This blog post will be discussing at lengths what field of creative work I will go into after I graduate. The main aspect of all of this is how difficult it will be to produce new and unique work if lockdown continues for the next few months, and challenging it could be to actually get a job in a curative field. Nevertheless, I will be discussing each case study in detail with a few things set in stone.
I am working and living in Reading in a flat with my girlfriend. Abi is a geography graduate of 2020 and is looking into going down a finance route, the average job in the field pays £25,000 + per year.
We will be living in a 2 bedroom flat we already have pinned up, the rent is £900 a month
I want to avoid getting a part-time job in a shop, if needs be I am a extensive experience as a carpenter and electrician. I can pick up part time jobs as either
Product Photographer
One area of photography I have always wanted to be more involved in is commission based work. I have had some experience in this with companies contacting me regarding products they want to be featured in posts or instagram stories. They would send me the product, I would take up to 50 images and a video, send them the content and get pad. I found it a really quick and easy way to make money while at University (I sometimes got to keep the product too). During quarantine I am going to contact multiple companies regarding product photography, and hopefully gather more experience in commission.
When I move out of bath and into a flat in Reading, I will set up a small studio that would have professional lights and interchangeable backgrounds that would allow me to photography any products I choose. I will built my portfolio as a product photographer, adding to my social media and website evidence of my practice. I will mainly focus on comedies who have products I am interested in; shoes, cameras and technology. To practice for this I will set up a small studio and start shooting similar products, this will help me understand the process behind the image making and possibly lead to product commissions before I graduate in June.
To charge for this, I would work on a product size / location system. If the company wanted photos of a new phone case all in a professionally light studio, I would charge £250. The work would probably take one day to shoot and one more day to edit. However, if I was working with larger products such as drum cymbals where the client wanted photo and video, I would start to look at charging £500+ for a commission this big. It could take a few days to shoot and edit (with the video taking the most time) so a figure this big is very common in such cases.
Live music photographer
I have been shooting live music shows / content for over four years now, before COVID-19 happened I had a tour and multiple festivals lined up as summer work, with another tour being talked about for the end of 2020. I was absolutely devastated that could not travel and produce work for the first time this year, and I really to reevaluate if staying strictly in this industry will be the best move for me going forward during Lockdown.. As of right now, there are a few festivals in August and September that have stated they are still going ahead, and if they do I will then hopefully be able to do some 2020 Fall tours too. In that past I have helped bands create album artwork and visuals for up coming releases, but without physical contact with the band it would be difficult to produce work this way. Most album artwork will either involve the band, or have a graphic design instead, however there are cases of photographers being given free reign of visuals. This is certainly something I will never rely on, I don’t want to be sat at home checking my emails every 5 minutes hoping to get set a brief, I want to go out and produce work on a large scale.
With my live music photo work not coming in until the September, I have time to work on other projects that pay well to be able to afford living in a van for a few weeks. I get paid at the end of tour, so food, washing and luxury items all come out of my pocket when on the road with a band. Having the summer to save money for rent, bills and tour will really help in the long run when it comes to longer tours, mortgages or pets. For an example, let’s say I'm doing a tour of five weeks tour (two in the UK and three Europe), I would be paid on average £4000 at the end of tour, this the possibility of a bonus if merchandise sells well each night. This price comes down to about £114 a day, I would be working around the clock to provide the band with content from the latest show this is also subject to change if I am shooting film or video content for the band. Before the tour, I would need travel insurance on myself and all my equipment, working visas and to buy rolls of film if needed, this could all cost upwards of £500. As stated, I would only normally get paid at the end of tour, so I would need a daily amount that I can live off for 35 days, calculate this number as £5. The reason this is so low is that venues will always offer food and water in the evening, so its only really breakfast and luxury items during the day. As difficult as this sounds, working through the night on a bus, not seeing my family for weeks at a time, being apart of a creative team, touring the world and playing shows every night is something I have wanted for a few years now. Its the next step in my career, I won’t have my studies in the way or deadlines to complete while on the road. Its been a natural progression and I ca not wait for my career to be taken to the next level.
Commission photo
Since I was in A-Level, I was always told that the best way to make money as a photographer is to work on a commission based work flow, and while most of my income will come from live music, in this section I want to focus on the commission work I would work on other than music related. A basic commission is when I client would contact me regarding an event or space they want capturing (on photo or video), I would then charge them a half days or full days wage which would cover travel, film, days it will take edit and then a percentage on top for myself. A common commission would be a wedding, a city fare or a new building opening. It can really vary on the subject and I need to be prepared for anything that might come my way. I have some history in this field of work, my most recent would be for the tyre company “FlowStore” who paid me to take photos of their tyre trays that were in the pit stops of Silverstone. I gained this commission while I was in the pits, a representative from “FlowStore” came up to me and asked for the images, and even paid me half the wage right there before I had started shooting. It was a very brief interaction, but hopefully in the future then COVID-19 is over, I can get in contact with them and build a better relationship.
When living in Reading, I will most likely have to reach out to gain these types of jobs (with the exception of wedding or small local jobs) and the best way to do so is through the publication jobs tab on press companies websites. Outlets like the Guardian or Times often look for photographers to cover events local to them, instead of paying for someone to travel there and back. It works well, and while I am yet to receive a commission this way, I still look daily for any new jobs local to me. Once the pandemic is over, there is going to be a huge serge of commissions; from weddings and events to veterinary centres and new articles, I am sure to find work in Reading, and offering videography skills along side my image making will really help push my name out there.
For any commission, I have two rates I charge; half or full day. These two numbers are very similar to the two prices I worked out in my second year of studies, but more accurate to my out going bills. For a half day I would charge £100, this means if I work a half day five times a week for 50 weeks year, I still hit my target of £25,000 per year. My full days wage would be £175, this isn’t double my half day wage so it implies the client is saving money when hiring me for one full day rather than two halves. Earning £175 per day would allow me to only work three times a week but still hit my target salary.