Day in the life of
Commercial Photographer – Monica Donovan
Photography, as an independent photographer, doesn’t just mean taking photos. It also means bookkeeping, marketing, sales, equipment maintenance, filing taxes, and a host of other small business roles required to keep our business going. I would say photography only accounts for about 10% of the job overall.
What keeps photography exciting is that no day looks exactly the same.
Pre-production days
Pre-production involves putting together estimates, mood boards and shot lists, working off the client’s creative briefs, brand guidelines, and other parameters. We work to schedule the shoot ahead of time, and contact stylists and models for day-of, as well as prop shopping and planning. All of these aspects are important in making sure that the creative assets we make are on-brand, on budget, and within the client’s vision.
Shoot production days
Shoot production days are busy. On the actual day of the shoot, we arrive 1-2 hours early for setup, depending on whether the client is on-site. If they’re off-site, as they often have been in the past year or so, we share test shots with the client for approval, depending on whether we’ve worked with them before. Stylists, models, and assistants play a crucial role in photo production and we make sure to coordinate everything ahead of time for a smooth shoot day.
Post-production and non-shooting days
Post-production involves file upload, following up with the client, making selects, and then basic or advanced retouching, depending on the creative needs of the client. There’s also invoicing, and later queuing up shoot images to add to our marketing and portfolios.
Non-shooting days might involve new client outreach and other marketing, scheduling upcoming shoots, putting together shot lists, and other pre-production work. Our shoot schedule varies wildly and depends both on client budgets and the seasonality of their products and services.
Pros
- Flexible scheduling is a huge plus in working as a photographer. For the most part, we are able to set our own hours and work client scheduling around personal time for a healthy work-life balance.
- We get to meet all kinds of people and learn about industries, professions, and topics that we otherwise would never have known about.
- As commercial photographers, we also get to enjoy our clients’ products, whether it’s skincare, beverage, or snack brands. We learn a good deal about the niche and interesting subjects through our work that we might not otherwise have been exposed to. We love that our work takes us on the road and also challenges us in the studio. Every day is an adventure!
- We are constantly challenging ourselves as professionals, and learning about new equipment, lighting techniques, and other advances that help us create better photos. Our work gets better every year!
- This is a creative job, and a lot of our clients give us flexibility on that front. We love the creative aspect of photography and are always looking for inspiration in different places.
Cons
- Shoot days can be rigorous and long, depending on how much we try to fit into a given day of shooting. This can leave you exhausted, so we’re careful to work in buffer days for rest and editing.
- This job is physically taxing. There’s a lot of setup, moving heavy gear, standing, crouching, and sitting depending on what we are shooting. Location shoots are more rigorous in this sense than in-studio shoots.
- As independent photographers, the time we spend behind the lens pales in comparison to the other work we do. We have to constantly hustle to make sure we have projects lined up. Whether it’s marketing to new clients or reaching out to existing clients to touch base and set up new shoots, we need to work constantly to make sure we’re meeting our budget goals and filling up the schedule. As small business owners, we also have to keep on top of bookkeeping, taxes, marketing, and a host of other small roles.
- Shoots can be all over the place in terms of scheduling, so we might have a few busy weeks and then a month of downtime, which means that revenue can be somewhat inconsistent. Because of this, we keep a careful eye on cash flow and projections.
