The future is a scary thing, by far! Money is a scary thing, massively! However, if you research into a load of different things, it can really help you find out what you really want to do in life. I’m really unsure at the moment, all I know is that I want to do my education to the best of my ability, then go off on an adventure around the world. So funding this is going to be hard, I will be working part-time whilst at uni, as well as working with clients to expand my money chances and get myself known within companies. I’m currently working with an architectural company to produce headshots, office and group shots. Portraiture is something that I do so I like to think that is why my lecturer personally picked me out of the rest of the class. I also think that my professionalism is excellent when it comes to working with people, you can be fun but be in business mode all at the same time. There are really good ways to get funding such as crowdfunding, fundraising events, and things like these can bring in a lot of money where it’s needed most. My funding will be coming from mainly my job, but also clients I work with, doing small photoshoots with friends for £20 an hour can shortly start bringing in the cash when it’s needed most. Just make sure you don’t slack off on the work you need to do like prints or digital files and focusing too much on the money coming in. Make sure you deliver on the things you said you would!
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So I did an interview for my module today, and I think it went well to be honest. I wasn’t terrified and I think I was pretty confident in the whole thing which is a good thing. I answered their questions, if I wasn’t sure I’d ask them to repeat it or I’d just say I can’t think right now, which was fine and I knew that when I got put on the spot, I was bound to freeze a little. I think if I could do it again, I would go through the possible questions they were going to ask me, I went through them briefly beforehand but not enough for me to be prepared. So preparation was key and I lacked a little on that one. In terms of clothing and what to wear, I really thought about my job role and what I would be doing, was it practical, was it just sitting at a desk, would I be meeting clients, how often would I be getting up and down. Little things like this can actually help you because you want something practical for the role, fitted to you but not suffocating your body as well as not too loose, what shoes could I wear that weren’t going to hurt my feet, something that showed I was ready for that kind of situation and if they put me in that environment right there and then, my clothing would work and wouldn’t cause any difficulties or distractions. They also talked to us about STAR, which is a process where you talk about a Situation, the Task you were set, the Action you took to complete it, and the Results from it. This was a good idea when trying to explain a scenario I went through when they asked about previous experience.
My job research is a big part of my future, and right now, I’m not really sure as to what I wanna do in terms of a job. I just know that I want to travel, but anything after that; I have no idea. I’m currently working at VUE Cinema in Carlisle while I study to earn some extra cash. Student loan doesn’t exactly cover everything you want/need, and if you have an overdraft, it’s game over for everything. I highly recommend getting a small part-time job whilst you’re studying, it helps massively! However, make sure you get a job AFTER you know your timetable! Some people get a job, then find out their days at uni and try to work around it. You should always put your education first before anything, in my opinion. I’m only working 8+ hours a week, and that’s enough for me to keep me busy, whilst getting some good money, and leaving me enough time to get my uni work completed and submitted with at least a few days spare for any adjustments. I think that after travelling the world, exploring different cultures, and seeing what the world has to offer; it will really help me discover what I really want to do as both a photographer and a as a career!
Since we have to do a mock interview for the module, I’ve been researching into some jobs that I’ve viewed as interesting. Some are normal jobs as either a sales assistant or waitress, others are art of an internship, and the rest are assistants to photographers. I wanted to get a wide range of jobs so I can whittle them down to something I feel is best for me at this moment in time. I need the job to be practical as well as helping me gain experience in life, and it would help if the job was well paid as I of course have bills to pay.
When it comes to promoting yourself and getting yourself out there, the best advice is to get yourself a social media page! I suggest Facebook as pretty much everyone has it, as well as that, the risk of your images being taken are lower than anywhere else because as soon as you upload your images to Facebook, the website itself reduces the amount of pixels in your image, so if anyone wants to increase the size of your image, it’ll be very pixelated and super distorted. Also, once you upload to somewhere like Instagram, the image is no longer yours, it becomes public property so anyone could take it. Once you’ve got a social platform, create a website, something cheap and easy is the best way for your first time, unless you have the skills and time to make a really intricate one, then go for it. Make sure you’re posting regularly but not every 5 seconds, people can get annoyed and bored of posts from the same people all the time, so post often but not all the time. Start limiting the amount of work you do, don’t try to do everything, narrow your work down and figure out what you specialise in, it helps! When the opportunity comes up with a client, mention that you’ve done other work, but don’t overwhelm then with different types because then they’ll struggle to find out what you really do and what your style is as a photographer. The best thing you can ever do is… WORD OF MOUTH!!! Get yourself a client with lots of connection, do great work for them that you’re both proud to be part of, and sell it. Once you give one person great work, they’ll pass it on to others and that’s how you get yourself known!
