If I say every assignment of mine as been as smooth as a butter on bread, I am clearly lying to you all. If I say every client treated me professionally I am not honest. If I say I didn't learn and grow from the experiences I am definitely bluffing. As a freelancer in the early days of my career, I did the mistakes which come from an anxious mind, untrained attitude and the inability to trust people.
To inject it is still a little difficult to trust people but I have no choice than to calm the f**k down myself and let the flow take it along its pace.
I am here to share a few things which I did in my early days and I am sure many out there did the same and in fact, must be in the phase currently. There is no right or wrong way to go about freelancing and but there are few things I feel are basic and I wished someone would have helped me understand things better.
Communication:
Early days comes with an ego and an urge to specialize over things and one goes downhill from there, every time a client calls and if it doesn't fall your genre if you tend to say "No", you are potentially losing an opportunity to have something for yourself. Just because you feel you are good at something it doesn't mean you have to restrict yourself to that arena. Say yes to every opportunity and find a way to make it happen and when to say No, read along to know about it.
Be curious to know what the client is looking for and be humble to hear what they want from you and be patient to do things again and again.
The entire urge to bombard and get the best and do the best comes along the time so let yourself be in a learning curve as long as possible.
TRUST:
The urge to jump into a project and not keeping things over mail and often clients feel skeptical to keep it over mail led many to feel anxious about many things and up above remained the fact if they will pay one on time as per the telephonic conversation. The anxiety grows and the urge to ask for money is embarrassing, it is if one ask at the wrong time.
Many even do a mistake of not keeping the terms clear and let the client have a zone where they ask for more than agreed and with no written confirmation one gets handcuffed to do the job, that's the con of being early in the career.
Keep the information and terms and conditions as much as possible over the mail, an absence of response keeps the client in question, not you.
ANXIETY:
The overwhelming feeling of many things does rupture a lot many elements than you can imagine. Your subconscious mind has things to say and you are bound to hear to it and believe it than anyone else and there is absolutely no harm. One thing to learn along the way is anxiety is just going to degrade your image for future prospect so practice the art of being calm. F**k the calm out of yourself!
Instilling the art of meditating and building focus in your day to day work is the best thing you can gift to yourself.
CHAOS:
Creativity takes birth in chaos, a chaotic mind wanders enough to let you see things which others don't see and this is something you should not get rid of but learn to cage it enough for it to not overwhelm you when you don't want or need. Early days look like everything needs to be perfect and perfection is an enemy not a cure and frankly let the chaos be there in you in some way which helps you to bring the best out of you.
There is a clear difference between chaos and panic, the feeling of everything going out of hand to do happen in the early days but there is no cure than to breathe in and breath out and simply take things slow.
Potential Red Flags:
When the client doesnt agree to come over mail. They tend to keep everything over a telephonic conversation.
There is no clarity about the job description in terms of quality and quantity expectations and keeping the assignment as an open experiment.
Raising questions to every terms and condition you have kept to work along.
Asking too many options for one potential assignment on the job floor.
A habit of bargaining for everything even after confirmation.
One of my personal experience dates back to 2014 and one of my initial commercial assignment where the client bargained and came to a mutual price, argued my choice of having my assistant and then later agreeing to it, Eventually flying me down and I was little taken aback with the fact of doing more than asked for and hanging me with my advance untill and unless I had to shamelessly ask for it in the middle of the work floor (don't do it). My chaotic mind led me to miss a piece of equipment back in the hotel which pushed the shoot time and I was guilty enough. I realized they pushed the agreement on the day one and I dropped a mail to state my position to do a certain aspect of the job and not been able to do other (always keep things over mail). Well eventually things went well and I ended up doing the job at my best.
Hii, I am shovona, a freelance commercial photographer who resides in the economic hub of India, Mumbai. As an artist, I undergo the above almost every day and I am here to support others to let them feel cool about anything happening in life.
Feel free to contact me for any portrait, corporate, food, product photography related queries or just drop a hi! at
