Back at it Again

It has been a few years since I last updated my blog. Mostly because I had a full time job which didn’t allow for much freelance work, which was the focus of this blog, and the freelance work I was taking admittedly wasn’t all that interesting. Unfortunately, earlier this year, due to the struggling retail market, I was laid off from work. I decided to take the summer off to re-evaluate my career goals. Do I want to continue with jewelry photography elsewhere? Should I go after the wedding market? Or should I carve out my own niche somewhere else?

With Winter quickly approaching I haven’t really answered any of those questions. The freelance world has changed since 2016, perhaps this means I should change too?

It’s also Gnomevember again, which I am not participating in. I attempted last year but I ran out of steam pretty quickly. Here is one of my favorite pictures from last year. As I look at it again maybe I should partner with local bars for their social media accounts? I quite like how the beer looks!

70mm 1/25 sec f/5.0 ISO 1250

2016 Year in Review

It's en vogue to trash on 2016 right now.  A spat of celebrity deaths to end the year, plus numerous notable deaths throughout, along with an unsavory American presidential election have lead to dozens of trending hashtags declaring 2016 to be the worst ever.  And while 2016 has put me through some of my more devastating hardships, it hasn't passed without awarding me my greatest triumphs.

The triumphs would not be possible without some people in my life.  I experienced possibly the worst financial troubles I've ever had to face and I have had to rely on the love and charity of others to get me through.  My gratitude has reached levels nearing shame for having to rely so heavily on my loved ones.  I shall keep them nameless as their acts were not done for public recognition but were done out of the kindness of their hearts.  Much of my adult life was spent believing myself to be lonely and unloved, my shame derives from being proven wrong.  I am not lonely nor am I unloved.  I am humbled and eternally grateful.  My goal for 2017 is to be more like the people around me showing me their love.  I can't continue to live in the darkness.  I have to live by their example and carry the light.

2016 saw the end of my freelance career.  Well, full time freelance at least.  I took a full time job photographing jewelry.  In an age where the staff photographer position is hard to come by, I lept at the opportunity to fulfill that role.  Photographing jewelry was something I had no experience doing but I somehow weaseled my way in to the gig.  I struggled at first, but now I am proud of the work I do there.  While it's a small family run operation some of our clients include Sears, David's Bridal, and a number of other major retail chains throughout the US.  Using my experience there I applied for my dream job at a big name company in the online box subscription world.  I was confident in how I interviewed and my inside man told me they loved me.  In the phone interview they even talked about salary and benefits, which to me was a clue they had me pegged as a candidate.  I was right, but they didn't pick me.  Unfortunately, they selected a candidate who had interviewed before me.  Not because they liked them more, and not because they didn't like me enough, it was simply because they wanted to go with their first instinct.  While I was devastated I go on knowing I am capable of working for larger companies.  I have taken this confidence and I am putting more effort in my current job.  I hope to leave massive shoes to fill once I move on.
 

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In 2015 I attended an NYCFC game and wondered how I get on the pitch to photograph a game.  So, I set a goal - photograph an NYCFC game.  But I had no idea how to do that.  Then one day I saw an ad posted on CraigsList - Wanted: photographer for local amateur soccer league.  Perfect!  I can build a portfolio of amateur soccer and use it to get myself a job photographing the pro game.  I managed to land the gig and began shooting.  Soccer is a lot more difficult to photograph than I imagined, especially when kickoff isn't until 10pm.  I needed the power of the sun to pull off what I truly wanted.  But, as it turns out, proving I could do it at night is exactly what I needed.  I answered another ad looking sports photographers.  Turns out they recently got credential approval for MLS and I could start shooting the 2016 season with the NYCFC pre-season press conference on Thursday followed by game 1 on Saturday.  Strangely, my first day of my new day job was Wednesday.  I found out I got both of these gigs on the very same day.  I had also met my girlfriend's parents earlier in the week and they seemed to like me too so overall, March 2016 was a great month.

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2016 has set a high bar for 2017.  I hope my worst financial crises are behind me and I hope my greatest achievements are ahead of me.  I am gearing up to launch my e-commerce page to start selling prints.  I plan on shooting more weddings, as I've done two in 2016 and feel great about them.  I will shoot more amateur and pro soccer.  I will continue doing my best at my day job but will keep my eyes out for bigger fish to fry.  

Say what you want about 2016 but I'd do the whole thing all over again.

