Advice to Photography Graduates
I got asked the other day what advice I would give a new photographer who'd just left uni, and I thought that was such a great question. To be honest, it applies to anyone just getting started as a professional photographer - whether you went to uni or not. But here are a few things that I'd tell you:
It's Possible: I think the rhetoric around photography these days is so doom and gloom. “There's too much competition." “It'll only work out if you know people.” “You can't make enough money to survive.” “The industry is f***ed." But honestly, it doesn't have to be any of those things. You can absolutely make it as a successful fashion photographer, you just need to be prepared to work hard.
Master your camera and lighting skills: If you don't already feel like your camera is an extension of your body, you need to keep shooting until it feels like it is. You don't want to be stopping and thinking about settings mid shoot. Same with lighting - master using basic flash set ups, and how to manipulate natural light as much as you can. You'll be leagues ahead of most other people, and be ready to jump into lots of great jobs that can get you career started.
Network, network, network: Get on LinkedIn, and start to connect with people in the industry. You need to get yourself known, and speaking to people! Email people with your portfolio. Offer to assist other photographers. Test with up and coming stylists, make up artists, and hair stylists. The more people know your name, the more you're going to get recommended for work, the better off you'll be.
Be patient: I know this sucks to hear, but a career in fashion photography rarely happens overnight. You need to network, shoot, work hard, email loads of people, and be prepared to not hear back for months, maybe even years. Don't leave uni expecting to walk straight into shooting for Chanel or Burberry. It's quite unlikely to happen, but it can happen if you keep at it.
Assist if you can, but don't worry if you can't: If I had left Cornwall and moved up to London after uni (like most of my classmates did) I would definitely have gone into assisting. It's such a great way to learn, network and understand how the industry works. However, I didn't assist, and you can absolutely get ahead without assisting. You just need to work hard to learn about the industry in other ways, test more regularly, and study photography consistently.
