I was checking out one of my favourite blogs - www.strobist.com - a few months ago and he was discussing whether as a professional photographer, he (or any other photographer) should work for free - especially nowadays, with the general doom and gloom atmosphere of the international market.
Now don't get me wrong - I like getting paid - who doesn't? And MSO would be strenuously agreeing with me here - but when you're starting off in business, can it hurt to go out and shoot for the hell of it?
So - yesterday being March 17 - St Patrick's Day - I grabbed my camera kit and wandered round the corner to the local Irish pub. Which was going off like a bag of seafood in the Sydney sun. Huge. Admittedly there was only about 25 people in there when I arrived, but the majority being ardent, vocal Irish (and strangely enough a few British ones thrown into the mix) backpackers, they were making enough noise to drown out the local traffic - no mean feat. And as the afternoon progressed, and the bar filled up and the occupants became more, er, 'socially excited' I continued snapping away. A few pints later, and it was time to head home to meet MSO, albeit with a full CF card.
I'd spent the afternoon handing out cards and email addresses and promising to send copies through. In return, I'd been shouted a few jars of Guinness, got some great crowd shots, and also started informing people that I was a professional photographer, had a website, and was basically ready to hire. Time will tell if I get any emails/calls or bookings - but just being there with a camera enjoying the passion and fun of a room full of Irish (or wanna-be Irish) was worth a few hours away from the desk.
Now don't get me wrong - I like getting paid - who doesn't? And MSO would be strenuously agreeing with me here - but when you're starting off in business, can it hurt to go out and shoot for the hell of it?
So - yesterday being March 17 - St Patrick's Day - I grabbed my camera kit and wandered round the corner to the local Irish pub. Which was going off like a bag of seafood in the Sydney sun. Huge. Admittedly there was only about 25 people in there when I arrived, but the majority being ardent, vocal Irish (and strangely enough a few British ones thrown into the mix) backpackers, they were making enough noise to drown out the local traffic - no mean feat. And as the afternoon progressed, and the bar filled up and the occupants became more, er, 'socially excited' I continued snapping away. A few pints later, and it was time to head home to meet MSO, albeit with a full CF card.
I'd spent the afternoon handing out cards and email addresses and promising to send copies through. In return, I'd been shouted a few jars of Guinness, got some great crowd shots, and also started informing people that I was a professional photographer, had a website, and was basically ready to hire. Time will tell if I get any emails/calls or bookings - but just being there with a camera enjoying the passion and fun of a room full of Irish (or wanna-be Irish) was worth a few hours away from the desk.
