Is your work visible? Are you already working with private clients? Commercial clients? Are you gaining experience with the type of productions you want to get hired for? Do you already have or are you building a network of working professionals in your field? Do you have a structured outreach routine? How much time do you have to invest in your business and where is most of your time focused currently? Is the style and messaging of your work recognizable / marketable? How are you as an individual presenting in terms of being a working professional? What have you tried in the past that has not worked for you?

Why is this important?
The status quo of where you stand is the best starting off point to work towards change. We get so hung up on the next thing we need to do that we miss the larger picture of where we are at. We can only make decisions that change our reality in the present. Only a professional that knows how to assess their current situation will have a clear enough self understanding to control their future path in their career.

The number one thing that has led me to every success I have experienced in my career was a clear vision of what I want. A lot of artists feel like there is a right or wrong way to be successful in photography. We look to other working professionals and think we need to do things exactly like they are but have no idea and no insight into what it is others are doing or how they got to where they are. What’s more important is to ask yourself the right questions of what you want and if you don’t know, seek out the RIGHT opportunities that will allow you to figure it out.

• What are opportunities that you are still missing or that you are curious to explore?

• What kind of work environment do you want to work in? Do you work with a crew? An agent? Alone? On the go? In your own studio?

• What are some signs that you are where you want to be with your work to look out for in the future? Are you doing a solo exhibition? Is your work in Vogue? Are you being interviewed about your work in magazines or podcasts? Is your photo book available in art stores?

• Do you have an amazing network of followers on social media that support and interact with your work?

• Who are you benefitting with your work? What is the bigger WHY behind you creating your work? What is the cost if your work will not be seen and recognized by people.

• Do you have a clear vision of where you would like to be in 1 year/ 3 years/ 10 years?

Why is this important?

Getting crystal clear about where you are going lays the foundation to powerful action steps. It also sets the right mindset it takes to overcome hurdles along the way and think outside the box. Being emotionally aligned with our goals is the source of the energy required to make it a reality. Aka this is the emotional and visionary blueprint to your dreams.

Explore how visibility can define the course of your career. Whether it’s being seen by the right people that will hire you for campaigns or having your work viewed on large scale platforms, visibility can be the key to your goals. Visibility can also be something we subconsciously shy away from. We recoil due to the fear of judgment or scrutiny. In this module we explore the depth of what visibility can include and how this can look for you. Some of this work is internally where we explore the fears and inhibitions surrounding our own visibility, whereas some work is tactical strategic approaches to growing our visibility.

Why is this important?
Visibility can be the key to attracting the experiences and opportunities we seek. Being unaware of underlying inhibitions about our own visibility can keep us small, unheard and unseen for years while our work has been ready to be viewed and received on a much larger platform than it is. If we are not seen, we are cut off from everything.

How to establish a business enhancing ecosystem on social media, rekindle the fun and joy in using social media, make your account unique, attract not just more followers but the right kind of followers, prevent social media burnout, deal with comparison

Why is this important?

Social media is one of the greatest tools to take control over your own image, to make your voice heard and to engage in the conversations we seek. It can be an amazing marketing resource and put us in the driver's seat of our own business. Without the right balance, however, we miss out on an endless network of resources and opportunities.

How to make initial contact, how to get noticed in a sea of emails, initiate calls, powerful follow ups, direct outreaches, asking for referrals

Why is this important?

Knowing how to effectively approach people and communicate our goals is one of the directest ways to go after our goals. Knowing how to connect with individuals at brands, companies and platforms we are interested in is extremely gratifying. It builds lasting working relationships and puts our foot in the door with the people we want to work with.

How to show up in creative calls, what questions you should be asking, how to write an estimate, rate negotiations, usage rights.

Why is this important?

A lot of artists are hesitant to approach the brands and companies they want to work for because they fear they are not ready or qualified to handle a large scale production. Knowing what to expect sets the right attitude to show up powerful, confident and unafraid. Working with brands is the most lucrative work and an exciting adventure for artists that should not be intimidating.

How to put together a crew, your role on set, leading a team, pleasing the client, post-production, how to keep brands coming back. Do you understand the nature of the other working individuals within your industry and your positioning amongst them?

Why is this important?

We hold a lot of power and control on commercial sets. We are responsible for a crew, leading a team and presenting our services in the best light to the client. A well structured production approach is key to a high quality result and getting hired again by the same company. It also comes with the responsibility towards the people reliant on you like the model and your assistants. Knowing how to execute your role is key to the whole production.

Accounting, spreadsheets, invoices, being a whole company and one single person all at once, are you talking to a stranger in your emails? Basically, the things that frighten all of us ;)

Why is this important?

This is our day to day operation. It is also where a lot of freelance artists experience the most stress and doubt. Having a well functioning structure of how you operate your business is the backbone of everything you do. Being organized and efficient can make running your business more streamlined and enjoyable. Office work does NOT have to be torture. It also sets you up to being able to easily outsource certain operations to assistants or office managers down the line.

From what should and shouldn’t go on your website to narrowing down a recognizable style and building a truly unique and powerful portfolio.

Why is this important?

Having a removed perspective to critically look and assess your work helps you make conceptualized decisions when creating and curating your art. It is your visual language that makes you recognizable and makes clients pick you over others.

Protect your creativity and enjoyment of creating art at all costs. Find that sweet spot between productivity and goal orientated business actions and a free and light approach when it comes to actually making your art. Preserve a playfulness in your creative approach and learn to handle stress, high expectations and perfectionism.

Why is this important?

Most of us artists will never retire from our passions. The goal is to find a sustainable balance that allows us to never lose the most precious thing about our careers: The Joy. Choosing to go through all the hurdles of being a freelancer should grant us to ultimately wreak the rewards which is that we spend our lives doing what we love. Our creativity needs to be protected and supported at all costs.