My journey began in college, carried me into the newspaper business and eventually to my current place in the butt-clenching world of freelance. Am I happy? Yes. Was this the path I envisioned during my intro to photography class way back in college? No.

Did I ever think that one day I would be shooting weddings? Hell no, I’m a “damn photojournalist.” How about baby or maternity photos? Not even close. And the epitome of mockery among myself and my classmates … the Santa photos. Ha, not in the furthest reaches of my mind could I have pictured myself wrangling screaming kids into the lap of a fake Santa, dangling candy canes and wishes in front of hopeful children.

So here we are in the present day. It’s been a year since I went freelance and there are several things I have learned in that brief stretch of time. Lesson No. 1: you always answer the phone. Lesson No. 2: think before you say ‘YES!’ to a job. Lesson No. 3: evaluate your ‘real’ expenses. Lesson No. 4 (yeah, I know I’m ignoring the rule or 3s): never tell a client you have ‘never done that before.’ Lesson No. 5: be prepared.

I hope to go into more detail in the future about all the other lessons I’ve learned, but five is enough for now. Lets just face it ,we just got up and we’re having breakfast here.

LESSON NO. 1: a simple one, but younger photographers especially pay attention. You must understand there is still a segment of the population that does not text, does not Facebook, or tweet or IM or yada yada yada. Some people prefer to talk to a human being on the phone, so you have to make yourself available. Last May, a mere three months after I went freelance, I received a call from a guy who needed photographs of a softball team participating in the NCAA Division II regionals going on in Louisville … in three hours. The call was unknown from Florida and I wouldn’t have answered it before I went freelance. But now I had a job that I didn’t have when I woke up. I shot it, and was promptly paid by the university. Answer thee phone.

LESSON NO. 2: think people, think. We all go through this, and it’s probably the hardest lesson to learn. Just because a job is offered does not mean you have to say yes. “Madness!” you might be saying (perhaps with a british accent), but there are a lot of jobs out there that are not worth your time. Lets face it, you’ve worked hard, you’ve set your prices and now someone wants you to do a favor or maybe help them out this once. Ultimately it’s up to you, and I already know that you’re going to do the job, but know that I know that you’ll eventually learn from your mistake. Moving on …

LESSON NO. 3: real expenses involve everything (and I mean everything). Know this: our beloved US government is going to try to take every last damn dime out of your pocket if you’re an idiot. Hire an account and get help. Let’s face it, you know how to make beautiful photographs, but you don’t know how to protect yourself from the all powerful tax gods. Now, I’m not against paying taxes, but when I owe thousands of dollars at the end of the year when I spent most of that time wondering how I could feed myself and my family, something isn’t quite far. There are rules and tricks to help you, but you have to be educated or you’re going to get screwed.

LESSON NO. 4: this all comes down to confidence. It’s absolutely acceptable to turn down a job when you don’t feel comfortable with the terms or conditions, but your first instinct should always be pure confidence. CONFIDENCE. Own it. (Well worry about fees later).

LESSON NO. 5: pull out your inner boy scout. Hold up those fingers in that dumbass salute and make it your mantra. You must be prepared for anything anytime anywhere. Understand that clients don’t always give you all the information about a job before you get there, and they love to spring things on you. Do yourself a favor and ask plenty of questions, but realize that things are going to happen that you are seriously not prepared for (see LESSON NO. 4).

This is a list, a horribly incomplete list of a few things I have learned as a freelancer. Everyone’s experience is going to be different (I expect), so the best thing to do is to start making images. Use the tools you have, or work on acquiring the ones you need. Create things and exercise that muscle.

This was a PBS Home Video release, and pretty heavy on the National-Geographic-is-awesome theme (which I totally subscribe to), but I really enjoyed it. It’s not often that you get to connect a photographer’s face to the images that he/she makes, but I think that connection gives the images more meaning. Or maybe just a bit more humanity.

I remember many of his images from my years of subscribing to the magazine. Surprisingly one of the most memorable was an image Sartore shot of his own feet while on assignment in Alaska (check it out at the top of this post). If I remember correctly the image ran at the end of the magazine, the place where they show some of the hell that Geographic photographers go through to create such memorable images. In the image he has taken his shoes and socks off in the midst of the Alaskan wilderness and his feet are covered, COVERED, in mosquitoes. Pretty disgusting, but it sums up so perfectly what it must have been like to cover that assignment. Plus, it’s totally relatable. We all know what it’s like to be bitten by a nasty little mosquito, just maybe not on such a scale. I’ve spent a week canoeing the Boundary Waters on the US – Canada border, and the bugs were unbelievable … like you never knew there could be such a concentration of bitey little creatures, gnawing on every inch of exposed skin … bastards.

