A Day in the Life

*****

Clicking the shutter is the easy part, of course. However, it is easy to forget everything you know about lights, camera and action if you do not work with it every day. You realize that very quickly once you are back in the field. And, I am getting to know my camera manual again.

But, now that you have clicked the shutter what else do you do if you are trying to make a living as a photographer?
1. Keep a record of every cent you spend.
2. Keep a record of every thing you see.
3. Watch how your photos are recording via the histogram.
4. Wrap the trip up. Make sure you have everything you came with.

Now comes the fun part.
1. Upload your new photos to your computer.
2. Review them. Discard what you definitely know you don't want to work with. This should be a very small amount of files.
3. Export the files that you want to work with right away.
4. Batch edit the exported files. This will give you less to work with in the long run.
5. Edit (pop) your files. Get them ready to post and/or turn over to you client.

All of that stuff is the easy part. A 2 hour shooting session can easily give you a full day lab work, and possibly 2 or 3 days of lab work. And, this is your day when you are only working on your projects.

But, what about getting clients? And, what do you do with them when you get them?
Long before you click the shutter for clients you have a mountain of work to even let them know that you are in business to serve them. You have to target your audiece for the style/specialty of photography that you do. Research is the name of the game here. Magazines, manuals, books, walls, galleries, newpapers, etc. - they are all important resources. You have to find people that use your style of photography. Contact those people. Get samples of your work in front of them so that they can see what you do. Tell them how you can be productive for them. Nudge them good, but don't push them. They have the money.

So, now you've got the client. Now you have done the shoot. Now you have edited the shots, and sent them to your client. Now what. Well, I ask for a review of my work from my client. And, then I go home and think about what I did right, what I did wrong, and how I can do better. And, I do the bookkeeping for the shoot. After that I go to work trying to find more clients, and trying to sell my stock photography. It is a never ending process that drives me crazy, and I love it.