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While walking through the photography exhibits of a museum, you can’t help but admire the work displayed. What also crosses the minds of some is - how long did the artist starve to get there?

The term “starving artist” was given to those in pursuit of becoming established in the art world. Supplies and promotion is expensive, therefore, artists are willing to “starve” themselves or go hungry as a sacrifice. Knowing this, many young artists still choose to follow their dreams of being the next Peter Lindberg, Andy Warhol or Dorothea Lange. 

Steven Gonzalez, senior Photography major at Kean University said, “I don’t care. I love photography. It’s what I want to do and I’m gonna do it.”

In an article for Yahoo Finance by Caitlin Dewey, Photography is listed as the third worst college major for your career. “[It] is only narrowly better than the rate for high school dropouts.” Although, along with film majors, they are “the best-paid of the art majors” they still make less than the average person with a bachelor’s degree.

Professional photographer and professor, Tony Valez, encourages students to do what they love. “Photography’s gonna be around forever. Somebody’s gotta do it and who knows, one day it might be you.”

But who decides what qualifies as great photograph? Every photographers work is different. Also, with the recent craze of Instagram, everyone believes that by using a few cool graphics, they too are photographers.

“Photography makes it easy for anyone to create images without needing any artistic ability or training,” said photographer Ken Rockwell on his website. So basically, as long as you know what a camera is and what it does you can be a photographer right?

“It’s deeper than that.” Said junior photography major Alex Martin. “Everyone just takes photos and edits them in Photoshop just ‘cause they think it’s cool, But what does the picture mean? What does it do to you emotionally?” Alex said that the real artist doesn’t care about the money or the fame. Those who are willing to starve are more likely to become the great ones.

Velez says, with everything going on in the world today, if we can capture those moments students can do well as photographers. He then gave examples of Occupy Wall Street and hurricane Sandy for the younger generation and compared it to e photo of someone leaping from one of the towers during 9/11 and the iconic photograph of the Sailor and the Nurse kissing in Times Square after World War II. “Sometimes, all it takes being at the right place at the right time. You never know.”

The only way to find out if you’ll make it in the photo industry is if you go ahead and try. And if after all of that you still don’t make it, “Well, that’s what minors are for, aren’t they?” said Valez.