It all goes to show you that the creation of beautiful images takes passion, dedication and patience, especially when dealing with nature and wildlife. Sartore seems to possess these qualities yet remains humble when describing his own ability. “This picture is better than me,” he said while viewing one of his photographs of four teenage field workers. “Some photographers make images like this all the time, but I’ll never be that good.” Of course serendipity plays a role in every photographer’s portfolio, but you can’t deny Sartore’s talent.

It’s a good watch, especially if you’re a fan of the magazine. One thing I noticed, and something most people don’t think about while thumbing through the pages of the Geographic is the strain the job of working for a magazine like that places on a photographer’s family. The emotional strain on a wife left to run a household, raise children, and in this case, purchase a new home while her husband is away on assignment shows strength and a love that we should all hope for.

This hour-long documentary portrays these difficulties and triumphs succinctly, shedding insight on the process behind bringing such beautiful images to your mailbox every month.

Here’s a link if you want to read more about Joel Sartore and see some of his photographs.

I have officially been a freelance photographer for a year now, and I’m realizing that I’ve done things all backwards. You know… just a little ‘Kenneth Parcell.’ Now, maybe I didn’t live every week like it’s shark week, but I went to college, sure, then went to work for a newspaper full time without realizing the wonderfully frustrating world of freelance photography. I am a freelancer now and I love it, but I should have done this a long time ago. I’ll explain …

When I left my small little community newspaper I had been working in the Louisville area for over eight years. That’s a long-ass time. Over that time I never owned my own DSLR … for serious. I had an understanding with my publishers, so I was able to use my work equipment (i.e. my camera and a wide angle 2.8) on my “other” jobs, no questions asked.

Now, this was a two way street. Sure, I was using their equipment for my side jobs, but I was also using all my equipment for all of their jobs (i.e. 70-200 2.8, 24-70 2.8, 2 strobes, a strobotron light kit, stands, tripods, a stereo recorder, slaves, etc etc). It’s hard being a small town photographer and not using your own equipment. I’m not going to get into that yet, afterall, this is a ‘welcome back’ blog and I’m obviously going to need more material for what I have planned. Let’s just say that I spent a lot of money on equipment this past year.

So it’s been a year since I went freelance, and it has been a wild ride. Some months great, some pretty terrible (damn you August), but I survived. Things have changed, oh yes, but I am working and paying my bills. I live with a beautiful woman that believes in me, and I’ve been working in the field nearly every day since the Christmas holiday. I haven’t left journalism behind, not by a long shot, photographing several assignments a week for The Courier-Journal. And I’ve been picking up a lot of new clients just by keeping up old relationships. Things have been going swimmingly as of late, but that is not why I write tonight. Tonight is a promise, not to you but to myself. Keep up my writing, keep up my photography, and grow baby grow. See you soon.

This was the first year I’ve been to Churchill Downs for the race since 2008, and it was great to get down to the track again. This was the sixth time I’ve photographed the event, but the first time as a freelancer and I found the experience surprisingly relaxing.

Early in the week I visited the track in the early morning hours to photograph three-time Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel and his mount, Take Charge Indy, for a newspaper located outside Chicago. The backside of the Downs is a pretty special place. You can feel the excitement coursing through the fans, the horses, and the hordes of photographers that spend the week chasing trainers, horses and owners.

On race day my assignment was pretty simple: hats. If you have never been to the Kentucky Derby, hats are an essential accessory for men and women. Fans decorate cheap party hats to an insane degree, and women splurge hundreds on piling the latest fashion on top of their heads.

My assignment was 50 photos, only five with id’s and the rest would get a blanket cutline for a web gallery. I think I ended up with about 80 photos, turning in about 65 or so of the better ones.

My hats were due by 3pm and after that I thought I would have the rest of the day free to play around. Unfortunately, another photographer was sent home sick, so I got called in to fill his place on the track. I would be photographing the third turn for a feature called “Around the Track” that the Courier-Journal does every year for the race.

Everything worked out fine and the editors were happy with the final image. It was a great day at the track. My only complaint is my traditional walk back to the car, as the media shuttles were as non-existent as ever. It’s my only beef I ever have with how things are handled on race day, but when you jam nearly 200,000 people into the same place, delays are bound to occur. I can’t wait for next year.

