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 p.5 #6 · Is she Americas Next Top Model? | |
Roly,
Some advice about chasing your career in photography, if I may?
Virtually no-one (even the very talented, such as yourself) starts in this business by waiting around for an offer from someone. This is doubly so in the world of fashion, where you are clearly heading. Here in Australia, almost all the current working photogs in that genre do all their work for nearly nothing, or very close to $0.00. Unless they are shooting for Marie Claire or Australian Vogue, or have a regular gig with the weekend national newspapers who run fashion each weekend, they are gathering teams, doing research, interviewing models, collecting equipment, going through the shoot, producing the work and presenting the final product, all for the 'GLORY' and exposure alone. Even the artier and (in my opinion) more interesting magazines that run fashion here, such as Black & White, Yen, Oyster, Ministry (whom I shoot for), Pavement (New Zealand) etc, pay less than AUS$200 a page for your work. Most pay nothing at all - this is the norm! In our market, small as it is, this is how you start in fashion. Lots of hard work, for free, with nothing but your talent to guide you and the promise of a pot of gold (just maybe) at the end of the rainbow.
Your market, especially the NY market, is different I know and the opportunities will be much more plentiful, especially in-house in agencies etc. But the premise remains the same: YOU have to find the opportunities, they usually don't come looking for you. As big as the potential market is there, the competition is also MUCH tougher. Your work is a stand-out, make no mistake. But you have to get it in front of the right people to get a shot at the title and you have to know HOW you can help them.
So my advice is to get forget about equipment upgrades (your already beating the pants of us with your D30), realise your potential by believing in your own talent (a few more days around here should cement that for you  ) and get off your backside and start mailing, calling or just turning up at the places that excite you or where you see yourself working. Get out and meet people, network, talk to everyone you can who is already working in the industry and find out what they're looking for and if you can help. Tenacity and perseverance (clearness of vision) are the two qualities *most* important to a successful commercial photographer, and the ones least appreciated perhaps by people who are more focussed on f-stops and what lenses you use.
Get out there and go for it mate! 
jon
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You speak the truth. I printed out your advice and put it up on my wall, cause sometimes we need to be reminded that although we have talent, we still have to get out there and network. And I think fredmiranda has been a great source for us all. But we can’t stop there. We hold the world’s artistic expression in our lenses. Let’s continue to let the world see, and appreciate all the beauty the we sometimes take for granted.