"Your Camera takes Beautiful Pictures!"

After seeing my pictures I sometimes hear people say "your camera takes beautiful pictures!"  I get what they're saying but I can't help but hear "if it wasn't for your camera your pictures would be bad."  I agree, my camera has the capacity to capture a beautiful image, but I'd like to think I play a large part in what goes in to the camera because I can tell you first hand that I take a lot of bad, bad pictures.  I only share the ones I like.

I'm going to do something risky - I'm going to show you a bad picture I've taken.  I decided to go with a product shot since I don't want to make a person look bad.  I recently did some product photography for a local pipe shop and it was a challenge photographing the pieces.  Photographing glass is a tricky thing so it took a few bad shots in order to get to a good one.

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This was my first test shot.  As you can see, it's blown out and the focus is questionable.  It's overall not appealing.  I don't think anyone would look at this and say "your camera takes beautiful pictures!"  They'd say "this is a bad photo" and the full blame would be on me.  Rightly so.

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This is an unedited version of what ended up being my final look for this piece of glass.  It's an unremarkable image but you can see the improvement between the last picture and this one.  Focus is there, exposure is perhaps a touch under but it's acceptable, and you can see the full piece unobstructed.  Still, not an image you'd call beautiful.

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This is the final edit of the above picture.  Vibrant, detailed, and all you can see is the piece itself.  The camera does maybe 1/4 of the work.  It captures all you need to create a beautiful image, but it ultimately rests on the shoulders of the photographer to make it all happen.  You can buy the most expensive camera on the market and still take terrible pictures.  

If a chef makes you a delicious meal would you say "your oven makes a great dish!"  A tool is only as useful as the person wielding it.  I don't profess to be a prolific photographer but I do appreciate recognition when it comes.  When someone says my camera takes nice pictures I can't help but feel insulted.  I know they don't mean to be insulting, and I don't take a personally, but next time you want to compliment someone on their work, compliment them, not their tools.

A Freelancer's Holiday

Yesterday was Labor Day in the United States.  A day where the labor force rests and we celebrate a job well done.  But who actually rests on Labor Day?  I took the train yesterday a few times, so MTA employees are still at it.  I went to the supermarket, the coffee shop, I bought pizza, and even I worked as I photographed a show last night.  I even spent the day editing pictures and searching for more work.  So who stays home from work on Labor Day?  From what I can tell, people with office jobs.

But that's not the point of today's post.  The point is this - there is little time for "rest" when you work freelance.  Every day I think "where's my next paycheck coming from?"  This means I have to spend at least an hour or more searching for new work or keeping contacts fresh.  A day without work isn't really a day off - it's just a day to find more work.

Rest and relaxation are important for any line of work but it can be hard to find when you're in freelance.  You don't have a set schedule, there's no such thing as weekends or holidays, no sick days, no vacation time, it's all up to me.  Sure, I could decide to not book a day, but why would I do that?  I need contacts.  Hell, I need money!  I can't turn down a job because I want to rest.  I don't know what or when the next job will be!  Gotta keep working.  Gotta keep it going.

Keeping the motor going has been the most important part of being a freelancer, to me, so far.  Every day I try to take a step forward toward a successful career.  Be it during the week, weekend, or even on a day like Labor Day, I have to do something to push forward, even if it's just a post on Instagram (check out my stuff at Instagram.com/sd_conrad) or writing on this very blog.

But all motors burn out unless properly maintained.  You have to change your oil every few thousand miles.  For me, maybe that oil change will happen today?  Or tomorrow?  Or next month?  Who knows?  I make my own schedule.  Maybe today I'll go to the beach alone while all my friends are in a stuffy office.  Or maybe I'll just lay in bed with my dog and finally finish reading Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.  All I know is - freelancers don't know the word "holiday."  Holiday, to us, is just another day on the grind.

What have I done?

A few months ago I quit my day job.  It wasn't a high paying job but it was something I had been doing for a long time and took seriously.  I always referred to myself as "a photographer with a day job."  But there comes a certain point in time where you can't refer to your "day job" as such.  The day job had become just... my job.  A few months before quitting I had gotten a couple photography gigs that paid more in a single day's work than an entire week at my job and I thought "man, I only need to work like 4 times a month to match my month's pay..."

So I started making moves to quit my job and do photography full time.  I checked over my gear to make sure it was all clean and working properly.  With the help of my brothers I got this very website up and running and set up a professional sounding email address for all of my photography correspondence.  I rearranged my room in a way to be more office-like, knowing I'd be at the computer more either hustling for more work or editing for hours.  I sent emails to everyone I had worked with in the past announcing I'd be available more often.  Then I put in my one months notice at my job.  While they were upset I was leaving, they were proud of me for making the move.  I told my friends and family and they were all supportive and excited for my future.  I was excited too, but terrified.  I had never quit a job before.  I had never even been fired.  Every job I had I got laid off from because business was slowing or was being sold.  I'm a model employee!  I had tried freelance in the mid 2000s but I ended up settling for a day job because I was too stressed out.  What have I done?  I'm throwing myself back in to that same fire I had crawled out of in 2006.

But on my final day of work I was excited.  The fear had subsided and I was ready to open a new door.  I began hustling for work immediately.  It wasn't until the first day of "unemployment" when it hit me.  Where do photographers find work?  It's been a few months and I still can't answer that question.  I have learned that there's no one source for finding work.  You have to email, call, refresh websites, do whatever you can, and eventually you will see something that sounds interesting and will actually pay you.  Oh, that's the other thing.  A lot of people think photography is easy and you don't deserve to get paid.  "No editing is necessary!"  But that's not how that sentence should go. "No, editing is necessary" I say.  I don't know about you, but capturing an image is only half the process.  I don't like sending out unedited pictures.  It's like a chef sending out a meal that has been prepared, spiced, sliced, but never actually cooked.  Editing is the cooking part for me.  But I digress - finding work is easily the hardest part of freelance and I still don't know how I've gotten half the jobs I've done.  They just sorta happen.

Becoming a freelance artist is easily the most challenging and stressful things I've done to myself.  I worry about where money is coming from all the time.  How am I going to pay rent?  Is my phone bill late?  Does my dog have food?  Do I have food?  Luckily, my brothers carry my torch for me and pick me up when I'm falling down with words of encouragement.  They're artists too and I see their work daily online.  Their spirit is an inspiration, I am forever grateful for them.  My friends here in NYC cheer me on passionately, often jealous of my freedom.  If only they could see my bank account!  

So, what have I done?  I'm taking the road less traveled.  I've got a compass and a map but I don't need 'em.  I'm going to make my own road instead and see where it leads.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This is my first entry to my (hopefully) daily blog where I share my thoughts as a freelance photographer.  I plan on examining my own photographs, explaining the scenarios in which they were taken, how I took them, what sort of post processing I did, and what I would do differently if I could go back and retake the same image.  I might even talk about board games every now and then when I need a break from photography.