I can't believe I'm just getting around to sharing these. One of my favorite memories of photographing commercial properties around Boston was in the spring of 2021, perched high above in a tiny little glass and metal box with a propeller. I was out on assignment for Boston Urban, getting some sites shot for them. The sun couldn't have cooperated any better. I wish I had more time up there. Yes, the door was removed, and I sat there buckled in with two cameras hanging from my neck. And for one brief and heart-stopping moment, I noticed that one of the cameras had unbuckled my seatbelt. I fixed that real quick.
As my decade as a self-employed photographer comes to a close, and I head out to pursue new roads, I'd be remiss without mentioning that my dad - the man who inspired me to pursue my passions and take a chance on myself - was a naval photographer during Vietnam, based out of Oahu. I grew up with stories of him hanging out of helicopters and from the bellies of planes photographing from the sky. Every once in a while, life does come full circle. And, sometimes, just in time.
It's been a longtime goal of mine to pursue a Master's degree, and it took the global pandemic of 2020/2021 (and ongoing) to give me the push in the right direction.
At the end of the year, to help your clients, send them a nice note letting them know if they are required to report any payments they made by check to you, totaling over $600 for the year. If it's a mixed bag of check and credit card transactions, do the math for them and be nice about it. Let them know that they are not to report all of the credit card transactions they made on a 1099-NEC. If they tell you, "We have to report it," now would be an excellent time to educate them a bit more. Inform them about the hassle this will cause and the costs you might incur to remedy this with the IRS later.
"It became clear that the nature of the site, it's location, the backdrop of the meadow and surrounding woods, kept pushing towards the image of a farmhouse." - Luis Lobao, Applied Form and Space
#Quarantinography was a working title for this post. I wasn't sure how to approach this next post during these abnormal times. Nor did I know just how eerie this photoshoot, on a Friday at rush hour in Boston, was going to feel. With everyone bravely adhering to the #stayhome order, I knew it would be quieter than usual. But, prepared with my PPE, I was ready for anything.
I would like to take you behind the scenes of an exciting shoot from late last year. I'll go over my approach from planning the shoot, the technique behind making the images, and through the final stage of image delivery.
By design, operating as a freelance photographer means running a small business. Though there are many places for photographers to learn their craft, there are far fewer places to learn the business side of their venture. Focusing solely on their craft, a photographer may miscalculate how valuable their images are and miss out on revenue; resulting in placing unnecessary strain on their businesses. Supporting the sharing of information can only improve photographer-client relationships and strengthen business strategies that sustain viable revenue streams and support all of us in the business of commercial photography.
The beginning of 2020 started off with a bang. I spent the first half of January planning photoshoots and rolled into February with eight completed before Valentine's Day. And then… red light.