written by Michelle
Freelancing. It’s a career track that swaps freedom for turbulence, and some wouldn’t trade it for the world. If you’re considering becoming a freelancer, here’s a worthy read from Rochester Oliveira of1stwebdesigner, who has 7 years of web design freelancing under his belt.
Regardless of how much you’re actually working, it’s common for freelancers to overestimate the number in their bank account at the end of every month. Which leads us to our the next point…
Few people get rich off of billable hours alone. Working 16 hour days constantly is no way to live – it may be the very thing you were trying to avoid when you decided to freelance. A few options:
Sometimes clients do know more than you. Be open-minded and recognize when someone is giving you good advice, but block the bad advice when you can.
Any creative knows how it feels to be distracted. Oliveira defaults back to some advice an Aikido instructor once gave him when he feels the temptations of distraction.
“Your mind has to control your body. Your body will want to stay in bed for 15 more minutes, and will find all kinds of excuses to keep you away from those crazy physical exercises. But you have to control your body. You have to ignore those distractions and keep moving.”
There are people who don’t understand the hard work behind what they’ve hired you to do and will pay you accordingly. Don’t let this happen to you. Stay away from small gigs if you can, or those who think you’re just copy/pasting. Aim to work with people who want to help you and who you can help with your work.
The longer you work, the better you’ll be able to estimate how long it will take you to complete a task. Don’t make the mistake of shortcutting yourself in this department. Here are some pointers for more precise time estimation:
When you’re constantly jumping from project to project, it’s easy to let last year’s work pile up. Regularly clean out what you don’t need, whether it’s from your hard drive or your garage.
If you’re not going to revisit it, you don’t need it. It will de-clutter your life and be more useful to your current projects.
Make sure you back up the work on your computer. Just picturing the meltdown you’ll have when your computer dies at 4 a.m. the night before a project is due should invoke enough fear to make you do this today.
No matter what your trade, use the tools that are known to produce the best results and that you feel comfortable working with. A last-minute project is not the time to experiment with new gimmicks or anything that you’re unfamiliar with. That’s not to say you shouldn’t expand your skill set, just do it in your down time.
When your tools fail you, it’s good to know the root of how they work so that you can come up with a fast and effective solution. Read a book related to your trade once in a while to tune up your knowledge.
Inevitably, no matter how scrupulously you pay attention to detail, how good you are or how hard you work, something will go wrong now and then. You may lose a client or mess up someone else’s job.
Don’t panic any more than you have to. Take a moment to reflect on how this will affect your life in 1, 5, 10 years – odds are, it won’t. All things pass. It’s okay.
Through the lens
“Two third of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society, but only 1 in 4 believe they are living up to their creative potential.”
As part of the launch of Creative Suite 6, Adobe reported the results of a study it commissioned about creativity in global economies. The study, entitled State of Create, sought to discover the attitudes people have about creativity and the extent to which they feel they are able to express their creativity.
(The study is based on surveys of 5000 adults, 1000 per country in US, UK, Germany, France and Japan)
What about Canada, are we creative?
(via helloyoucreatives)
10 Laws of Productivity
To be efficient and productive you have to follow some rules. Here is a great article that break down the 10 laws of productivity that observed the Behance team, to read the complete article, click here.
1. Break the seal of hesitation.
2. Start small.
3. Protoype, prototype, prototype.
4. Create simple objectives for projects, and revisit them regularly.
5. Work on your project a little bit each day.
6. Develop a routine.
7. Break big, long-term projects into smaller chunks or “phases.”
8. Prune away superfluous meetings (and their attendees).
9. Practice saying “No.”
10. Remember that rules – even productivity rules – are made to be broken.
“To avoid ‘blue sky paralysis,’ pare your idea down to a small, immediately executable concept.”
Meet one of the retouching industry’s biggest names, and find out why she got into the field, how she got her start, and why Natalia’s work is so coveted by clients.
1. How did you start your career in photo retouching?
I started retouching by coincidence, I studied in graphic design but never thought of retouching as a career or job. While I was pregnant, 8 years ago, my overprotective family did not let me go out, I started then playing with Photoshop and loved it, I entered a few contests on the website Worth1000. When I won, the father of my child was impressed and asked me “why don’t you do that for living ?” It all started then.
2. What was the first technique you have learned?
Masking is the first thing I learned and one of the things I still recommend. I think you can do what I do just by understanding (really understanding) masking, curves, adjustment layers, channels - Healing and cloning.
