Out of Focus Beginnings


Freelance photography is rough. That's the plain truth of it. Now some of you may be wondering "why should I take the word of this guy?" Well, in all honesty, freelance photography is all about what you make if it. What I mean by that is freelance photography strictly depends on how much effort you put into your success. In other words, the harder you try, the more money you can make. Unfortunately, that's most likely on the minds of lots of beginner freelance photographers; but I'm here to assure you all that it can work. Just stay resilient and keep trying and eventually something will click.


Playing To Your Strengths

When starting out as a freelancer, it is important to find out what type of photography you would like to pursue, and then getting really good at that. That doesn't mean you can't dip into other forms of photographer, or experiment to see which one catches your eye. That's how I learned how to be a better photographer: I experimented. Once I decided to pursue photography as a hobby, I figured it may be time to learn about the almighty "Exposure Triangle". This triangle, which is actually very important, was the basis of every blog about "how to get started as a freelance photographer" that I've ever read. To recap all of this blogs, learn about how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO affect your images. These three elements make up this triangle and are the roots to all correctly exposed photos. To get started, I would recommend shooting in "Av" mode on your camera to learn about aperture. Once you feel confident, move on to shooting in manual mood. To learn about the Exposure Triangle, I started taking photos of landscapes. I recommend anyone who wants to learn about the Exposure Triangle to start by shooting landscapes. They are non-moving, vast, and often enjoyable to capture. After a few months of shooting primarily landscapes, I learned I could not find anyone to pay me for my photos, even though I knew they were high quality. That's when I started to focus more on profitable forms of photography, such as portraits, senior pictures, and event photography. I had lots of success with these, especially senior portraits. Once I started taking pictures of people, I learned much more about photography, including lighting, unique angles, and stylistic exposures. Fast forward a few months, and I feel more confident than ever before in taking pictures of people, and now I am actually making money off of that! So basically, the morale of this paragraph is to find one form of photography that you feel you can succeed at and make a profit off of, and really push to learn all you can about that form. That's the key that will set you apart from other beginner photographers.


Resilience is Key (and so is Networking)

This may be obvious, but don't give up on your photography dreams. It may seem very daunting after you invest in photography equipment and you aren't making money, but stay strong. Brighter days are on the horizon. You are not going to strike gold in your first week, month, or even year. You have to be patient to succeed in freelance phtoography, but you also must actively try to advance your work. The two best ways I found to advance my work and build a portfolio are shooting at a free or discounted rate, and networking. I know, nobody wants to work for free, but you need a portfolio. Future clients need to see what you can do before committing to spending their hard earned money. In order to do that, take out the factor of money and take the photos for free. This is a great way to learn new forms of photography as well as building your portfolio and confidence in your work. Once you take your free photos, share them online or on social media as soon as you can. Prospective clients want to see your work and how much experience you have. I promise you, this is how I learned the most about photography-working for free. Eventually, the money will come, and you'll start to see profits.

The other key to success is to network and get your name out there. To do this, I recommend good, old-fashioned business cards. They may be an annoying expense and a pain to carry around, but they make a difference. Throw a few in your purse or wallet. Throw a few in your camera bag. Throw a few in your car. Just make sure you always have some on you to give to prospective clients. I also advise building a working website and becoming verified on Google. This makes your budding "business" look even more legit, increasing the chances of new clients finding your work.


That's a Wrap

For the time being, that's a wrap on my guide to getting started as a freelance photographer. I must admit, I'm learning new things every day about the world of photography, so bear with me as I figure it all out. This blog is meant to show my progress in the hopes that someone else can follow along with me. I hope you enjoyed reading my first blog, and I look forward to writing more!