For the past several years I have gone close, close, close to get a good shot of the fireworks, which has always produced great results. This year, however, I decided to take a different approach. Thunder Over Louisville typically brings in an average attendance of around 650,000 people, which makes leaving downtown Louisville or downtown Jeffersonville extremely frustrating. The crowds are mad, I tell ya.

In previous years I was shooting for the News and Tribune, which has offices in downtown Jeffersonville. This made processing images pretty easy with just a long walk back to the office. This year I was going to take it easy and get away from the crowds and head up to Floyds Knobs, a hilly section of Southern Indiana just above New Albany.

After spending the day shooting a freelance assignment in Frankfort, Ky., for the Courier-Journal, I was going to take my time shooting the fireworks and relax for once. I figured that if I got something … great. If not … who cares.

Unfortunately I got the heat put back on when the dir. of photography at the C-J liked the idea and wondered if I wouldn’t mind sending in a photo. This meant shooting for about 10 minutes of the 30 minute firework display, then rocketing down the hill to process and upload.

I was relatively pleased with the finished shot (it’s above this post), and would consider shooting from “on high” again. I’m pretty tired tonight, but I’ll try to post some tips for shooting fireworks in the near future. After all, the fourth is right around the corner. Happy shooting.

To find out more about Thunder Over Louisville, go here.

The shoot would take place in Richmond, Ky., about two hours south of Louisville. It was an early start, with photos beginning at 9 a.m., so I left the house around 6:30 to give myself plenty of time.

We had a schedule to keep and a long list of photos we had to have by the end of the day. The day was cold, but sunny for most of the morning, which turned out to be the hardest part of the shoot. Jennifer was a trooper. We needed the photos to look Springy, so we only let her wear a jacket on one location. I was standing there with two sweaters on, so I felt a little guilty, but she soldiered on.

We wrapped around 5:30 that evening, finishing with family photos at Jennifer’s home. Then I still had to drive back and process the images. Of course, the consulting firm needed the images the next day, so it was a long night. We ended up with just over 50 images including the image above. Cheers.

To learn more about Jennifer’s campaign go here
To learn more about MC Squared Consulting go here

Just like talking to my friend, I don’t want to bore you with a long list of books, so I thought I’d focus on two books that have been of great value to me, both as a newb and as a full-time professional. The first is “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson, and the second is “Light Science and Magic” by Fil Hunter and Paul Fuqua.

Depending on what type of photography a person is trying to master, both books offer explanations and examples that will greatly benefit pros and hobbyists alike. Let’s start with my friend. He’s a dad, has a beautiful family and wants to record all his little girls’ growing up. Now, he’s a regular client of mine, so he leaves the heavy lifting to me, but I can’t always be there. Christmas morning, soccer games, recitals, that’s where my friend would like to shine. “Understanding Exposure” is the book for him. Mr. Peterson presents a step-by-step guide to learning when to use particular settings on your camera, what to look for and where to (potentially) position yourself for the perfect shot every time.

This is a terrific book, and I still go back to it often for inspiration. There are hundreds of examples and techniques, some of which I seldom use in my line of work, but some I use every day. Plus, the book has been recently updated to include digital camera techniques.

The second book is definitely more advanced, but indispensable in my library of books. I first picked up “Light Science and Magic” as part of my course work in my upper level photography courses at Ball State, and use it as a reference book these days when I’m having trouble with a particular subject, especially those that I don’t shoot every day.

This book describes in minute detail the properties of light and how to record them with your camera. It brings a bit of math back into the art of photography and deconstructs the family of angles. This book is a great help to people shooting mostly in the studio with controlled lighting, but I feel the lessons can easily be transferred into the field. There are exercises in photographing metal and glass, understanding reflection and absorption, as well as lighting equipment tips.

I could go on and on about these books, but I’m keeping it brief. “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson and “Light Science and Magic” by Fil Hunter and Paul Fuqua are worth the purchase no matter what level of shooter you are.

The business of photography has changed drastically since I graduated from college over a decade ago. The ‘old’ model seems to be broken and a lot of shooters are struggling to find the ‘new’ model. Mr. Sanders makes several compelling arguments for looking creatively at the business side of photography in the same way we look creatively at making photographs. Let’s face it, our passion lies with photography, not business, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use our creativity to fuel our business plan in order to stand out from the gaggle of amateurs vying for the jobs we need to be successful.

I have never been interested in business, and to that end it was a huge step for me to even open a book like this. But upon reading the first few chapters, certain things started to resonate. Mr. Sanders laid out all the little short cuts and bad habits that we are all guilty of when we begin to build our business. Getting out of this mode of thinking had been the hardest part for me, but I have begun to realize that I am more than a photographer, I am a brand and I am a business … and that’s OK.

