Photographers
Out of context: Reply #7
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- vaxorcist0
The business model is bulimic in this business.... having a couple of photo markets you serve can help a lot, but it's never like a weekly paycheck. ... I'm in a bit of good run this spring for one part of my market, getting more gigs than last year, but it seems the timeline from self-promotion to calls to pitch to gig can be unpredictable, like planting seeds that may take 6 months to a year to bloom, if at all...
I'm curious, the artsy type photos vs the follow-the-brief photographers.... for those of you who have worked with both types, did the artsy photogs have reps? did the artsy charge more? did the artsy have fancier estimates? or were they both similar in business practices but different in attitudes?
Also note that payment timelines got longer after 2008, especially in some firms.... and I have to resist the urge to buy gear-toys or eat expensively whenever a check comes in... as I don't know when the next one will be in... i use the phrase "spending plan" rather then "budget" and it helps with $$$ self-control....
I diversify, doing corporate event gigs and business portraits, group shots for lawyers magazines, but I don't have to maintain the "Rockstar Photographer" image that some people think they have to portray in order to get a higher day rate. It's great to have a sidelight that pays predictably soon after the shoot when some gigs take a while and need all sorts of paperwork....
I don't have a rep, this depends on what sort of work you're aiming for... I'd rather have a producer help me with estimates and production. Reps take a percentage, and you still have to do a lot of your own PR and such.... I know a number of photographers who USED to have reps and now don't, and a few who still have reps...
If you're retouching images from big-name photographers now, you can probably make a retouching folio, and do some freelance retouching for other high-end photographers as a transitional gig, and also to get to know people...
good luck, you're in a position to get to know agency art buyer psychology and decision making processes... ie why did they hire photog x rather than photog y? lots of us would kill for that insight...