One of the greatest fantasies of an artist is to make money doing the thing we love.

It subconsciously pervades the heads of many photographers, musicians, digital artists, you name it.

We think: “Well I already do this for free, wouldn’t it be awesome if someone paid me to do it?”

It’d be fun doing something we enjoy and make a little money on the side, which could potentially get us away from this other soul sucking job we hate.

Right?

Well, think again.

Today, I’m gonna share with you the unfortunate and disappointing reality of freelance photography.

This is based on my experience in my time working as a photographer.

And I hope it can give you some insight or relatability about this whole thing no one talks about.

Let’s get into it.

My Experience

A few years ago, I began my journey as a freelance photographer.

I was already making YouTube videos on this channel and had a part time job, but I wanted to do more “important” creative stuff.

I was tired of the monotony of menial labor, biding my time waiting for shifts to end.

And although the jobs I had before were objectively easy, they weren’t meaningful or fulfilling, and I wanted something that felt more worth my time, even if it was hard.

So, the obvious next step was to freelance.

If you don’t know what freelance means, it just means “work for hire”.

Meaning someone pays you and you do something for them but you’re not under any sort of salary or W-2 type thing.

Many people or corporations will hire out freelancers to help build and finish their projects.

It works for both parties, because you don’t have to hire someone full time while independent artists can stay independent.

Musicians will do this to help finish songs or an album, or even play at a wedding.

Artists will do this by commission: either to help finish a project or by making custom artwork for someone.

And photographers will usually take photos for people at family events, gatherings, birthdays, and weddings.

Usually you’ll begin freelancing through friends and family members that reach out.

As a creative, it could be a great way to make money, get experience, and build out your portfolio.

So, I began as a video editor because I had experience making YouTube videos.

Then, I gradually moved into portrait shoots, engagements, and every now and then, weddings.

And I will say, I was lucky.

I didn’t fully get caught up in the freelance life.

Rather, I kept my YouTube channel as a priority and only did gigs occasionally.

This gave me enough of a taste of how this life could be if I went deeper into it.

It was enough for me to know that I did not enjoy it that much and did not want to do it full time.

Let’s talk about the many things I learned in my time freelancing.

Photography for Others

What many people misunderstand about freelancing is that photography for others and photography for yourself is not the same thing.

I want to drive this home because although it sounds obvious, it makes a big difference.

When you’re photographing for other people, you are not doing the photography you love and enjoy.

Rather, you are a just another guy holding a camera.

And the creative direction and photos you’re taking are up to the person that’s paying you.

Yes you have some say, but overall you’re here to make these people look good.

Much of it is fulfilling the needs and visions of your clients, because they’re paying you, and you want to make them happy.

And if you’re okay with that and enjoy helping, then that’s okay.

But don’t get it twisted.

Just because you’re holding a camera does not mean it’ll be fun.

And you might start freelancing only to realize:

“This is not what I thought it was gonna be at all.”

$ Changes Things

One of the greatest lessons I learned from freelancing is that money really does change everything.

Everything has a price tag - even the money you’re promised at the end of a gig.

It determines the type of clients you get - whether they’re easy to work with or not.

It determines the expectations of your photos - how good of a job you’re expected to do.

It determines what kind of service you provide - the more someone is willing to pay, the more they expect to get.

A lot of people think it’d be great to book an expensive gig.

But if you’re not careful, you can easily take on jobs that pay well but are way more trouble than they’re worth.

If someone’s giving you a thousand dollars for this shoot, you have to do a good job.

It’s no longer loose and pressure free.

Good photos are not just expected, they’re required.

Plus there are plenty of unspoken add-ons like:

constant communication
reassuring your clients
location scouting
hoping the weather is good so you don’t have to reschedule
etc

These will almost always add up in time and effort in some way.

Such that what you once thought was a “good deal” or “easy money” ends up evening out.

The lesson being: the more money someone’s giving you, the more unspoken things you’re expected to do.

If you’re not built for the hustle, it can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Context Changes Enjoyment

How much we enjoy something depends heavily on the context of that thing.

When we have a hobby, we’re usually doing it on our own time.

There’s no pressure or expectations - we’re relaxed.

But when we turn it into “work”, that could be enough to make us not like it.

You see, I like and enjoy street and travel photography.

Usually that looks like me going on walks during sunset or being out in a different country exploring and taking pictures of what I see.

That’s fun.

But that’s completely different from the experience of a wedding or freelance gig.

You see, if you freelance long enough you learn that the big bucks are in wedding photography.

Little gigs here and there will make you some money, but weddings can pay really really well.

And then you’ll think about weddings and be like, “Oh yeah, weddings are fun. It’s just a fancy party where everyone’s drinking and dancing. I could do that.”

