Hobby

As with freelance writing, freelance photography takes time, organization, and a love for what you do. It also requires imagination and an eye into the future as pictures you take today may languish in your files for months or even years before they see the light of print.

A successful freelance photography business will require a lot of time not only taking pictures, but also cataloguing them and maintaining the files. When the photographer gets called and asked about a specific type of picture they don’t want to spend a lot of time working on their portfolio; it should be maintain weekly.

Computer catalogues can make your life in freelance photography so much easier as you can enter a keyword and a selection of your pictures will come up. This will save time and perhaps make the person interested in your art believe you are an organized person.

Select Subjects You Think Might Sell

The type of pictures taken in freelance photography is totally up to the person and the experience they have with particular buyers. They may take thousands of nature pictures, animal pictures or architectural photos that will remain timeless that could be used in an advertisement, a magazine to go with an upcoming story or even in a newspaper. The hard work they put in will show in the amount of sales.

Many of those in freelance photography shy away from pictures of people due to the legality of having to obtain a model’s release before the picture is used. It may never be in print, but if a model release is not available no company will touch it if the subject can be recognized. So if you decide people are going to be your main subject, make sure you get the model release signed before you head back to your freelance photography studio.

Another main consideration is the format of pictures accepted by magazines. The Writer’s Guide is a good source for what format a magazine will accept. Several still rely on transparencies, or slides, and some will accept digital submissions and still others require 8” x 10” prints. The prints can be made from digital pictures as well as slides, and in a pinch, slides can be printed.

If you’re planning to shoot all digital be mindful of the quality of your shots. For family pictures and those under 5” x 7” a 2 or 3 mega-pixel camera may be fine. But if the picture is going to come out at an 8” x 10” print or larger you may want to invest in camera with at least 5 mega-pixel resolution or even higher. Remember the basic rule is the higher the mega-pixels on your camera the bigger the prints you can make in your freelance photography business.