A Day in the Life of a Photographer
It could be something like this…
If you have an assistant or a team then a lot of things become easier to do but you will need to earn a lot of money to pay their wages. Possibly they are generating work too. When you walk into one of those studios you can see where you could be in the future. A place where photography turns into video, and stills are created with CGI. Where your treasured Macs are replaced with custom built high powered PCs for crunching through those algorithmns.
It’s 8am, forget the muesli and start the day by updating blogs on Wordrpess and Blogger, say something on Twitter and LinkedIn, comment on someone elses blog. Use Facebook. With this networked together, ie Twitter feed appearing on your blogs and blog entries being tweeted automatically, there will be some global activity around your virtual presence. Let it be, and just maybe something interesting may happen. Do this again later in the day, and tomorrow. Some photographers are so tuned into this wavelength they do it all day long from the shoots they are involved in. Steve Jobs legacy of iPads and iPhones have engineered a new kind of social media savvy photographer that has more energy than the old analogue photographer. News about photography, photographers and photo things as they happen are readily available. Make sure it has some substance to it. You may have a website with an integrated blog based on a wordpress template. All the better.
9.30am Check emails which you can do whilst heading to a job on the train. If there is an opportunity in the pipeline follow it up as soon as possible. Make a note on your phone or notebook to do that. Focus on the job first. Turn the mobile phone off during the job unless you have an assistant to answer it.
10.30am Have coffee with a project manager. This will provide some good feedback on your best and worst ideas. Lunch, maybe later.
11.30am Do a good job. Feel good about it. look forward to the edit, photoshopping and then emailing or uploading the work for the client. Wait for the positive reaction.
Photoshop the other jobs in the queue so that you can get the invoices in asap. And do lots of other things that the internet make you do because you happen to using it.
You think to yourself time goes by so quickly. This makes for a phone call to share this shrinking time phenomenon that they too are suffering from.
Phone your agent to see if there are any new developments. Do some random surfing on your mobile phone for inspiration.
5pm. Time for another coffee. Make some notes on your iPad, I prefer a notebook and pencil. Feel the caffeine and enthusiasm permeate your mind.
Someone phones and needs a quote quickly. They have a limited budget. Do that later.
6pm A meeting with a potential client who is working on a project that the Arts Council may sponsor but requires a quote and an A4 explanation for the photography part of it.
It’s 7pm already. Do that blog thing again. You may be feeling tired but keep going. Multitasking is very important. So, whilst blogging, updating and emailing your world open gallery, opportunity and things going on links in other windows on your browser. Indulge in those at random times. They will lead to other opps being opened in various tabs.
It’s not time to have your lunch and dinner otherwise you will pass out. There’s time to go to the gym later if you live in one of those apartment blocks with 24 hour facilities, a bit like One Hyde Park.
Update the website, it’s not generating enough or any work. Perhaps have a new site built and make sure it has SEO to promote it otherwise what’s the point.
Work late tonight because you met a friend yesterday when you should have been working. You can become very isolated when working as a freelance unless you have a studio with visitors or are in a workplace sharing with colleagues etc.
10pm Fell asleep at the computer. Just woke up. Go and workout in the gym.
11pm Feel refreshed. Spend some time learning how to use Final Cut for that eventual move into digital video.
00.00 Zzzzzzz.
Here’s one photographer that has photographic days to remember:
Vincent blog.vincentlaforet.com
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» A Day in the Life of a Photographer said this on January 28, 2008 at 5:17 pm |
i’m an inspiring photographer and reading this has given me hope that i will make it as a photographer. thank you,
i have one question thou, as a photographer, do you still have an outside social life, like beyond your job?
You can shape your photographic world to include a vibrant social life.
It partly depends on what type of photography you are doing.
Just stumbled here through google.
Some of the photographs are so good I think I might give up.” I can identify with that, I feel that way looking at your photos!
You’re welcome
Part of it I think is the camera (mine is SLR but on the cheap side) , and I haven’t formally taken a course on photography yet either, but I do intend to in the future.
In the meantime your images are so crisp. I especially liked the resort photos.
I am a self taught photographer!
Right here is the perfect web site for anybody who wishes to understand this topic.
You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you
(not that I actually will need to…HaHa). You certainly
put a fresh spin on a subject that’s been discussed for many years. Wonderful stuff, just excellent!