And then you quickly realize that everyone else is drinking and dancing.

You’re on the clock.

And weddings are way more fun if you’re a guest, at least in my experience.

So although I like weddings, I like it in that specific context where I’m having fun.

And although I like photography, I like it in that specific context of street and travel.

Changing this context can completely alter whether you like it or not.

Keep that in mind.

Freelancing is a means to an end.

Meaning it’s an in-between job to make ends meet, not a full time thing and not something you do forever.

At least that’s how I view it.

Eventually you’re supposed to transition or move into the bigger job you want to do long term.

Many people get caught up in the hustle of photography gigs and it takes them down a path they didn’t mean to go down.

They get one gig, do a good job, then get another gig, and so on.

And they can forget to transition out of freelancing into something more.

And sure, some people want that.

They enjoy freelancing and that is their full time.

But most people I think would struggle with doing that forever.

It’s hard to never have stable work, always worried about where the next dollar is coming from, and hustling to make ends meet.

So if you’re thinking about freelancing, be careful.

You can stick with it if you really like it.

But I’d recommend to have an exit.

Find something bigger and more long term that coincides with the career goals and lifestyle that you’re aiming for.

If you’re not careful, you can ruin photography for yourself.

Freelance photography isn’t for everyone.

Some people love it, some people don’t have a choice and do it to pay the bills, others hate it.

I’m part of the group that understands now what photography I enjoy.

And if the photography I do isn’t within that range or spectrum, I probably wont take the job.

Because the more I do a version of photography I don’t like, the less I want to do my own photography.

Which, if you’re not careful, you can ruin photography for yourself.

You’ve just spent all this time taking and editing photos for other people.

Will you really have the motivation to work on your own stuff?

This feeling only increases as time passes.

Day by day you’ll stop working on your own projects, stop doing the photography you enjoyed, and soon lose sight of the photography you once loved.

Because let’s remember:

Although freelance photography is photography, it IS work.

And turning your hobby into a job can be a quick way to ruin it for yourself.

Which is why many people prefer to keep their work and hobbies separate.

You might be one of them.

There Are No Solutions

As I reflect on my time freelancing, this phrase comes to mind:

There are no solutions, only tradeoffs.

We often think of how fixing our problems will make everything better.

But we never think about how everything has problems and upgrading, changing, or fixing this thing will present a new problem of it’s own.

The same thing applies for freelance work.

Doing something you enjoy for work can fix the problem of doing this other job you hate over there.

But it also comes with many problems of its own, some of which we mentioned earlier, that you simply didn’t expect.

So it’s not all upside - there are plenty of downsides as well.

And the trade-off might not be worth it for you.

Ruining the photography you love might not be worth the extra few hundred dollars you make.

The better we get at understanding this, the more we can orient ourselves to picking solutions with the trade-offs we prefer.

The people who do gigs full time probably enjoy it or are wired for it.

And these “problems” aren’t actually problems for them.

For me, that wasn’t the case.

I’m way more suited to the problems and lifestyle I have making YouTube content, thinking and developing ideas, and creating my own personal photography projects.

Therefore, I’ll go in that direction.

But my job could easily sound like torture for someone else.

Make sense?

If you’re concerned about which path is right for you, understand every path has problems of its own.

Your job is not to find the path without problems.

It’s to find the path with the problems that are either tolerable enough or ones you actually enjoy.

So after all’s said and done, what is the disappointing reality of freelance photography?

First, photography for others and photography for yourself is not the same thing.

Most of the times, you’re just a guy (or girl) holding a camera.

Second, money changes things.

It’ll change the people you work with, the expectations of you, and how much you have to do.

And many times, the price isn’t worth it.

Third, context changes enjoyment.

Being a guest at a wedding is fun.

Working at a wedding ain’t as much fun.

Fourth, freelancing is a means to an end.

Don’t get caught up in the hustle and get stuck (unless you want to, of course).

Five, be careful not to ruin photography for yourself.

You just got done taking and editing photos.

Do you really think you wanna do more?

And finally, sixth: there are no solutions, only trade-offs.

No job is perfect, even your dream job.

So don’t look for a job without problems, find the one that is right for you.

If you’re still on the cusp of whether or not you should freelance, I’d say try it.

The easiest way to learn if you like or dislike something is to try it.

It could just be something you enjoy doing every now and then or you may actually really like it.

I personally choose to leave that door open, and pick up a gig every now and then.

I just know I couldn’t and don’t want to do it forever.

So I hope this was helpful or entertaining in some way.

If you want to learn more, go to Photography Essentials, it’s free.

If you want to help support me, there’s a travel fund on my website somewhere, or you can grab a copy of my zine “The Sinking Sun”.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day.