In today’s digital age, everyone can be a photographer and with falling prices of digital cameras, anyone can afford to turn his formerly known expensive hobby into a career. So how do you make that leap and distinguish yourself as a talented and creative photographer from “just a guy or gal with a camera?” Well, that’s just it, don’t leap, ease into it.

I’m constantly in contact with people emailing me about this sort of thing and this is primarily intended for those who have some experience with photography and journalism but are looking to gain more experience and improve their skills. To be honest, most freelancers or independents, are still trying to figure this stuff out as well. Especially with the rules of journalism and new-media looking different every day, so take this all with a grain of salt - the key is to find what’s right for you.

1. Keep you full-time job –

Freelancing is a great opportunity and many people desire to be able to set their own hours and work from home. But earning a living as a freelancer can be difficult if not impossible and usually involves taking some sort of risk. Furthermore, some folks find out that they really don’t like freelancing. Obviously, it’s better to find this out when you still have your job.

Working your full=time job and freelancing in your spare time can take a lot of sacrifice and discipline but it will help you to try out part-time and build up your contacts and business before quitting your job. With a full-time job, you have the luxury of taking on projects that are a good fit for you vs. taking the first thing that comes your way because of the pressure to make money immediately. This way you can be strategic and prioritize your learning and development.

2. Set up a basic portfolio site –

Having a quality portfolio site is one of the best things you can do to get your foot in the door and showing your work. This assumes that you have quality work to include in the portfolio. If your just getting started, you may need to put your time in before you invest in the portfolio.

A Flickr or some other photo-sharing site does not count! You will not be taken seriously by showing your work on these types of sites. The thing is, there is a standard that folks in the industry are accustomed to and anything outside of that just is looked at as unprofessional.

The cleaner the better. If it’s tough to navigate or has too much fancy Flash elements built in, editors just won’t look at it. You need to have a solid online portfolio and carefully choose what viewers will see and in what order. We used to present actual portfolios that we spent months or years working on to editors and decision makers and we would scrutinize the 15 images we put in and in what order. This has not changed and it needs to be handled the exact same way. Less is more.

I haven’t used them, but know folks that use Livebooks.com to set up their website.

Take a look at these sites to get an idea of good portfolios…

http://www.witnessreportage.com/

http://www.lynseyaddario.com/

http://72.32.9.12/~smurphy/

3. Prioritize experience over income -

As you decide to pursue projects, place more emphasis on your learning, development and networking as opposed to just taking something that pays. This may include working for local and regional non-profits who could really use the work or working on personal projects that don’t produce any income. Getting experience is key for you at this point.

4. Work on your own projects –

Every new photojournalist seems to struggle finding relevant topics to pursue. Some of the best and well-known issue-based photo essays published have come from established photojournalists working on personal projects. Usually that personal project came about by having a special insight into something or seeing a reoccurring theme that needed to be highlighted or a topic that was under covered.

Thinking this way is the new way, so get used to it. I went to Yemen because I was personally interested in global food security issues. I followed the issue closely and did what I could to know everything I could about the subject.

What do you know well? I’m sure there is something in your region that has some interest. Do you have a local paper left in your town or city? What are they covering? Use them as a springboard for ideas. But take it further. Don’t think locally; think regionally, nationally, or globally.

Always, always, always ask yourself the “so what” question. When you come up with a potential story and can answer the “so what” question, that  is where your audience to your story is.

5. Re-Invest the money you make –

One of the reasons that freelancing is a possibility is that it requires very little financial investment. However there will be times that you will need to spend money on new equipment or software to take you to that next level. If there are things actually preventing you from doing a better job, then you need to have a plan that enables you to progress as a professional.

6. Don’t forget about taxes –

It’s a good idea to keep your freelancing income separated from your other money is that you may wind up with taxes that are higher than expected. You don’t wan to have to unexpectedly dip into your personal accounts when the IRS asks for its money.

Try using some Mint. I don’t know if you know about this site or not yet, but it has changed my life and I highly recommend using it. www.mint.com. You will be able see all your accounts in one place and with it keep better track of your expenses and income.

7. Stand by your rates –

It can be uncomfortable, when you’re getting started, to be charging high rates. But you need to be charging some or having some sort of trade. Just don’t give away your work. Professionals are used to this and it will be expected. It’s also good to be upfront with clients about where you are currently at in your career and progression. There are plenty of businesses out there that only want to hire newbie’s – sometimes they can get a lot of value this way.

8. Read –

Today, it’s requires much more than just knowing how to operate a camera. Don’t ever forget that the camera is just a tool. No one hires a writer because he knows how to hold a pen just right or has good penmanship. The pen is just a tool for an end result. So is the camera.

Being a good photographer is a baseline. What are you above and beyond that? Editors don’t use the best and well-known photojournalists of our day simply because they know how to take a good photo. They have gotten that job because they know their stuff, they know the region, they know the people. Editors are not looking for another person who can take a pretty picture. They are looking for people who can find the story, highlight why it matters to their audience, operate in that particular environment and then deliver a product with a unique perspective time and again.

Become an expert in something. Consume all the reading you can on it. Know it in and out. Then approach editors on the story and that way you can offer your unique knowledge and your photographs.

9. Network –

In today’s market, learning how to sell your work is just as important as how to create it. Research shows that it takes 6-8 times for an editor to see your work and correlate it to your name. How often are you hitting the pavement, the phone, and sending emails – don’t hope that some editor is going to call you out of the blue and offer you an assignment because they saw a photo of yours somewhere. You need to be strategic about being strategic. Set goals. Get a mentor. Put in the necessary time and expect way more rejection than support – it’s part of the game.

If you live on the West Coast, sorry, but it’s the wrong one for networking. You need to get yourself to New York, London, and D.C. and spend some time networking in that environment.

10. Plan for differentiation –

As you advance in your progression, always be thinking about how you will differentiate yourself. You want to develop a stamp to your work. So that when people see it, it becomes recognizable. This is what will lead you to getting under the umbrella of a photo agency.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 6:13 pm and is filed under Photography 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.