3. How did you approached your clients when you were starting your career?
Email, I sent around 3000 emails worldwide and got like 2, maybe 3 answers. I kept doing that every month, till I had enough work.
4. What makes you better from other retouchers? Why clients come to you?
I don’t think clients come to me because I’m better at retouching, they come to me because I’m constantly doing things and I’ve never failed a client. Quality is much more than technique.
From my latest note
“Quality is not just about the retouching itself. It’s also about you as a service provider, and the added value of service that you provide. Some examples of added value of service include: honesty/being “real” (a commodity in today’s industry), your people skills, meeting deadlines, offering feedback and advice to your clients and perhaps most importantly, doing slightly more than is expected of you.”
5. How did you manage to keep your clients?
Efficiency.
Let me give you an example: Not long ago, we did an ad for HONDA. The original idea was to have a model on the desert and the brief was quite simple, most of it was done on set.
The quote was given and I got the images (Main image, sky and extra ground to expand the background)
The client though (HONDA) was happy with the image on the set, but then, the Ad agency proposed two different ideas (they so shouldn’t have) and the client loved them!
We need then, to change the horizon and make the image twice as big from the sides and extract the model, with shadow and light cast, to add a car later on.There was not enough sky or ground to do that .
It was a friday and I asked for extra images, and a paid stock image that I needed to complete the assignment - At this point, changing the original quote was not even mentioned - Everything needed to be run by the agency and client.
I had the choice to wait till monday for the request but I didn’t.I, instead, bought the stock myself and manipulated (hand draw) the rest. Sunday the image was ready.
On monday, when they said there wasn’t enough time because the image needed to be printed that day and everyone was freaking out, I sent the file on an external drive with all the layers, for the designer to do as he pleased without risking quality.
That’s being efficient and that separates me from other retouchers.
6. What is the work you are most proud of?
The work I did for the cover story of The Big Issue (A charity project magazine in the UK) I got to contribute with a good cause, retouch a favorite artist of mine (Fatboy Slim), photographed by the great John Wright with a great concept (turn him into a “DJ” machine bot) and I got paid for it!
Great opportunity, loved the results.
7. What is the work you spent most time on? How long did it took you?
Another Cover, for Fabulous magazine. It was a 2 foldings cover (when open) and it took me 15 hours for a full composite of 25 images.
8. What was the most expensive contract you worked on?
Honda
9. What do you charge today?
I usually quote commercial with a brief in hand. Taking amount of images, output size, clients, deadlines, budget and use into account.
Editorials, submissions and portfolio (unless specially commissioned / beauty or hair starting at $250) - $150 to $200 per image
Same with catalog - But it can vary depending on the amount of images. We work around budgets for batch work.
10.Do you suggest for beginners to start working as a self-employed, work for a retouching studio, photographers, join an agency? What are the benefits of each of them?
Working for a retouching house/agency/studio gives you the experience of working with high demanding accounts, real clients and deadlines, standards for publication and print specs that you would take twice or three times more time to get by freelancing.
The disadvantage is that you don’t usually get to work on a full project (you can do hair but not skin, masking but no color, etc) you can’t take credit for the work you produce and you don’t build your own portfolio.
An agency/studio/retouching house open to the possibility of you taking in outside work would be ideal but is not the norm (They usually have exclusive contracts)
The worse you could do is work for a local portrait (soccer moms) photographers, since you get the worst of both worlds.
11. What is the future of photo retouching according to you?
No idea, 3D is trending, but by no means I think a retoucher should learn 3D - We have a 3D artist in the studio (I’m all for specialization - jack of all trades, master of none and all that) - This holds specially true in advertising.
I think, every studio will have to become multimedia at some point. Illustration, retouching, 3G and Video.
Freelancers will be hired by these studios at some point.
12. Do you plan to launch a community for retouchers? How will it works?
I’ve decided it’s a bit more complicated than that. We tried to create an organization locally, and the general opinion of retouchers are so different from mine that It’s not even worth it.
13.What is the question you would like to be asked? What would be your answer to that question?
Why do you do retouching?
Because I can’t not do it. (So you want to be a writer? by Charles Bukowski )
14.What advice would you give to our students?
Stop complaining and start doing.
Be critical with whom you choose to learn from.
Practice daily.
Consume ART
Thank you Natalia!
Découvrez une des étoiles de l’industrie de la retouche. Pourquoi l’est-elle devenue, comment a-t-elle commencé sa carrière, pourquoi les clients tiennent-ils à faire affaire avec elle? Vous l’apprendrez dans l’entrevue que Natalia a accordée à Sublim.