Now I’m no book reviewer but “Fast Track” is a good read. It’s packed with excellent resources easily accessed on the Internet, as well as several business stress tests that give you actual real-time feedback. The book is actually Mr. Sanders’ second book and is geared toward professional photographers that are looking to make a change in their business model. And for all you editorial folks, try to look past all the misspellings and bad grammar, it’s still a relatively new book. Happy reading.

Attending college, studying your craft and hitting the streets with your camera is an excellent use of your time. I mean lets face it … if you suck at creating photos, learning how to talk to prospective clients is the least of your worries. But let us say that we have put in our time for study and our confidence in our ability is assured. Now how do we talk to folks and convince them to give us their money?

First off, let me just say that appearance speaks volumes. This should be a no-brainer, but it drives me up the wall when I see photographers who look like they just rolled out of bed. No matter how good you are, taking a little pride in your appearance — at least during meetings, people — will go a long way toward investing a sense of confidence in your clients. Think of these meetings as a job interview.

Being prepared is important. Now I’m not talking about preparing a speech or any crap like that. The sales pitch will come easily. I’m talking about finding out your client’s intentions and preparing for them. If your client specializes in metal fabrication tools, don’t bring a portfolio of your award-winning food photography. If your client is an engaged couple, bring samples of past weddings you have photographed and an example of the type of wedding album they can expect.

Know your rights as a photographer. If you are a freelancer or a small business owner, who will retain the copyright? How are your photos going to be used? How many times will they be used? You should be ready for these questions. Contracts are vital in protecting yourself and your work. Speak to a lawyer if you have the money, or just visit the library.

Now we get to the hardest part: pricing. This is very subjective. You will have to factor in the locale, job description, client, time invested, and basically there is no easy way to do this. First off, if you’re in the business of weddings and family portraiture, check with other photographers in your area and see what they are charging. This should only be a starting point. Vastly undercutting your competition does not help anyone, especially you. For other commercial jobs, look at your client and bid a little higher than you think they are willing to pay. Many times there is a set budget, but they won’t let you know that until you have undersold yourself because you’re too damn desperate for the job. Don’t forget that professional photography is a vital part of any business, whether for marketing or advertising purposes. It’s worth the money for a business to hire a professional, and in many cases, it’s worth a lot of money.

Factoring in travel and editing time is something many photographers forget about. Yes, it may only take a few hours to shoot the job, but how long will it take to edit and tone the images? How long will it take to travel to and from the job?

Bidding photography jobs is something that most colleges and schools don’t bother educating their students about because there are a lot of factors to be considered. Spend a little time researching before you walk into a situation before you find yourself loosing money and wasting time. We are not in this business to work for free, people. The world needs photos, and they are willing to pay for them.

Resources to peep:
Business and Legal Forms for Photographers by Tad Crawford

This is one of the reasons that journalism so enthralled me in college. Studying these old badasses made journalism seem like a most exciting undertaking. Add the fact that my images could end up in history books and you can see the appeal.

It was always hard for me starting out in the business to imagine a time when Robert Capa was assigned to cover the local county fair, or a ground breaking ceremony, or any other number of events that 99 percent of photojournalists are required to cover and find utterly mundane and ridiculous. Unfortunately, working for a newspaper, especially a small hyper-local publication, covering these assignments are a necessary evil.

As a reporter or a photographer working in a small community, you are charged with recording the history of your community. These small events may seem mundane and boring, but the people in your community want to read about them. They want to see photos of their smiling children and family. They eat it up. The annual little league tournament … forget about it. The papers will fly off the racks.

These assignments make up the fabric of the community. Daily life in a small community can seem ordinary, but that does not mean that the photos recording them have to be ordinary. There have been times when I’ve walked into an assignment feeling all kinds of indifference, only to walk out with an amazing photograph.

This is not always the norm, but it is just as easy to walk into a situation that you feel assured will result in a spectacular photograph, only find yourself searching frantically for a single good image. Constantly keeping a positive attitude in a cynical newsroom is virtually impossible, but keeping an open mind to the possibility of creating a keeper out of what feels like a throw-away situation is a bit more manageable.

I can’t say that every boring assignment will result in a wonderful photograph, or that you won’t fall into the trap of making a photographic cliche, but you may just surprise yourself and your editors. If you have photographed an event before, don’t make the same photograph you made the previous year. Try looking as a situation differently. Get lower, get higher, change your perspective and observe before you even click the shutter. You might just be updating your portfolio.