03 Sep Tips and tricks to become a freelance photographer
The freelancing concept of photography is dependent on working for several contracts and clients of your choice without anyone controlling it. But before stepping into this region, there are some essential requirements that you need to consider. The requirements include flexibility to work at night, days, holidays, and weekends as per the client’s request, grit regarding work and manage any sort of situation with optimistic thinking, and working for free at the initial stage to push your career graph. Once you are ready with this criterion, you can pursue your dreams.
Freelance photography jobs allow photographers to have creative freedom and be self-reliant, which can further be converted into a booming business. But, as easy as it may seem, there is fierce competition in this field. Therefore, you must know all the tips and tricks to make things easier for your photography dream.
Tips and tricks for a successful freelance photography career
1. Purchase Equipment:
The first step in your freelance photography job should be purchasing equipment and software that gives you good quality pictures in a reasonable range. Lenses, Cameras, flash, reflectors, lights, and diffusers are some of the equipment that will provide quality work to your clients.
2. Find your niche:
While working in a freelance photography job, you need to find one or two niches you are very passionate about. When you focus in a particular zone, then that improvises your work at a great pace and brings all the clients who require work in a similar field. The main reason behind this is the necessity of expertise and good quality work. Several niches in photography are wedding photography, concert photography, event photography, product photography, travel photography, wildlife photography, food photography, etc. You can opt for anything, as in this field sky is the only limit.
3. The schedule is a must:
We often tend to get lazy when we don’t have a schedule ahead of us. But, if you plan your week early on, that maintains consistency. Maintaining this will not only keep your clients happy but also help in improving your craft. In a freelance photography job, we are the boss, and that’s why we ought to think that we can work at our own pace. On the contrary, when taken as a job with consistency and timing would provide better results.
4. Approach and find new clients:
In a freelance photography job or business, just being a good photographer isn’t enough. It would be best if you were in contact with existing clients for being their priority for a long time. Also, reach out to potential clients with the help of emails to attain their interest. Moreover, contact blog owners, or post some of your best work on online platforms like imgur.com, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.
5. Showcase your work on multiple platforms:
To attract new clients, you need to showcase your skills on various platforms that can be a daily blog, your website, Instagram, Facebook, anything. The one point which you need to keep in mind is quality. Take time to edit the picture you have clicked to highlight specific things that make it stand out. Other than this, consistency and dedication play a different essential role in your success.
6. Reply to phone calls and emails as fast as possible:
Whenever you receive a mail or phone call by someone for your freelance photography job, try to revert as soon as possible. The reason is that they have recently seen your work and have liked it enough to contact you, but if there is a delay in responding to it, there are chances of that opportunity to slip away from your hands.
7. Maintain a list:
Create a list of smaller tasks that you need to complete by the end of the week because when you work like that, you get closer to achieving big tasks and goals. Other than that, it also helps you keep track of important things and reduces the chances of missing something out.
8. Please do not compare your work:
We tend to compare ourselves with others in almost everything we ought to do, even in freelance photography jobs. Well, you need to avoid that, if it doesn’t inspire you. In most cases, people end up getting pessimistic about their work, rather than focusing on how to improve themselves. Everyone has their journey and growth, so never compare it in a way that affects your work.
9. Be honest about your work:
Whenever you work, try to look out for mistakes. When we can point at our own mistakes, after performing a given task, remember that nothing can stop you from achieving your goals.
10. Take feedback:
Ask feedback from trustworthy people, who always give you an honest opinion about anything. Sometimes they might say things you won’t like, but you need to look and understand things from their perspective. If you somewhere agree with that, accept the mistakes and work again. It is another essential quality required in freelance photography.
11. Keep learning new techniques:
When you enter such a profession, constant learning will take you to heights. Read books, articles, listen to podcasts, attend workshops, and training related to your niche of photography. There are a host of online resources at our disposal in today’s modern world for all niches of photography. One of our top recommendations is Pixcellence which specialises in wildlife photography. And most importantly, practice on the field to implement your learning into action. Just reading and understanding won’t be of much help.
12. Marketing of your freelance photography job:
When you are confident about your work and can manage more projects, marketing would take you to the next level. Distribution of well-designed brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, or advertisements in the newspaper would be enough for marketing purposes.
And lastly, one of the most important things is to believe in you and have confidence. Because when you are confident, other people are ready to put their faith into you. Enrolling in some personality building courses would greatly help if you need to level up your confidence a little.