What I Would Tell My Third Year Self with Denisa Ilie
Unfortunately I missed the guest lecture with Denisa and Joe but Im glad I managed to make it to the afternoon session with Denisa.
Denisa said that it is ok to be stressed. We are always told this as students but it does get incredibly stressful towards deadlines. Now is the time to make mistakes and learn from them. I have definitely made my fair few mistakes, from shooting in JPEG up until year 2 and having poor time management. However I have also learnt from these mistakes, sort of, over the course of the last year and a half.
Motivation is certainly key if you want to make work. That's why it's important to make the work you want and have interest in. I've found that my motivation has definitely improved over the last two years as I'm starting to see light on what I enjoy photographing. I felt I used to produce work just because everyone else was doing it but I soon discovered that I'd rather do something different than what everyone else is already doing.
To get things done you have to make sacrifices.
Denisa is based in the Ideas Factory. She shares an office space which she finds motivating when usually she would work from her bed at home. I find I am more productive when I come into university to work because I have no distractions. She recommended we do this because it helped her a lot. She was able to talk to people about the work and the teachers are available.
Her work is pretty much studio based however there was a point where she was forcing herself to try new things and find out whether she could make better practice outside the studio but she new she loved the studio and stuck to it. She did say that if it's relevant to our practice that we should push ourselves to try new things.
Next she spoke about pricing... how do you price yourself? Clients will often try to get something for nothing therefore don't let them price you down more than you think you deserve. You have to think about what expenses you have to cover, i.e. bills, camera equipment, travelling etc. It all comes into cost. Insurance is also important to consider if working for yourself incase anything happens during the job. Equipment insurance, public liability etc. Also when quoting you need to add in your travel arrangements, time to set up the equipment, time to charge the equipment because that is when your job begins, NOT when you start shooting. A shoot could take no more than 10 minutes if it's just a simple head shot for business you charge by the effort you have put in to take this shot.
Just because you are working for clients doesn't mean your personal work should stop. Denisa said if anything your paid work comes from your personal work because that is what gets the attention of others. You should always take paid work/commissions even if the style is not for you as long as you're getting paid.
Denisa said that it is ok to be stressed. We are always told this as students but it does get incredibly stressful towards deadlines. Now is the time to make mistakes and learn from them. I have definitely made my fair few mistakes, from shooting in JPEG up until year 2 and having poor time management. However I have also learnt from these mistakes, sort of, over the course of the last year and a half.
Motivation is certainly key if you want to make work. That's why it's important to make the work you want and have interest in. I've found that my motivation has definitely improved over the last two years as I'm starting to see light on what I enjoy photographing. I felt I used to produce work just because everyone else was doing it but I soon discovered that I'd rather do something different than what everyone else is already doing.
To get things done you have to make sacrifices.
Denisa is based in the Ideas Factory. She shares an office space which she finds motivating when usually she would work from her bed at home. I find I am more productive when I come into university to work because I have no distractions. She recommended we do this because it helped her a lot. She was able to talk to people about the work and the teachers are available.
Her work is pretty much studio based however there was a point where she was forcing herself to try new things and find out whether she could make better practice outside the studio but she new she loved the studio and stuck to it. She did say that if it's relevant to our practice that we should push ourselves to try new things.
Next she spoke about pricing... how do you price yourself? Clients will often try to get something for nothing therefore don't let them price you down more than you think you deserve. You have to think about what expenses you have to cover, i.e. bills, camera equipment, travelling etc. It all comes into cost. Insurance is also important to consider if working for yourself incase anything happens during the job. Equipment insurance, public liability etc. Also when quoting you need to add in your travel arrangements, time to set up the equipment, time to charge the equipment because that is when your job begins, NOT when you start shooting. A shoot could take no more than 10 minutes if it's just a simple head shot for business you charge by the effort you have put in to take this shot.
Just because you are working for clients doesn't mean your personal work should stop. Denisa said if anything your paid work comes from your personal work because that is what gets the attention of others. You should always take paid work/commissions even if the style is not for you as long as you're getting paid.
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