freelance

[medina photography cherry]

Hi all, I am curious. I want to go full time with my Photography business next

year. Since my bookings are not where they need to be I was thinking of

supplimental income. My day job currently pays the bills byt is to demanding

to try and do both, I was wondering about freelancing-

 

How difficult is it to get on a as a freelancer for, say a newspaper or

magazine and what do they typically pay?

 

Thanks

Rob

[calebcondit]

From where you are in the market, it's possible you'll have problems getting work for mags outside of the bridal market...even then, look at lifestyle bridal photos and fashion mags. Try and create a portfolio to appeal to the type of magazine you want to work for. That's absolutely necessary. They typically have tons of amazing photographers begging them at any moment to shoot, so it's pretty fierce competition.

 

Once you do get published though it'll probably help with more bookings. It's a great way to get your name out there. If you want to stay in the wedding market, work on some lifestyle wedding photos. Get a beautiful bride, handsome prince of a groom, put them in wedding garb and have them prance around in a grassy area, by the beach, put them in some lush environments being all sappy, but notwithout being fashiony...that's what I'd do if I were you.

[art_haykin]

I take it you want to freelance as a photojournalist, but type of shooting have you been doing up to now?

[medina photography cherry]

Right now I do wedding and family portraiture. You can see my work at http://medinaphotography.blogspot.com

Magazine work might be more condusive with what I shoot.

[john_jovic]

Robert

 

I have no experience with the wedding/portrait/fashion world but I pretty much only work for magazines, shooting cars. Magazines tend to pay quite poorly, although the rates are vastly different all over the world. The competition can be fierce and this also drives the rates down.This is because there are heaps of people out there who are willing to supply work for nothing more than a credit, thinking it will do their reputation some good. Maybe fotoquote has rates in it for such work, if so then try to stick with those, but probably the low end considering you are starting out.

 

There's no reason you couldn't get editorial work you just have to get out there and talk to the editors, not just once but maybe for months or years before they give you a chance. It's often a matter of being in the right place at the right time so if you're 'around', because you been calling once a month or so, then you'll get a chance when one of their regulars can't do a job.

 

Have an online folio that you are proud of. Don't bother spamming editors unless you follow up every single email with a phone call and confirm that they are happy to see folio updates from you. Decide which magazines you think you can work for and then speak with their editors regularly, ie every month or so, but don't become a pest.

 

Good luck.

 

JJ