1. Comment avez-vous entrepris votre carrière de retoucheuse?
J’ai commencé la retouche par hasard. J’avais étudié en design graphique, mais je n’avais jamais pensé à la retouche en tant que carrière. Lorsque je suis tombée enceinte, il y a huit ans, ma famille me surprotégeait et ne me laissait pas sortir. Alors, je me suis mise à jouer dans Photoshop et j’ai adoré! J’ai soumis des images à quelques concours sur le site Internet Worth 1000. Lorsque j’ai gagné, le père de mon enfant m’a demandé pourquoi je n’en ferais pas un métier. C’est là que tout a commencé.
2. Quelle a été la première technique de retouche que vous avez apprise?
Les masques ont été la première technique que j’ai apprise, et c’est une des choses que je recommande encore. Je crois que n’importe qui pourrait faire ce que je fais par la simple compréhension des masques, des courbes, des calques d’ajustement, des couches et des outils Correcteur et Tampon de duplication.
3. Comment recrutiez-vous vos clients au début de votre carrière?
Par courriel. J’en envoyais près de 3000 dans le monde entier et je recevais deux ou trois réponses. J’ai recommencé tous les mois jusqu’à ce que j’aie assez de travail!
4. Qu’est-ce qui vous rend meilleure retoucheuse? Pourquoi les clients viennent à vous?
Je ne crois pas que les clients viennent à moi parce que je suis meilleure en retouche. Ils veulent travailler avec moi parce que je suis constante et fidèle à mes clients. Je ne les ai jamais laissés tomber. La qualité est plus importante que la technique seule!
Comme je le dis souvent:
“la qualité ne concerne pas seulement votre retouche, c’est aussi ce qui vous définit en tant que personne offrant ce service, la valeur que vous ajoutez au service que vous proposez. Voici quelques exemples de valeur ajoutée: l’honnêteté, l’authenticité, la sociabilité, le respect des échéances ainsi que la capacité à donner un avis supplémentaire et des conseils à vos clients et – peut-être ce qu’il y a de plus important – à aller un peu au-delà des attentes.”
5. Comment fidélisez-vous votre clientèle?
Par mon efficacité!
Laissez-moi vous donner un exemple. Il n’y a pas si longtemps, j’ai participé à la réalisation d’une publicité pour la compagnie Honda. L’idée originale était assez simple: un mannequin dans le désert. La plus grande partie du concept a été réalisée au moment de la prise de vue.
J’ai envoyé ma soumission et j’ai reçu les images, c’est-à-dire l’image principale, une image de ciel et une image d’arrière-plan, ce qui me donnait plus de marge de manœuvre.
Le client était content de l’image «finale», mais l’agence de pub est arrivée avec deux nouvelles idées – ce qui n’était pas prévu – que le client a adorées!
Il fallait alors changer l’horizon, doubler la largeur de l’image et extraire le mannequin (avec son ombrage et sa lumière) pour pouvoir ajouter une voiture par la suite.
Je n’avais pas assez de ciel ni de sol pour le faire. C’était un vendredi et j’ai demandé des images supplémentaires et des photos provenant des banques d’images afin de réaliser ce qui était demandé. À ce moment là, il n’avait pas encore été question de modifier la soumission initiale. Tout devait être fait par l’agence de publicité et le client.
J’aurais pu attendre à lundi pour effectuer la requête, mais j’ai plutôt choisi d’acheter moi-même les images qu’il me manquait dans une banque d’images, puis j’ai complété le reste par du dessin. Le dimanche, les images étaient prêtes.
Lundi, alors que tout le monde croyait ne jamais avoir assez de temps pour terminer le mandat car tout devait être imprimé le jour même, j’ai envoyé l’image finale avec tous les calques afin que le designer choisisse ce qui lui plairait sans pour autant risquer de perdre en qualité.
C’est ça, l’efficacité. Et c’est ce qui me distingue des autres retoucheurs!
6. De quel travail êtes-vous le plus fière?
C’est un travail que j’ai réalisé pour la couverture du magazine anglais The Big Issue (un magazine caritatif). Ça m’a permis de m’associer à une bonne cause, de retoucher un de mes artistes préféré (Fatboy Slim), photographié par le grand John Wright, de travailler à un concept original (changer Fatboy en machine DJ)… et d’être payée pour le tout!
C’était une belle occasion, et j’adore le résultat!
7. Quelle image vous a demandé le plus de temps? Et combien d’heures y avez-vous consacré?
C’était une couverture et une double page pour le magazine Fabulous. Ça m’a pris 15 heures pour un «composite» de 25 images.
