In the industry they are called collaborations, “TFP” (although this term makes me cringe a little bit) or creatives - whatever you choose to call them, these personal projects are essential to networking and portfolio building and these are my top 3 reasons why.
1. Personal work allows you the freedom to get creative and experiment without client parameters.
Client work is great! We want alllllll the client work - but a great way to get the attention of your dream clients is to create work that truly showcases your potential. It’s also one of the best ways to focus in on your personal style. Without the pressure of client expectations, time restrictions and guidelines, you are free to experiment and take risks that you might otherwise avoid and those risks sometimes become a regular part of your repertoire. On a creative set, you might hear me laugh and say “well……we tried it” after a failed experiment, but more often than not, pushing my own boundaries creates the work that I’m most excited about and allows me to level up. I can’t tell you how often clients will show me my own creative work as examples of the look that they are going for so I view these sessions as super important business development. That being said, I will only take on creative work that aligns with my style/vision with creatives that I trust. As hard as it is, learning to say no when the fit isn’t right is also an incredibly important but sometimes difficult skill to practice as well.
Editorial photograph of Morgan Antush @oohmorgan
Hair and makeup by Rio Translado @riotranslado
Styling by Marchel Eang @mrchymrch represented by RM Artists @rmartists
Balloon sleeve top by The Attico @the_attico
Crystal Earrings by Alessandra Rich @alessandrarich
Shot at the DOUGLAS Hotel @thedouglas_van
2. Networking with local creatives
Find your people! For all its evils, social media has given us this incredible gift of connection and allowed us direct access to a talented roster of all disciplines. I’ve met just about everyone that I work with on a regular basis either on Facebook or Instagram. What started as a DM has turned into many friendships and great working relationships. We all recommend each other for jobs when we can and our creative work is proof that we work well together and can produce polished end products. If you’re new to a creative community, start searching #yourcitymua, #yourcityphotographer, #yourcitystylist etc and start some conversations with people who inspire you.
3. It feeds your creative soul
Creative work keeps me excited about photography. Photography has always been a passion for me and when it turned into a full time job, I didn’t want to lose the joy that it brought me so I make it a rule to continuously have personal projects on the go in between my client work. Coming up with creative projects can be daunting, because sometimes you can put too much pressure on yourself to create something totally unique will blow everyones minds, instead, try to focus on improving or experimenting with one small aspect of every shoot, whether it’s trying a different retouching technique, switching up your lighting a bit or trying out a location that challenges you. It’s also a hugely important bonus to always have new content to post.
Get out there and make some magic!