G - Goal
R - Reality
O - Options
W - Way Forward
Goals:
· What
are your personal goals in the short, medium & long term? My short-term
goals are to improve upon my studio photography. I have very little experience
in this area and want to improve in order to better my career options. My
medium goals are to improve my portfolio and be selective with what I include
ready for graduation. In the long
term I want to pursue a career as a practicing photographer, whether that be as
part of a studio/company or a freelancer.
· What
do you want from your studies? From my studies I want to have an extensive
knowledge of all aspects of photography, good practical skills and knowledge of
key photographers and current practitioners who influence my work. I also want
a solid portfolio showcasing my interests ready to apply for positions after
graduation.
· How
best might you achieve this? Investigate new types of photography even if they do
not interest me greatly. The key to being the best photographer I can be is
having knowledge about everything I can. Keeping up to date with current
photographers and styles will help me grow with the industry and ensure I am
always creating work for the current market.
· What
area of the industry are you aiming for and why? I’m
unsure about any specific area of photography however I’m certain becoming a
fine art photographer is of zero interest to me. Having my work exhibited in a
gallery is not a key interest of mine; I would much prefer to produce
photographs for clients on a commercial basis. Whether that is sports
photography, product photography or wedding photography.
· What skills will you need to achieve this? Good communication and confidence in order to
liaise with potential clients and a professional attitude in order to deliver
on my projects. I will also need a good body of work in order to apply for any
positions in a commercial studio, they will want to see I can deliver the type
of shots expected in their industry.
· Are you considering further education? If so
where might you wish to study & why? Further education is not something that interests me, I may
consider completing an MA in a few years time but only if I feel it will help
me advance my career or improve as a photographer. I want to get out there and
experience the industry first.
· What are your goals - in your career, in your
personal life, in your work life blend/balance? Career wise I want to work alongside people
who are passionate about photography and image making. I’ve considered free
lance work however I think it would be best to gain a few years experience as
part of a structured company in order to grow and develop as a photographer and
person. Once I have the experience of work and real world photography
experience I may consider working free lance in order to pursue areas of
photography that interest me personally such as automotive photography or
sports.
Reality:
· What have you done specifically so far to
achieve your goal? I’ve
been assisting a wedding photographer for the past 12 months and have
photographed at several weddings often taking a lead roll. I have also
completed work for a large advertising client ‘Sport5’ who work alongside the
premier league. This has been a great chance to experience the professional
world of sports photography and has only fuelled my intent to become a
successful commercial photographer. I have also created my own website in order
to host a portfolio to show potential clients and have gained both photography
and videography work through this. I’ve also undertaken photography positions
at festivals and been part of the media team for some of the biggest festivals
in the UK.
· What challenges have you met and overcome? Receiving paid work was always a daunting
challenge for me. There was a lot of pressure at the start and I questioned if
I could deliver what the client was paying me for but once I got shooting I was
confident that I was more than competent to do the job and every client so far
has been happy with my photographs. I have learnt to work to a tight deadline
in order to deliver photographs to clients in a timely manor.
· What other challenges do you expect to meet? The biggest challenge I face is creating a
portfolio that I feel shows me as a photographer. I have very varied passions,
sports, automotive, wedding, portrait and live music photography however I need
to focus my efforts on one in order to stand a good chance at having a strong
yet diverse portfolio ready to apply for graduate photography jobs.
· How far have you travelled to your goal? How
far have you yet to go? I
feel like I have come a long way in the past year or so. I’ve been very focused
on gaining experience and have put myself out there with varied degrees of
success. I’ve worked alongside professional photographers in several areas and
have gained knowledge into how the professional photography industry operates.
I feel like I need to carry on as I am in order to gain as much experience and
as many contacts as possible.
·
How
are external forces affecting progress? The biggest problem I face is not being able to apply for full
time positions such as junior photographer in a studio, because of my hours at
university. However it is also a positive because I have extra time to build up
a portfolio in order to be as ready as possible when I graduate. Another
limiting factor is money, I want to invest all I can into photography however
being a student and only working part time is very limiting. I invest what I
can and have great access to equipment through university however sometimes I’m
offered jobs I cannot undertake due to not having the correct equipment or
relevant experience in that area.
· What routes are there into the career that
you want? There are
several routes into commercial photography. I can apply for positions in
studios as part of a photography team, I can create my own work by going free
lance or I can assist practicing photographers in the hope of creating contacts
and receiving work after proving myself. The hardest part is finding the work.
· What else could you do? I can continue to photograph a few weddings a
year and build my online presence and continue to work small commercial jobs
off my own back in order to build up clients and contacts in the industry.
· Do you have a first choice option, second
choice option etc? Ideally
I want to graduate and work as a photographer 6 days a week in a structured
environment. I have to be real and focus on earning money for a few years in
order to be able to further my photography. I feel this is the best way, it
will allow me to gain real world experience.
· Who would it be useful to know to help you
find out more? Studio
managers, practicing photographers, freelancers or anyone involved in the
creative industry. Word of mouth is a great thing and talking to the right
person could land me some paid or unpaid work in a few different environments
in order to decide what area I want to pursue.
· How can my current situation/job help me? I am already earning some money from my
photography through weddings and this has led me to meet new
photographers/videographers/creative people and has opened a whole world of new
clients who would have otherwise never have came across my photography.
· How should I be promoting myself? By having a strong online presence where
possible, eg. Personal website, facebook, youtube, 500px, flickr etc.
Will/Way Forward:
· Which option would be the
fastest/easiest/preferred? Ideally
a junior photographer job in a studio on a set salary would be preferred for
the first few years after graduation.
· What might stop you? Availability of jobs locally or experience in
a certain area eg. Product photography geared towards fashion.
· When will you take action?
· Do you have an effective review process to
decide if you need to adjust your goal?
· How will you keep your progress going?
· How will you know when you have been
successful?
· What do you need to do now to move towards
your goal, e.g. Work experience, volunteering, networking, skills development,
academic studies? Build
on my portfolio by continuing to experiment with areas of commercial
photography. Assisting practicing photographers and putting myself out there to
learn and gain experience in the industry.
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