I’ve been recently writing my artist statement for my professional development and personal outcomes. I’ve created both a Personal CV and Cover Letter as well as a Professional CV and Cover Letter as I feel it gives me the best chance to succeed within the world. I can differentiate between both for the area that needs it, whilst including little things in either to show my personality and experience through both. Writing my Cover Letter is probably the hardest thing because it has to have your traits and your strengths in it, as well as your personality without making the employer bored, and keeping it professional. My artist statement needs to be professional, something I can use in the future as well as present time. It needs to have my current work as well as my photographic style. I’ve been looking at other photographer’s statements when I’ve been in exhibitions, taking inspiration from theirs and seeing if there is anything I should have, that would make it clear what I’m trying to say. It helps to take advice/inspiration from others work because it lets you see what others are doing.
I’ve been really lacking on my work load recently which it probably not the best thing to do with where my head is at right now. It’s really hard to make a schedule and actually stick to it. Like I said, I love lists and being organised; when I’m not its stresses me out and really brings my mood down. So I’ve been focusing on my website for my photographic professional practice. It’s a pretty basic website to be honest. I did have a good one, but I deleted it because I felt I needed a fresh start, a clean slate as others say. I want it to be simple and clean, make a statement towards my work and myself as a person… I’m currently on wix.com because it’s free and gives you a ton of templates to choose from. Trying to make it my own is the hard part, specific to myself. I’ve been looking at other sites and a friend has done theirs on Weebly, the only reason I want to look into it is because she doesn’t have a complicated URL, it’s her name… simple and clear. My website will have all the essentials on like project work, a portfolio to get an overall look as to what I do, a contact page, then current work I’m doing right now… as well as my blog which will gives viewers a chance to read what I say and get to know me… Kind of
We’ve had our third meeting as a group for the exhibition and we’ve established a lot. The majority of the class didn’t come to the last meeting so people were getting confused because I thought we had kind of made some big decisions as a team. Those who didn’t come were aware that they didn’t get a say as that again was a rule we made as a group. It’s annoying because it’s the same people that don’t come and then have something to say in the group chat. Anyway, I feel like I’m a natural born leader, I take the reins if no one steps up and I feel I can lead groups pretty well. I think that’s because I’ve got a big family with lots of people younger than me, so I can handle pretty much anyway at any age. That has come in handy whilst being at uni, it’s gave me the confidence to take life by the horns and to stop relying on others. You’re really only there for you and only you can make things happen for yourself that you need. My role in the exhibition is in the Fundraising group. We get to organise events and decide how to go about getting money basically. I’m also one of the three in the Organisation group. We talk to each other about the progress being made in our group and feedback to them. That’s helpful but people mainly go to the main group chat to get clarification. At least that way, it definitely a group decision. But again, I feel like I’m carrying the group for the meetings, when something is being said or suggested or decided, the person speaking always looks to me as if I’m the chairman. It’s good because then I feel like a leader, mainly because I think I’ve taken charge and structured the meetings that way. I just don’t want to waste time chatting about others things like nails or boyfriends or clubbing when that time is supposed to be spent discussing the exhibition. I guess I just like order and clarity in meetings. I feel like I’m secretly a lawyer or a judge or something.
Today is a day of being organised and doing work, like actually doing it. I’m going to be productive and start posting more. I have a sketchbook for my FMP that I’m wanting to incorporate into my work, showing the process, the research, how I did it and why, a mini journal of the experience and the progress. I want to have that at my exhibition in both Carlisle and London. Oh, and by the way, I GOT A PLACE AT FREE RANGE!! This is major, as soon as I got the email I rang my Mam and Nanna, they were so happy and proud of me! That was kind of the moment I realised that maybe I really am good at what I do and I get to showcase that to a ton of people. As for today, I figured out that I have 63+ things to do in this sketchbook to get the basics across. I’ve done 11 of those things which is basically nothing! I need to get cracking and do some stuff.
In terms of my education, I’m currently finishing my third year of uni; which I’ll then be going on to complete my MA course in September. I wanted to do my Masters because I feel like it would better me as a person as well as a photographer. I also feel like it would give me a better shot at getting a job in the industry, because it shows the employer how determined I am to succeed, and how much I want to better myself and constantly grow as a photographer. In my opinion, I think education is vital for anyone, it lets you gain confidence and knowledge and encourages you to get better at whatever it is you’re studying!
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AuthorHannam Photography Archives
April 2018
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