8. Quel a été le contrat le plus payant pour vous?
Celui de Honda.
9. Quels sont vos tarifs aujourd’hui?
Dans le cas d’images commerciales, j’établis généralement mes tarifs après avoir vu les images du contrat. Je prends en compte le nombre d’images, le tirage de la publication, le client, l’échéancier, le budget et l’utilisation finale des images.
Pour les éditoriaux, les soumissions et les portfolios, je demande de 150$ à 200$ par image (sauf pour les commandes spéciales et les images de cheveux ou de beauté, où mes prix commencent à 250$).
C’est pareil pour les catalogues. Par contre, le tarif peut alors varier selon le nombre d’images à retoucher, car le budget est déterminé pour un travail en lot.
10. Suggérez-vous aux débutants de commencer comme travailleur autonome, de travailler pour un studio de retouche ou pour des photographes ou encore de se joindre à une agence? Quels sont les avantages de chacun de ces choix?
Le fait de travailler pour une maison, un studio ou une agence de retouche donne la possibilité de travailler à des contrats exigeants et l’expérience de faire affaire avec de vrais clients. Ça permet aussi de comprendre l’importance du respect des échéanciers et des standards de publication et d’impression – ce qui prendrait deux ou trois fois plus de temps à intégrer en tant que travailleur autonome.
Le désavantage, c’est que, la plupart du temps, vous ne travaillerez pas au projet en entier (par exemple, vous pourriez être affecté à la retouche de cheveux seulement et ne pas toucher à la peau, ou encore faire les masques, mais aucun ajustement de couleur, etc.). Dans ces conditions où il est impossible d’être crédité pour son travail, il devient très difficile de bâtir son portfolio.
L’idéal serait de collaborer avec des agences, des maisons ou des studios de retouche ouverts à la possibilité de vous donner des contrats de retouche. Malheureusement, c’est rarement le cas, car ils sont habituellement liés par des contrats d’exclusivité.
La pire des choses serait de travailler pour un photographe de portrait local, puisque vous auriez le pire des deux mondes!
11. Quel est l’avenir de la retouche photo, selon vous?
Je n’en ai aucune idée. La tendance est au 3D, et je crois qu’un retoucheur devrait apprendre cette technique. Notre studio compte un artiste 3D. Je crois à la spécialisation des artistes. Je suis d’accord avec le dicton : «Qui trop embrasse mal étreint». C’est particulièrement vrai en publicité.
Je pense qu’à un certain moment, les studios devront offrir des services multimédias: illustration, retouche, 3D et vidéo. Les travailleurs autonomes seront engagés par ces studios.
12. Voudriez-vous fonder une communauté de retoucheurs?
Ce que j’avais en tête était un peu plus complexe. Nous avons essayé de créer une organisation locale, mais les opinions variaient tellement d’un retoucheur à l’autre que ça n’en valait pas la peine.
13. Quelle question aimeriez-vous qu’on vous pose? Et quelle serait votre réponse?
Pourquoi retouchez-vous?
Parce que je ne peux pas ne pas le faire! (So you want to be a writer? by Charles Bukowski)
14. Quels conseils donneriez-vous à nos étudiants?
Arrêtez de vous plaindre et agissez.
Soyez critique à l’égard des gens de qui vous choisissez d’apprendre.
Exercez-vous tous les jours.
Cultivez-vous.
Merci Natalia!
La rubrique techno de Pierre Skene
Le 27 février dernier, Adobe lançait la première version de l’application Photoshop Touch expressément dédiée aux tablettes iPad et Android.
Il va sans dire qu’il s’agit d’une application de base qui ne vise pas le marché des professionnels, mais bien celui des amateurs désireux de se familiariser avec Photoshop. En effet, bien qu’intéressante et prometteuse, cette version est loin d’offrir les possibilités des versions Mac OS et Windows.
L’application permet tout de même d’utiliser des calques et des masques, d’effectuer des sélections de base et d’y ajouter des effets ou du texte ainsi que de partager rapidement les résultats sur les réseaux sociaux.
Nul doute qu’elle saura attirer un plus grand nombre d’utilisateurs vers les versions Photoshop CS sur Mac OS et Windows. Après tout, n’est-ce pas là l’objectif d’Adobe?
L’application fonctionne sur l’iPad 2 (ou plus récent) équipé de la version OS5 et sur les tablettes Android munies de la version 3.1. Elle est en vente dans l’App Store et l’Android Market.
