Network, Network, Networking…….

One of the biggest things I have learned so far is that you better network. Without networking you are pretty much out on your own with no help what’s so ever. If you network then you have peers to ask questions, talk too, and hopefully work with. You might be just starting out and not knowing where to secure some work. If you network with people they will know they type of shots and quality of work that you do. If your work is up to there standards and they know of up coming jobs they may ask you if you want an opportunity to do the job.  Personally I have joined many Facebook groups and also a camera club just for the simple reason of networking. Some of the Facebook groups I joined are strictly my home area alone. Sometimes the people in the group put together meet ups to go out and shoot. During these meet ups you get to chat with peers and see what type of work they do. I have met photographers that shoot for magazines, some that do product photography, sports and others that are strictly Fine Art.

The Sports photographer has asked me to shoot with him many times so far. Sometimes it has been a paid shoot and a few it has been a volunteer opportunity. I have done both, while I rather get paid and who wouldn’t. Its also good to shoot a volunteer shoot every so often so that you can for one give back, and then also add to your portfolio. My first time shooting with the sports photographer it was a volunteer shoot. We had to shoot a race that a church was hosting. Now he knows my capabilities and he calls me when he see things come up. He also emails me other events that he can’t make because he’s shooting at other places. I hope that some day the magazine photographer knows of an opening and helps secure me a position shooting that type of stuff also. I probably wouldn’t have any of these jobs if I wasn’t putting myself out there and hanging out with other peers.

You might not know many people yourself right now but search for groups you can join in your area. Another good place to find that is meetup.com they have tones of different photography groups you can join. Once you have met some new friends make sure you hang out and do some shooting. This way they get to see your style and you also get to see theirs. I try to shoot something every week. I also try to invite peers to join me. It makes the shoot less boring and then you have someone to talk with during and after your done.

TBT

Thursday Ambassador


Works Cited

Photo Credit
Virtual Social Media. Web. 4 Sept. 2114.