Freelance photography is a field that is being sought after by many companies. This is due to the increasing importance of digital content for a company.
A freelance photographer has the flexibility and freedom to determine the time and type of work. However, this does not mean that a freelance photographer can act arbitrarily. A professional freelance photographer is a photographer who fulfills his contract well.
You may intend to become a freelance photographer. The lure of freedom to determine the type of work may be one of the attractions of this job.
But what is freelance photography? Then how do you become a freelance photographer? What things should you do and prepare for?
To answer these questions, let's take a look at the following explanation.
What is Freelance Photography?
Freelance photography is a service offered by a photographer to take pictures in accordance with the agreed contract.
From a business perspective, a business that does not routinely need a photographer will be able to save costs and their operational costs by using this freelance photography service.
On the other hand, as a photographer, you certainly have more freedom to decide which job you will take. This is the dream of almost all workers.
As a professional freelance photographer, you will be your own boss where you decide when you work and what you will do.
Of course, this can make your job messy if you can't manage your time properly. However, if you can manage your schedule well, you will get more free time than when you work as a full-time photographer.
Taking up freelance photography is also a great choice for students or someone who wants to spend their free time making some extra money. Flexibility is the biggest advantage of being a freelance photographer.
How Much Does a Freelance Photographer Make?
Now, this is perhaps the most important part of being a freelance photographer: money.
If you are a student or someone who takes freelance photography as a side job, money may not be your main concern.
However, if you decide to make your freelance photographer career a full-time one, you'll want to know for sure if this career is enough to support you.
The answer: it depends. All freelance careers have no definite income. The money and volume of work you receive depend on your chosen field and industry.
On average, a freelance photographer makes $ 42,000 a year. Of course, that number will vary, considering this is a freelance career.
To get a further picture, you can visit freelance websites like Fiverr or Upwork to do more market research. There, you will find freelance photographers who offer various types of services at different prices.
You can look for freelance photographers who have a focus or work in the same industry as you and calculate their average income to get a more detailed picture.
How to be a Freelance Photographer?
Becoming a freelance photographer is not an easy task. You have to prepare various things before starting your career in freelance photography.
Let's take a look at what things you should prepare to become a freelance photographer:
1. Pick a Niche
Before you start your career in freelance photography, you must determine your photography focus or niche.
What is a niche?
A niche is the specific focus of an industry. For example, in photography, you will be able to find a wide variety of niches; wedding photography, children photography, nature photography, and others.
Then, how do you choose a niche?
Of course, you have to determine a niche based on your passion and abilities. But, of course, you have to make sure that the niche you choose is a niche that is busy and will continue to grow. This is to ensure that you will have a long career in freelance photography.
To find a niche, you can do a simple search on a search engine, such as Google. You can, for example, look for trends in freelance photography that are on the rise, and what trends will last.
You can also visit freelance sites, such as Fiverr or Upwork, where you can find other freelance photographers and see what services people have to offer and the prices they charge.
Can you have more than one niche?
Ideally, what you want is to be the person people are looking for when they need a service in a niche, such as lifestyle photography. But, you can also have some skills in multiple niches to widen your chances of getting a job.
Whatever niche you choose, you have to make sure that you have the skills and equipment that can support your career in freelance photography.
2. Develop Your Skills and Prepare Some Equipment
Once you have a niche, you need the expertise to sell to your clients. You don't want to hire a freelance photographer who doesn't have the right skills, right?
This skill certainly comes from the practice that you have done for years. Here, having one or more niches can be a big difference.
If you have only one niche, for example, newborn baby photography, you can focus on deepening your knowledge of natural photography. On the other hand, if you have multiple niches, your learning process will be slower because you may have to study several types of photography at the same time.
Apart from expertise, to survive in the freelance photography field, you need good equipment. Whatever you need, of course, really depends on the niche you choose.
The same thing as expertise also applies to equipment where the more niches you choose, the more equipment you may need.
3. Create a Professional Freelance Photographer Portfolio Website
Image taken from Strikingly website
Once you have a niche, skills, and equipment, you need a way to sell your services.
In the internet and digital era like today, having a portfolio is a must if you want to survive in the freelance photography field.
How do you create a portfolio?
In the past, you had to print your photos and create a print collection of your works. However, with advances in technology, you can now have a portfolio in the form of a website.
A portfolio website certainly has advantages that a physical portfolio does not have. With a website, you can display your work and share the details of your work more easily.
You can build an online presence as well as social media that can help people find you, which is what you really want as a freelance photographer.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
Maybe you're thinking: "How can a freelance photographer like me create a website? Isn't that the job of an IT professional?"
It used to be like that. But, with the help of a website builder like Strikingly, you can easily create a website that looks amazing.
With Strikingly, you can easily create your freelance photography portfolio website using the ready-made templates provided for you.
Image taken from Strikingly website
You have a large selection of templates for you to use on your website. You can also edit any template you choose due to its Strikingly intuitive interface and drag and drop builder feature.
You can also easily build your freelance photography portfolio using the big media or gallery section from Strikingly. If you have multiple niches, you can easily create multiple pages to group your work.
So, what should you prepare for your freelance photography portfolio website?
First, you have to prepare your works that will be displayed on your website portfolio. If you have several niches, group each of your works by category.
When preparing your works, you also have to make sure that your photo sizes comply with Strikingly's image size specifications.
Why is that?
Because if you use an image with an unsuitable size, your image will appear cropped, or even broken, which is something you want to avoid on your freelance photography portfolio website.
You can find guides on image size regulation in our help center.
Second, you need to create a brand to develop your career as a freelance photographer.
What is a brand?
When you are looking for and choosing a niche, you will notice that there are tons of other professional freelance photographers in that niche. A brand is something that can help you stand out from that pool of freelance photographers.
A brand is a feeling or image that appears when people hear your name or see your works. You may be known as a wedding photographer who can take romantic pictures, or the best family photographer, etc.
You can create a brand in several ways. You can highlight your expertise or experience, for example, "I am a professional freelance photographer with more than 20 years of experience."
You can also share your human or life side about photography. For example, you can share a story about how you met photography and what photography means to your life.
To help you create a brand, you can see how other freelance photographers build a brand on their portfolio website. If possible, find and study freelance photographers who have the same niche or focus as you.
After that, you can also prepare testimonials or comments from people who have worked with you. Comments or testimonials are a great way to show that you can really do your job.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
Lastly, you have to prepare your contact details. Also, make sure the contact you are using is the most recent contact. You don't want to miss out on a job offer just because the contact you posted can't be reached, right?
The contacts that you can share also vary. You can share your email address, phone number, and social media account.
Those are the things you should know about freelance photography.
As a photographer, being your own boss is a dream. You can choose a job that you like and hone your skills in various fields with flexible time.
However, being a freelance photographer also has its barriers. You have to know how to choose the right industry or niche and how to sell yourself.
You can create a freelance photography portfolio website to help you sell your work and grow your business. A portfolio website can help you showcase your work and sell your skills.
Not only that, creating a website will also help you to be found more easily by people on the internet, which is what you want as a freelance photographer.
So, are you ready to start a career in freelance photography? Start your career as a professional freelance photographer by building a website using Strikingly today!