It's Been a While

Last June, I entered the world of freelance, leaving my job to pursue whatever this is.  It turned out to be the single decision that has caused me more stress, grief, pain, depression, financial turmoil, and fear, than I had at any other point in my entire life.  I know it's cliche to show how damaging something was and then to say "and if I had to do it all over again, I would."  Because I definitely wouldn't if those were the only emotions and struggles I experienced in the last year.  Fortunately, I have had my successes as well and I'd like to share some highlights.  I think it's important to acknowledge failures, examine them, and learn how to do better.  I think I might do this too often, and don't pat myself on the back enough.  Many people don't congratulate themselves on a job well done.  It's important to always strive to be better, but it's also important to realize some of your best work might be happening right now.

Village Voice

The first time I felt accomplished was a year ago this month.  My friend Bob Walles invited me to go see Unknown Mortal Orchestra at the Warsaw in Brooklyn.  I had never heard of them or the opening bands, but I like a good show and spending time with my friends, so I went with my camera.  The opening band was Buscabulla.  A great band based in Brooklyn who combines electronic and indie music with their Peurto Rican roots . Very danceable music, very groovy.  I snapped a few pictures and when I got home I sent them some of my favorites.  They were thrilled and shared some online as well.  About a week later they contacted me asking to send another shot their way so it could be used in a Village Voice article about them.  Only a month in to freelance and I had a prominent website/paper/news outlet wanting my images.  It was only up for a day as it was replaced with a video about them, but I took a screenshot of my picture on the site, credited @SD Conrad, and I gleamed with joy.

Regular Clients

Finding regular clients is more difficult than you might imagine.  Every time I left a shoot I'd think "welp, that was the last time I'll see these people."  But there are few clients I have now that I know will regularly email asking about my availability.  Being hard on myself, I thought maybe they were just using me because I was the only photographer they knew.  But then I'd learn they actually HAD other photographers come by before me and decided to continue returning to me.  I even have other photographers contacting me from time to time to either be camera 2 or act as their camera 1 on a shoot they can't attend.  Obviously I wish the clients were more abundant, but I am happy with the clients I have and I am proud to know they are happy with me.

Professional Soccer

In 2015 I went to a few NYCFC games courtesy of my friend Tim Whitney.  While watching these games I wondered how does one get down on the field to photograph?  I decided to make it my mission to one day get on the pro field.  I didn't know how I would do it, but I was determined to do it.  I tried emailing blogs and websites related to covering NYCFC.  Press credential applications were closed, so it was doubtful I'd get on the field for that season.  Just by chance, I saw an ad listing looking for a photographer to cover amateur soccer.  I jumped at the chance and shared with them some  pictures I had taken from the stands of an NYCFC game.  They were excited about the idea but were unsure if having a photographer for the league was a possibility just yet, they were testing the waters.  I went and shot a game anyway and they were excited with the results.  A year later and I'm still shooting for them.  Within that year, I started showing my shots from amateur games to more blogs and websites and eventually one took me in to work as a photographer.  I had expressed interest in covering NYCFC and they were happy to get me my credentials to get down on the field.  I haven't been able to shoot every home game, but I have shot a few, including one this weekend when LA Galaxy comes to town.  I'm surprised and proud that I had set out on a goal and achieved it in under a year.  I have my friends at Gotham Soccer League to thank for that.  Without the opportunity to build my portfolio through them, I doubt I'd have the ability to walk on the professional pitch.

Full Time Job

It's true, I no longer rely on strictly freelance work to pay my bills.  A few months ago I started photographing jewelry full time for a company in Koreatown, Manhattan.  It's funny, the two things I shoot most often require completely different skills.  The jump from jewelry to soccer is pretty drastic, but I make it work.  I'm still stunned I get paid to photograph every day.  It's something I never thought would happen, yet here I am, on my lunch break at work, updating my blog.

Shooting for Me

I always thought of myself as a man with a tool.  You don't see a mechanic walking around wrenching things, so you wouldn't see me walking around photographing things.  Tell me what needs to be shot and I'll shoot it.  As I learned different techniques with shooting and editing I wanted to put those things to practice.  Instead of waiting for my next gig to experiment, I tried things out on my own.  I'd go for a walk and just start shooting, seeing what I ended up with.  I've found myself photographing a lot of urban wildlife and having a great time with it.  I was never a huge fan of shooting landscapes, but here I am planning on visiting a friend in Connecticut where we're going to drive to interesting locations and seeing what we come up with.  I don't know why I didn't put this way of thinking to practice sooner, my portfolio would be more robust had I been shooting like this for years.

This and more all within 1 year of doing photography full time.  I'm excited to see what the rest of this year has in store for me.  I hope if you're reading this you are inspired to do what you love.  I probably wouldn't recommend doing freelance full time, but you should put yourself out there.  Post on instagram, write a blog, share short stories, whatever it is you do.  Be proud of yourself, be proud of your work.  Reflect on your failures, build on your success.  

Maybe one day I'll share my low lights, but for now, I'm allowing myself to be proud.