Filling The Gaps

Sharing my experiences, skills, self development hacks,

and more to help you fill in any gaps.

Hi Reader!

Hope everything is going well with you and that you're having a good start to the week 🫶

I wanted to share a super actionable email this week centred around getting you your first freelance client.

Grab a cup of tea, coffee or whatever and let's dive in!

So, you've decided that you enjoy photography, you have bought your first camera and you would like to start making a bit of money doing freelance work as a side hustle.

But where do you go from here?

I want to share 4 action steps that I did at the start of my journey to get my first freelance client and to get my business off the ground.

1. Take it very seriously:

This might sound simple, but if you truly want to start making money from photography (or any freelance service) you have to start by taking it seriously.

Landing clients is often about first impressions and the small things that you say/do that gives potential clients or people around you an idea of the person you are.

So it's very important that your actions and the things you say in day-to-day conversations gives people the impression that you are passionate and serious about what you do.

People will sense that about you and gravitate towards you.

I know this from firsthand experience.

When I decided that I wanted to escape my 9-5 Project Management job and use my passion for photography to build a business, I started to tell people that I was a photographer when they asked "what do you do for a living?".

I was a photographer first and a Project Manger second.

And all of a sudden people saw that I took myself and my photography seriously, so they took me seriously.

2. Build proof that you can do the job:

Now that you're calling yourself a photographer (or a creative of any sort), it's time to start acting like one.

Focus on building your portfolio anyway that you can.

Use some of your free time to take photos, practice, learn and develop.
Do free photoshoots for family, friends and people that you meet along the way.
Approach businesses in your local area, introduce yourself in-person, let them know that you're getting started and ask if you can take some photo for them for free. (I used to do this at car dealerships when I start out)

Spend 2-3 months on this step.

Start sharing your work on social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook) so that you can have a "portfolio" that people can easily access and view.

Then you can use a website like Pixieset.com to put together a more professional portfolio (they have a free plan that should be plenty for you to get started).

Once you have developed a decent foundation of skills and put together a portfolio, it's time to throw yourself into the deep end and start putting the word out that you're looking for paid work.

3. Begin building your reputation:

While you are going about doing Step 2, it's also important to focus on building a reputation in your local area.

In photography (and other creative businesses) your skills don't seperate you, your personality and your reputation does.

Once you have built a decent foundation of skills it's important to direct some focus to building relationships with people.

Go out of your way to introduce yourself to people, talk to them, tell them about yourself and your journey, listen to them, help them if they need you, etc.

All of these small interactions will build up over time and grow your reputation.

People want to work with nice people.

If you're a lovely person to be around and they think highly of you, then they will choose to hire you over someone with more skills and experience.

4. Tell everyone that you're a photographer:

This is something that will happen naturally as a result of Step 1 and Step 3, but now I want to explain how this crucial step will land you your first client.

Once you decide to take photography seriously, tell your family and friends first!

When I did this they were a bit surprised and some were shocked, but they quickly became my biggest supporters.

From there, every time you go to a birthday party, a dinner, any sort of social gathering, introduce yourself to people that you don't know and tell them that you are a photographer.

You don't have to force it though.

For me, all of this happened very naturally.

Show people your work, speak passionately about what you're doing and why you're doing it, send people links to your Instagram and to your portfolio, etc.

(Optional: have some business cards on you so that you can hand them out if anyone asks or if it comes up in conversation.)

Doing all of this as much as you can will get the word out about your business and that you are looking for work.

Someone will know someone that needs photos and BOOM!

Whether it's a family member, a friend, a friend of a friend, someone's dad's business, etc. there is someone out there that will need your services.

And because of all the steps you are ready for when the opportunity presents itself.

That's exactly how it happened for me!

I got my first 3 clients through my friends that connected me with other people in their network.

My first paid photoshoot was for a friend of a friend.

He's a rapper and he was doing a studio recording session and wanted some behind the scenes photos.

I put together a quick quote for $330 AUD ($220 USD) which he accepted and that was it!

I was on my way to becoming a full-time photographer.

And if you're curious, here is a link to the gallery of images that I shot for him:

My first paid photoshoot (April 2022)

Also, if you want more help from me I have a free guide called the Photography Creator Blueprint where I share even more steps for growing your photography/creator business.

Download it here