Écrit par Pierre Skene, Expert techno Sublim
Tech talk with Pierre Skene
On February 27, Adobe released Photoshop Touch 1.0, an app specially designed for iPads and Android tablets.
Of course, the new app is rudimentary and is not intended for the professional market, but for amateurs looking to try their hand at Photoshop. And though it is interesting and promising, it is light years away from offering the same capabilities as its Mac OS and Windows cousins.
The app does offer the possibility of using masks and layers, changing basic settings, and adding effects or text, and easily uploading the finished product to social networking sites.
There’s no question the new mobile app will get more users to try out the versions of Photoshop CS for Mac OS and Windows… after all, isn’t that what Adobe’s really aiming for?
The app works with the iPad 2 (or later versions) with iOS5, and Android tablets with the Android 3.1 operating system, and is available from the App Store or Android Market.
Written by Pierre Skene, Sublim tech expert
Short or long deadlines, what is best?
As retouchers, we are the last person to touch an image before printing or publishing. We also are the one who has, most of the time, crazy deadlines to respect! Here is a great article on the subject.
Formerly a New Yorker, Niemann now lives with his wife and three sons in Berlin, where he has the advantage of a 6-hour headstart on his mostly US-based clientele – not to mention easy access to a delicious morning bowl of milchkaffee. We chatted with Niemann by phone about how deadlines can be a good thing (especially when it comes to managing clients) and why open-ended assignments send him into fits of utter despair.
Does mathematical perfection really add up to perfect beauty?
Anatomy and proportions are crucial to the retouching process, but is science really the only gauge of beauty? Florence Colgate’s face was deemed scientifically perfect, so is this the standard of natural beauty? What do you think?
Un visage mathématiquement parfait est-il synonyme de beauté parfaite?
L’anatomie et les proportions sont des aspects importants en retouche photo, mais la science doit-elle être le seul critère de la beauté? Le visage de Florence Colgate a été jugé scientifiquement parfait. Est-ce le standard de beauté naturel? Qu’en pensez-vous?
Sublim takes a bite out of the Big Apple
Already publicized in China, Germany, Las Vegas and Canada, Dominique’s creations are the talk of the town once again. This time around, her work was centre stage at Decoded Fashion, an event held in New York City last Monday… proving once more that creative work can open doors.
Sublim à New York!
Après avoir été publiées en Chine, en Allemagne, à Las Vegas et au Canada, les images créées par Dominique font encore sensation. Elles volaient d’ailleurs la vedette de l’évènement Decoded Fashion à New York lundi dernier. Comme quoi un créatif peut ouvrir plusieurs portes…
Retrouvez sur Twitter les commentaires des invités à propos des conférences en suivant le #decodedfashion.
Do we make excuses all the time for not having the contracts or clients that we want to get? Here is an interesting article from Natalia Taffarel, professional retoucher, about the things we should work on in order to become a photo retoucher.
High end Fashion & Beauty
” If it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut, don’t do it.”
Charles Bukowski
Like many other creative trades, this is one you need to love in order to succeed.
Not a day goes by without me getting an email asking me how to achieve something in Photoshop. Furthermore, when I reply, the person is shocked that it would take so long. They are honestly amazed that it’s not some action or a one-click wonder trick.
Well… it’s not.
Learning is never fast or easy.
Being good at it doesn’t happen over night.
Building a retouching business takes time, and a completely different set of skills.
Nothing can be achieved though, if you are not passionate enough.
Lets define passion. A musician will listen to music all day and night, studying every style and author. They will know everything there is to know, about every facet of music, because that’s the way it should be! It couldn’t be any other way!
The same goes for visual arts. You can’t be a retoucher if you don’t enjoy and consume art. One needs to develop an eye for color, aesthetics and composition.
“You don’t take a photograph, you make it”. Ansel Adams
How do we “make” an image from the retoucher’s perspective? Taking into account the teachings of traditional art, such as composition, color theory and light behavior. Also, things involving drawing/illustration techniques are extremely helpful when it comes to retouching. Reason is, we are basically drawing over an existing gradient.
Anatomy, from an artist point of view, is also essential when working on human models, shape and bone structure etc.
There’s a retouching house in NY where they make all their retouchers study anatomy and test them on it. They need to know every bone in the face.
Understanding the market is also part of being passionate about retouching.
You can’t work in a market you don’t understand. Who are your inspirations? What are the industry standards? Why is copyright important? Who is your ideal target? What are the current trends? What has been done already? By Whom?
