Every year I get asked for help from people who are seeking to gain experience within the industry. Almost everyone makes the same mistakes. The thing is, there’s a better way of approaching this that you may not have thought of, and some pitfalls which may have escaped you. I’d like to outline some basics below, and hopefully they’ll help some of you in the future.
DO NOT DO IT THIS WAY:
Don’t be entirely self interested. If you reach out to someone you don’t know, you simply can’t ask them for a huge favour. Try putting yourself in their shoes. (more on this later)
Don’t copy and paste. It is immediately obvious when someone is just copy and pasting an email to you that they’ve sent to 100 other people. You should absolutely ask more than 1 person, and even 100 is fine, but what and how you write to someone is very important. You need to write directly to that person. (more on this later)
Don’t get annoyed. If someone can’t offer you the experience you wish for, don’t send them a bad tempered reply or lose your cool. Whether you’re starting from the bottom or are several years down the line, hard work alone isn’t enough, so you should adapt yourself to the process of hard work as early as possible.
Instead, try this:
Instead of writing to someone asking for experience, offer something they might find valuable. Consider this; photographers are business owners, they’re busy people and their time is very valuable to them, as is their reputation. It is a risk to offer to tutor and educate someone without much or any experience, let alone in front of important clients. So WHY should they take this risk?
It’s an important question, because this is what most photographers will be fearing.
So what can you offer that they’ll find valuable? So this is when you need to put yourself in their shoes. Consider some of the things which can make life more difficult for them, and how you may be able to help this. Think about this. Brainstorm your own ideas. Yes, literally pick up a pen and write them down. Do it now.
So already, you’re approaching someone and offering to help them, and with something they’ll actually find valuable. It’s a start.
The next part is to go someway to alleviate their fear of risk by demonstrating skill and character. You do this by offering your portfolio and testimonials which show the work you’re able to produce.
To be clear, the photographer isn’t going to want to use your work in a shooting situation (this is very unlikely), but a portfolio will demonstrate your areas of interest, the level you’re working on, and what direction you may wish to go in.
Character can be seen in any testimonials you have and how you actually write to the individual or company. This is where it’s logical to write professionally and sincerely to the person you’re contacting – not just copy and pasting a blah statement about everything you want them to do for you.
I don’t recall having really long emails asking for experience, but it is worth noting that this is naturally not a good idea. Creative professionals have a lot of admin and organisation to do for their actual clients, the last thing they want to do is read an email the size of a short story.
Don’t have a portfolio or testimonials?
“But I don’t have either of the things I need to demonstrate skill and character?” That’s fair enough, we all start somewhere. If you’re here, start building a portfolio now. It may sound obvious, but there isn’t anything stopping you. If you can’t get experience in the *exact* area of interest, make your own projects which demonstrate a similar skill set. The options are honestly endless. If you wish to photograph private events, but don’t have the portfolio – try attending several public events and creating a series. Or if you wish to photograph fashion, just find friends or family and work on your posing and direction. Be creative – this is what you’re passionate about.
A conversation can go a long way. If you don’t have much of a portfolio, sincerity can go a long way. Offer to buy someone lunch or coffee for a quick chat. Guidance from someone with the experience can be incredibly valuable in taking the right steps forwards.
Don’t be scared of approaching people outside of your area of interest either. If you want to be a photographer – they’re creative service providers, business owners. Think alike.
I’m not going to tell you exactly what to write.
I’ve had a LOT of emails from people over the past few years about this, so these collected thoughts should be useful to those seeking advice. But if you’re just looking for a template to follow, sorry, that is not the point of this post and is part of the problem as to why you may not be getting replies, or the ones you want.
Don’t forget your manners.
Whether someone can directly, indirectly, or not help you at all – you should always thank them. Don’t be surprised if not everyone is able to take “such a risk”, but you should always be thankful for someone offering their advice or guidance.
Find this post useful? Let me know if you do. And share it. Share it now!
