Career as a Freelance Photographer

If you're creative, have a good imagination, and work well with people, you may just have a future as a freelance photographer. Just remember that you'll be self employed, and you'll have to be a businessperson and marketing specialist as well as a photographer.

Freelance photographers need good eyesight, artistic ability, and good hand-eye coordination. They should be patient, accurate, and detail-oriented.

Photographers should be able to work well with others, as they frequently deal with clients, graphic designers, or advertising and publishing specialists. Increasingly, photographers need to know how to use computer software programs and applications that allow them to prepare and edit images.


Nature of the Work

Freelance photographers produce and preserve images that paint a picture, tell a story, or record an event. To create commercial quality photographs, freelance photographers need both technical expertise and creativity. Producing a successful picture requires choosing and presenting a subject to achieve a particular effect, and selecting the appropriate equipment.

For example, freelance photographers usually enhance the subject’s appearance with natural or artificial light, use a particular lens depending on the desired range or level of detail, or draw attention to a particular aspect of the subject by blurring the background.

Today, many cameras adjust settings such as shutter speed and aperture automatically. They also allow the photographer adjust these settings manually, allowing greater creative and technicalcontrol over the picture-taking process. In addition to automatic and manual cameras, photographers use an array of film, lenses, and equipment—from filters, tripods, and flash attachments to specially constructed lighting equipment.

Freelance photographers use either a traditional camera that records images on silver halide film that is developed into prints or a digital camera that electronically records images. Some photographers send their film to laboratories for processing. Color film requires expensive equipment and exacting conditions for correct processing and printing. Digital SLR cameras have become more affordable in recent years, and more and more photographers are switching to digital photography.

Other freelance photographers, especially those who use black and white film or who require special effects, prefer to develop and print their own photographs. Photographers who do their own film developing must have the technical skill to operate a fully equipped darkroom or the appropriate computer software to process prints digitally.

Recent advances in electronic technology now make it possible for the professional photographer to develop and scan standard 35mm or other types of film, and use flatbed scanners and photofinishing laboratories to produce computer-readable, digital images from film. After converting the film to a digital image, photographers can edit and electronically transmit images using a method as simple as e-mail or as advanced as a satellite phone. This makes it easier and faster to shoot, develop, and transmit pictures from remote locations.

Using computers and specialized software, photographers also can manipulate and enhance the scanned or digital image to create a desired effect. Images can be stored on portable memory devices including compact disks (CDs) or on new types of smaller “mini pocket” storage devices such as flash disks, which are small memory cards used in digital cameras.

Digital technology also allows the production of larger, more colorful, and more accurate prints or images for use in advertising, photographic art, and scientific research. Some photographers use this technology to create electronic portfolios as well.

Because much photography now involves the use of computer technology, photographers must have hands-on knowledge of computer editing software. Most freelance photographers specialize in areas such as portrait, commercial and industrial, scientific, news, or fine arts photography.

Portrait photographers take pictures of individuals or groups of people and often work in their own studios. Some specialize in weddings, religious ceremonies, or school photographs and may work on location. Portrait photographers who are business owners arrange for advertising, schedule appointments, set and adjust equipment, develop and retouch negatives, and mount and frame pictures. They also purchase supplies, keep records, bill customers, and may hire and train
employees.

Commercial and industrial photographers take pictures of various subjects, such as buildings, models, merchandise, artifacts, and landscapes. These photographs are used in a variety of media, including books, reports, advertisements, and catalogs. Fine arts photographers sell their photographs as fine artwork. In addition to technical proficiency, fine arts photographers need artistic talent and creativity.

Self-employed, or freelance, photographers may license the use of their photographs through stock photo agencies or con- tract with clients or agencies to provide photographs as necessary. Stock agencies grant magazines and other customers the right to purchase the use of photographs, and, in turn, pay the photographer on a commission basis. Stock photo agencies require an application from the photographer and a sizable portfolio.

Working Conditions

Working conditions for freelance photographers vary considerably. Many photographers workpart-time or variable schedules. Portrait photographers usually work in their own studios but also may travel to take photographs at the client’s location, such as a school, a company office, or a private home.

News and commercial photographers frequently travel locally, stay overnight on assignments, or travel to distant places for long periods. Some freelance photographers work in uncomfortable or even dangerous surroundings.

Many photographers must wait long hours in all kinds of weather for an event to take place and stand or walk for long periods while carrying heavy equipment.

Self-employment allows for greater autonomy, freedom of expression, and flexible scheduling. However, income can be uncertain and the continuous, time-consuming search for new clients can be stressful. Some self-employed photographers hire assistants who help seek out new business.

Employment

Photographers held about 140,000 jobs in 2004. More than half were self-employed, a much higher proportion than the average for all occupations. Some self-employed photographers have contracts with advertising agencies, magazines, or others to do individual projects at a predetermined fee, while others operate portrait studios or provide photographs to stock photo agencies. Most photographers work in metropolitan areas.

Training and Other Qualifications

Employers usually seek applicants with a “good eye,” imagination, and creativity, as well as a good technical understanding of photography. n Freelance and portrait photographers need technical proficiency, whether gained through a degree program, vocational training, or extensive work experience.

Many universities, community and junior colleges, vocational- technical institutes, and private trade and technical schools offer photography courses. Basic courses in photography cover equipment, processes, and techniques. Bachelor’s degree programs, especially those including business courses, provide a well-rounded education. Art schools offer useful training in design and composition. Individuals interested in photography should subscribe to photographic newsletters and magazines, join camera clubs, and seek summer or part-time employment in camera stores, newspapers, or photo studios.

Freelance photographers may start out as assistants to experienced photographers. Assistants learn to mix chemicals, develop film, and print photographs, and acquire the other skills necessary to run a portrait or commercial photography business. Freelance photographers also should develop an individual style of photography in order to differentiate themselves from the competition. Some photographers enter the field by submitting unsolicited photographs to magazines and to art directors at advertising agencies. For freelance photographers, a good portfolio of their work is critical.

Photographers who operate their own businesses, or freelance, need business skills as well as talent. These individuals must know how to prepare a business plan; submit bids; write contracts; market their work; hire models, if needed; get permission to shoot on locations that normally are not open to the public; obtain releases to use photographs of people; license and price photographs; secure copyright protection for their work; and keep financial records. Knowledge of licensing and copyright laws as well as contract negotiation procedures is especially important for self-employed photographers, in order to protect their rights and their work.

Job Outlook

Freelance photographers can expect keen competition for job openings because the work is attractive to many people. Those who succeed in landing a salaried job or attracting enough work to earn a living by freelancing are likely to be the most creative, able to adapt to rapidly changing technologies, and adept at operating a business. Related work experience, job-related training, or some unique skill or talent—such as a background in computers or electronics—also are beneficial to prospective photographers.

Employment of photographers is expected to increase about
as fast as the average for all occupations through 2012. Demand
for portrait photographers should increase as the population
grows. As the number of electronic versions of magazines, journals, and newspapers increases on the Internet, commercial photographers will be needed to provide digital images.


Related Occupations

Other occupations requiring artistic talent and creativity include
architects, except landscape and naval; artists and related
workers; designers; news analysts, reporters, and correspondents; and television, video, and motion picture camera operators and editors.

So if you've got a good eye for photography, have some business sense, and can work well with others, you might want to consider freelance photography as a profession.