You should know the answers to these questions if you’re going to pursue a career in retouching.
The first thing I ask my students is “How many of you have the latest Vogue or Número in their home/office?”
You create your own limitations. If you don’t spend your time consuming art and images (quality ones), then you can’t train your brain to differentiate the good from the bad, and the bad from the ugly.
When was the last time you went to an art show? exhibition? museum? Think about it.
If you look at crap all day long, you will train your brain to think that is how images should look. You need to be selective. Not just magazines either. Otherwise you’re always following someone else’s trends. Look at photography books, National Geographic, photo journalism books and movies. Again, not just the latest hits, but older movies too. There’s not a scene in the film “Amelie” that couldn’t be printed, framed, and hung on a wall. Nobody is born cultured, it’s like muscles, they have to GROW IN YOU with time, effort, and consistency.
Another issue one needs to rid themself of: the need to make up excuses.
If you sit around and criticize others work and talent (or lack there of) on social sites; then you’re only creating excuses for yourself. You are simply wasting time, and developing a false sense of superiority that doesn’t help you grow or better yourself.
“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people”
(And no small mind has ever accomplished anything).
I hear people complaining about new retouchers, or retouchers in other (cheaper) markets all the time. People believe that since these other retouchers are charging nothing for their work they are devaluing the whole market. They go on and on about how there’s not enough work, and how budgets continue to drop because of “these people”. “It’s not my fault that I’m not getting enough work, it’s their fault!”
If you’re worrying about this you should look at yourself in the mirror. It’s not the market that is the problem. It’s your work and your attitude. If you offer quality you won’t have to worry about this. I know we don’t!
Quality is not just about the retouching itself. It’s also about you as a service provider, and the added value of service that you provide. Some examples of added value of service include: honesty/being “real” (a commodity in today’s industry), your people skills, meeting deadlines, offering feedback and advice to your clients and perhaps most importantly, doing slightly more than is expected of you.
“Those that say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those doing it” Chinese Proverb
If you are freelancer then you need to calibrate your brain to think like one. You are not only offering retouching, you are offering consultation. You must market and sell yourself as such. Potential clients need to know that you possess not only the technical abilities to complete the job, but also that you’re knowledgeable about the business as a whole. Both in terms of targets and in general context.
Building a business is not only about having a skillset either.
Think about where the real demand is, and what you’re willing to offer. As well as who else is offering the same as you at that particular time.
Also, skills DO NOT equate experience. That alone is the money point! (Pun intended) Whatever your rate is, expect it to commensurate with your skill level or expertise. Don’t expect to be making as much money as someone who’s been in the industry for ten years producing solid work.
Clients in general don’t just flock to you because you started a business. Connections have very little to do with it in the beginning. Very few people START with connections. The rest of us mere mortals have to build a solid client base, this doesn’t happen in just minutes or hours or days. It takes time and dedication.
The reality is, in the first year you will be working on really bad files to pay your rent. But don’t only work on those photos! You must also TEST on your free time in order to build a portfolio that WILL get the attention of the people you want to work for.
Dress for the job that you want, not for the job that you have. Otherwise you’re trapped in a vicious cycle like this:
1. I only produce lower quality work because that’s all my clients can afford. Besides they can’t tell the difference anyway
2. My portfolio is now filled with only lower quality images
3. I can only attract clients that have limited budgets that don’t care about better quality.
4. Return to number 1.
In this cycle, the client who has enough criteria and good taste to get the higher budgets (or to pay for high quality work), will never contact you or reply to your emails. Reason being, your portfolio does not show any high quality work.
Ergo: You’re trapped.
The belief that testing is “working for free”, is only shared by those who have NO IDEA how the market actually works. Professionals test all the time! They test with agencies and for personal projects. Pros do this because they know the images they produce in a test will attract potential high end clients. Pros know full well that these clients only care about editorials and personal work when deciding on who to hire for their next job. Of course retouchers also get the pleasure of having contributed towards making the world a better place (well, maybe not better, but prettier.) when testing.
Working for free is an oxymoron. NOBODY works for free. You work for credit, you work for recognition, you work to be in the minds of those who can help you advance your career. Such as: agencies, art directors, photographers, advertisers, rep houses and designers.
If you think the market is ruined by those working “for free”, think again!
Every time you find yourself thinking:
I’m not successful because of…
…the economy.
…my area.
…people who do TFP.
…people who live in cheaper countries.
…client’s not knowing the difference.
…my situation.
…my market.
“Society” ?
It’s not. IT’S YOU! Every time!
