Emiliano Granado speaks about freelancing and how to make it in the business. Worth a read!!
I recently asked photographer / friend Emiliano Granado to share some thoughts about working as a freelance photographer. Its a little longer than the average MULL IT OVER interview but defiantly worth the read:
JONATHAN CHERRY: What are benefits and disadvantages in having/not having an agent?
EMILIANO GRANADO: Having an agent means a lot. First off, it buys you credibility. It says that someone else believes in your vision and ability. That’s pretty powerful. It also means that your agent is hitting the streets and marketing you. Theoretically, that means your agent is sending emails, making contacts, sending new work, checking in on their known contacts, etc. An agent’s contact list should theoretically be much deeper than yours. Years of experience and a roster of other photographers should have given the agent many more opportunities to meet people. All this marketing on your behalf should free up some time to be a better photographer, concept new shoots, etc (this doesn’t mean you give up marketing duties, however!). Agents can also serve as producers sometimes and can tie up lots of logistical issues.
When negotiating rates and usage, a good agent will usually be able to get the photographer a better rate than he would by himself. They’ll usually know more about usage rights, etc than most photographers. This also means the photographer can concentrate on the creative execution and not the business stuff.
Under ideal circumstances, an agent can also become a trusted, integral part of the creative process. They can be involved in concepting, production, and editing. Having another set of eyes and a different perspective can be invaluable. I always think being a photographer is a lonely experience, so having an agent that serves as a friend and a business partner helps immensely.
On the other hand, agents take a pretty large percentage of your earnings - 25% usually. That’s a pretty significant disadvantage! Especially if all the beneficial conditions aren’t present. I’ve heard lots of people complain that they thought their agent wasn’t working hard enough and that the photographer was driving most of the new business for himself.
Another thing to consider is that most agent/photographer relationships are long-term. Lots of young photographers think they’ll get an agent and all of a sudden be rich and famous. An agent is only one step in becoming successful. Success comes with several years of hard work. No shortcuts, kids!
JC: How do you go about networking & marketing yourself? Is it something that you do during free time or is it part and parcel of your everyday routine?
EG: Free time? What does that mean?!
For the last couple of years, I’ve been sending out quarterly newsletters and postcards to friends, photo editors, and art buyers. Of course, I have several portfolios that get requested once in a while. I go on meetings whenever possible and I’ve been blogging here and there.
Starting in late 2010, I’ve committed myself to getting “out there” more. I started a tumblr page, flickr page, twitter, etc.
I don’t necessarily have a set amount of time dedicated to any of these, but I definitely try to do something every day. Either tweet or tumblr or catch up on the blog. Post tearsheets, etc.
Of course, I’ll continue to send postcards and newsletters. I’m also very close to launching a new website, blog layout, and general Branding.
JC: What do you think of the photography climate at the moment? And where do you see it going?
EG: I don’t really know what to make of it. I’m not sure I have much to add here, but there’s definitely a transition going on!
Editorial seems to be dwindling more and more, but Brands seem to be picking up the slack. A good example is my client Outlier. They understand the need to constantly be shooting. They resemble a magazine more than an old fashioned Brand. I’ve shot for them about 10-15 times in 2010. They’re definitely not paying me traditional advertising rates of 15K/day, but we’re doing lots of really great shoots. Maybe we’re seeing the emergence of a new niche in photography? Somewhere between advertising and editorial, with rates that mirror this.
I’ve been pitching Brands directly as of late, with some pretty good response. I think I’ll continue to pursue this - it feels like Brand Content isn’t going away.
JC: Why do you encourage other photographers to work for free / take any job going?
EG: You can take more risks on free jobs and you’ll learn so much! Of course, I don’t mean to say you should take some businessman’s headshot for free (unless you’re trying to be a business headshot photographer!). I really mean you should take free jobs that will get you access, or portfolio content, or networking possibilities. If someone asks you to photograph an event with lots of cool people and influential people for free, why wouldn’t you try to network and hand out your business card and get jobs? Otherwise, you and your camera are gathering dust on your couch.
Most of my early portfolio was shot for a magazine (Mass Appeal, RIP) that barely had money to cover the film I shot. In fact, most jobs ending up COSTING me money. But I still have most of those jobs in my current portfolio. Those photos got me paying jobs, they got attention from editors/buyers, and eventually I landed the PDN 30 thing based mostly on that work.
