted a flag: I’m not “shooting everything.” I’m building 3–4 bodies of work, deliberately, because I’m on a clock.
The glue isn’t subject matter—it’s a consistent way of seeing: urban presence, repetition with intention, and a system that turns practice into output.
That matters because those same pillars can also become the foundation of revenue streams.
Pillar 1: Urban Landscape / Architecture → Corporate Prints + Design Buyers
From a product lens, corporate buyers want low drama, high impact—work that feels intentional but doesn’t introduce HR risk or controversy.
That points straight at:
- architecture
- city geometry
- abstract texture
- place-based work without faces
This isn’t selling out. It’s reducing friction.
Pillar 2: Abstract Street → Print Editions That Scale
Abstract work has a built-in advantage: it fits modern spaces and it’s easy to live with. It can become:
- small edition print drops
- seasonal series
- collections that make sense as sets
It’s also the kind of work that can sell without requiring someone to “get” the whole backstory.
Pillar 3: Portraiture (But Not Families) → Editorial/Individual Portrait Sessions
I’m not interested in kids, couples, or chaotic family sessions.
But I can absolutely see a portrait offer that fits my temperament and my taste:
- editorial-style portraits
- environmental portraits
- branding portraits for individuals
Portraiture is one of the cleanest bridges between “serious work” and “paid work,” because it’s high value per hour and it strengthens craft.
Pillar 4: Documentary / Local Photojournalism → Assignments + Licensing
This lane doesn’t have to be constant. It can be:
- local editorial assignments
- community stories
- occasional travel narratives
- licensing opportunities over time
It also feeds the long-term bodies of work and keeps me connected to the city.
The Product Owner Move: Define Buyers Before You Burn the Hours
This is the parallel path in one sentence: I’m going to build bodies of work like an artist—and validate them like a product owner.
For every body of work (and every revenue stream), I need answers to questions like:
- Who buys this?
- Where does it live—wall, book, lobby, publication?
- What makes the buyer hesitate?
- What package makes the decision easy?
If I can’t name the buyer, I’m guessing.
The Six Streams I’m Building Toward
Not all of these have to start today. But they’re the menu.
- Fine art print sales (tied to bodies of work, not random singles)
- Corporate-friendly print collections (architecture/abstract/place)
- Editorial/individual portrait sessions (clear offer, fixed deliverables)
- Assisting other photographers (network + paid work + skill growth)
- Local documentary/editorial assignments + licensing
- Small workshops/portfolio reviews (only if it stays aligned, not a replacement for making)
The point is stability. If one stream has a quiet year, the others keep the system alive.
How This Fits the 105-Week Mindset
My original commitment was simple: show up consistently and the work will be there when I turn sixty.
This business plan isn’t separate from that. It’s the same philosophy applied to money:
- constraints over chaos
- cadence over inspiration
- portfolios over one-offs
- systems over vibes
And it respects reality: vacations, life, travel—because those were already baked into the 105-week plan in the first place.
The Only Rule: The Business Can’t Poison the Work
I’m not building a retirement income stream at the expense of the thing I actually want:
Finished bodies of work. Real portfolios. Images that belong together and say something.
So the parallel path has one hard boundary:
If a revenue stream makes me hate photography, it’s not a revenue stream. It’s a trap.
This is the plan: keep walking the artist road—but build a few small machines alongside it, so the work can travel, sell, and support the life I’m trying to live.