The honest truth from a commercial photographer

“Learn from my mistakes!”

My first big job as a photographer almost broke me! I remember going to bed after the last day thinking seriously about quitting, which horrified me as I loved creating images so much. Many years later I realized these growing pains are inevitable for someone starting their journey in a field they love deeply. Along the way I have made many mistakes but look at each a opportunity to humbly reflect and learn from. Understanding what they can teach me and how I can learn from them has put me in a position to prevent similar mistakes from happening again down the road.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟏: 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬

Inexperienced content creators love to talk about themselves and how amazing they are, just look and any Bio page. The first thing you want to do is listen, what is your client saying to you? Voice it back to them so they know they are being heard and understood. Simple but one of the most common mistakes people make.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟐: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲

Starting out you are so eager to get paid work you don’t talk about money, you’re just happy what someone want to hire you, besides, discussing money offends many young creators sense of artistic credibility. Always discuss budget at the earliest opportunity. It’s not about profit, it’s about time and how much is need to create the desired result for your client. Pushing this step down the road is a recipe for disappointment.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟑: 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞

God is in the details and those little touches don’t go unnoticed. For example, something as simple as having a neat and well organized studio space. When you’re on the clock you do not want to be wasting your clients precious time with you looking for a a piece of equipment you have misplaced. Remember, a place for everything and everything in it’s place.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟒: 𝐁𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬

It’s so easy to get stuck in a particular way of doing things, they’ve always worked for you but what happens when that approach stops working? You will be seriously stuck while your client is wondering what is wrong. Always be open to experimenting and testing new techniques when shooting personal projects and not on paid assignments.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟓: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Having deep knowledge of the whole image creation process requires exploring parts of that process that you may not like or that feel unfamiliar and hard to learn. Committing to continued learning and broadening your knowledge only opens greater creative possibilities that you would otherwise have been unaware of if you had stayed inside your comfort zone. Challenging yourself to learning for your entire career demonstrates a commitment to your clients changing needs. Never stop being open to learn, relearn and explore.

There are so many lessons 25 years of professional work will teach you and as nice as it is to nail it for your client when the pressures on, you only grow as a individual when you are willing to admit to and adapt from your mistakes. Ultimately, if your clients keep coming back you know you’re on the right track.

I hope these insights have been helpful and given you a peak into the world of working as a professional photo + video creative.