I also deeply believe in photographing all the time. If we’re sitting at home waiting for paid assignments to come through, we’re not exercising our photo muscles. Shooting every day only prepares you for future success, it’s like going to the gym every day. SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT!!
JC: Is it difficult for you to find enough paid work?
EG: There have been difficult times, for sure. But as of the second half of 2010, I’ve been on a pretty good run. In fact, the last 3 months of 2010 were the best 3 months of my career. I landed two pretty big advertising jobs that paid pretty well. One of them was even fun to shoot! I’ll be proudly showing those photos as soon as I can - stay tuned.
But even when I haven’t been landing paid work, I’ve been super busy since day 1. I’m not a photographer to make money. I’m a photographer because I have to be. Let me repeat that - I MUST BE A PHOTOGRAPHER. It is who I am. Even if I had to be a barista, I’d still be a photographer. So I find paid work when I can and work on personal projects at all other times. It’s nonstop photography over here at EG Studios.
JC: Do you have a set idea of what your future in photography will look like or are you more inclined to wait and see?
EG: I hope to have a career where I’m respected as an Artist and a Commercial Photographer. There are very few photographers that have managed to be well respected in both fields (Kander, Norfolk, Soth for example), and I hope I can create a facsimile of their careers for myself. Gallery shows, books, advertising money, popular flickr streams, cool video interviews on vimeo, etc. I want it all.
JC: What one piece of advice would you give to young photographers trying to make it freelance?
EG: Hustle hard! There are no handouts. If you’re not hustling every single day, then you’re failing.
JC: Do you manage your money well? And do find it easy / difficult to keep up to date with the financial side of freelancing?
EG: I’m OK with the financials. I forget to pay my credit card bills every once in a while, my studio manager has to send me 3 or 4 texts to remind me to pay her, I’m 1 year late in filing taxes, etc. But I also have all my invoices in an organized excel file, all my clients pay their bills (except for one! you know who you are f**ker!), and I don’t have any debt. So it balances out.
JC: What is your approach to gaining new clients / keeping old clients engaged with what your doing?
EG: For both new and old clients, I try to keep my name “out there” as much as possible. This includes a quarterly newsletter, a semi-frequently updated blog, all the social media channels, etc. I also like to send postcards quite frequently - 5 or 6 times a year. These are sent to friends, old clients, and people I really want to work for.
For the last year or two, I haven’t been as good about showing my portfolio as much as I should. That has a lot to do with the fact that I haven’t updated the work, so it doesn’t feel new and compelling. I’m starting to overhaul my printed portfolio and hopefully it will be done towards the end of March. I’m hoping to start booking face-to-face meetings to show my new work as soon as the book is done. While you may not get work immediately from these meetings, they are 100% critical and will get you work in the long term.
That concept of marketing for the long-term is really important to grasp. You can’t expect to send a promo piece to a client and get work from them immediately. Marketing and getting the job is measured in months and years. You have to be persistent but not annoying - it’s a fine line. The best example of this is a photo editor I met when I was first starting out. We met and got along. She was nice. I was nice. We kept in touch. Almost four years went by and I never got a job from her, but I kept emailing her with new work, sent her postcards, newsletters, etc. Finally, in 2010 she was freelancing at a travel magazine and assigned me a feature story. The magazine was very happy with the results and I’ve shot 5 or 6 more features for them.
Ultimately, the best approach to getting new clients and keeping the ones you’ve got is to produce great work. If you’re constantly producing interesting photographs, then people will keep checking in. Update your work often. Stay fresh and engaged. You’ll be in their heads and they’re much more likely to call you if you’re circling around in their brains. And of course, if you do a great job for a client, they WILL call you back.
JC: Are you ever intimidated by your clients?
EG: Sure. Some clients are not that friendly or they’re kinda vague about what they want, or the job is so big that you’re bound to flip out. There’s a million reasons why a client or a job might intimidate me, but I try to keep it under control. This isn’t life or death - no need to lose sleep over stuff.
JC: Other thoughts?
EG: This is from a blog post I wrote a couple weeks ago:
“BE EXCITED. If you’re not excited about what you’re shooting, who’s gonna be?! Don’t just shoot your assignment. Overshoot the shit out of it! “
This excitement should be extended to everything you do as a photographer. If you’re doing things just to make money, then you’ve already lost.
(via harrymitchell)
