Nine Essentials (Besides a Camera) You’ll Need as a Freelance Photographer

By David McIntyrecloseAuthor: David McIntyre See Author's Posts (2)
Recent Posts

• Nine Essentials (Besides a Camera) You'll Need as a Freelance Photographer
• A Gear Guide For Going Freelance

David McIntyre is a photographer for Black Star based in China and Hong Kong since 1995. Prior to becoming a freelance photographer, he was a staff photographer for The Phoenix Gazette. He has also worked for UPI, the Associated Press, EPA, Asiaweek Magazine, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Baseball America, and the minor league baseball teams in Denver and Phoenix before they had Major League teams. Visit David's Web site. in Business of Photography

In my last post, I offered some recommendations for the camera gear you’ll need to make it as a freelance photographer. But having the right photographic equipment is just the beginning. Here are nine other business essentials to be ready for any assignment.

1. E-fax/voicemail service. I subscribe to J2.com’s service, where I have a personalized number that receives my faxes and voice messages electronically, and sends them to me by e-mail. Regardless of what country or city I am in, I can easily receive messages to review, print out or listen to without running up huge phone costs. Also, I can forward my cell phone to the service when I am traveling, so I can still stay in touch with people calling about possible work, and return the calls I may have missed.

2. Mobile phone with an unlimited data plan and e-mail capability. Besides being able to take calls anywhere, I use my Apple iPhone (some may prefer a BlackBerry) to check e-mails throughout the day, and many times can line up assignments or take care of small things that I otherwise may not be able to without a computer. Many times, you won’t have an Internet connection until you are at home or a hotel, so the iPhone is a godsend in these situations.

3. A major credit card (or two). You never know when you will need to rent a car, book an airline ticket, or take care of any other things that require more than cash. Debit cards are OK, but are not very good for renting cars, because they tie up a deposit from your account, which many credit cards don’t. Also, find a credit card that lets you avoid accepting all of the added insurance items on a typical rental car agreement. I also recommend having both a Master Card and Visa, as some places might only accept one of them, or as a backup if something is wrong with one of your cards.

4. Passport. If you don’t have one, get one. You may never need it, but you should always have one in case you get a foreign assignment on short notice. Now the law requires you to have a passport even to travel between the United States and Canada or Mexico.

5. P.O. Box. I keep a post-office box as my main address, because I don’t want everyone to know where I live. This protects my equipment and, if I travel out of town, I know any mail I receive will be safe and not give the impression I’m not home. Post-office boxes are also helpful if you are renting and have to move, as then you don’t have to worry about changing your address with everyone or missing checks that may be coming. As for packages, you can have them delivered either at home or a friend’s business, because FedEx and UPS deliver only to street addresses.

6. E-mail. Make sure you have an e-mail address that you plan to keep for a long time. If you think you may change from your local provider, then sign up for Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or create your own domain that you can easily check. This provides the same continuity as a P.O. Box, as many clients may not be in touch with you for years, and then they need you and can’t find you. Addresses, e-mail and phone numbers should stay as consistent as possible.

7. Business cards. You need something to hand out to people, so they can keep you on file. Many times they will remember you and then start looking for your card with your contact details on them. My cards also happen to have my agent details and my name and address in Chinese.

8. Billing and payment. Many companies might take 30-90 days to pay you, so you will have to learn to at times ask for an advance if you are going to incur a lot of expenses, or wait patiently for payment. It is not like the newspaper world, where you get a regular paycheck and your expenses back quickly.

9. Logistics know-how. You will need to be able to get in touch with subjects, make your own travel arrangements, and figure out how to get your photos quickly and efficiently delivered to your clients. Don’t always expect a client to have the budget for an assistant, or expect a limo and tour guide at the airport to pick you up and show you around. Sometimes I have to do a shoot the same day in another city and get back that evening. I have done same-day trips between Hong Kong and Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, and Beijing, among other combinations.

I am sure there are things I have overlooked or forgotten, but these essentials have worked well for me over the years. Beyond these, there’s one other thing you’ll need: to be patient. It takes time and dedication to build a freelance career.

A Gear Guide For Going Freelance

closeAuthor: David McIntyre See Author's Posts (2)
Recent Posts

• Nine Essentials (Besides a Camera) You'll Need as a Freelance Photographer
• A Gear Guide For Going Freelance

David McIntyre is a photographer for Black Star based in China and Hong Kong since 1995. Prior to becoming a freelance photographer, he was a staff photographer for The Phoenix Gazette. He has also worked for UPI, the Associated Press, EPA, Asiaweek Magazine, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Baseball America, and the minor league baseball teams in Denver and Phoenix before they had Major League teams. Visit David's Web site.

I’ve read the articles and postings about newspaper layoffs, and I’ve gotten my share of e-mails from former staff photographers asking for guidance. As someone who’s been freelancing for most of my career, what’s the first advice I would give to those of you striking out on your own?

Get the right equipment.

A lot of corporate and editorial assignments require portrait work, for example — which requires lighting gear. But most new freelancers don’t realize they will need more than their one shoe mount strobe.

Others may have more or less gear than what I find works best. But here are my recommendations for the equipment you’ll need to fulfill the majority of requests from potential clients.

The Basics

I am able to complete 98 percent of my assignments with the following gear:

1- Apple 15″ MacBook Pro computer (it is my only computer, as I have no desktop at home. I have Adobe Photoshop and Photo Mechanic installed to help me with my photo editing and workflow along with Microsoft Office for Mac. Also, the Apple Care extended warranty so that my repair costs are kept to a minimum.)

2- Canon 1D, Mark III camera bodies (recently upgraded them in early 2008 from 2 Mark II bodies that I had used for roughly 4-5 years)

1- Canon 16-35/2.8 Series II lens

1- Canon 24-70/2.8 lens

1- Canon 70-200/2.8 USM IS lens

1- Canon 14mm lens

1- Canon 15mm lens (this is a fish-eye, which I use occasionally for a different type effect)

1- Canon 1.4x tele-converter

1- Canon 580EX II flash (with an off-camera shoe cord)

2- Norman 400B portable battery operated lights, which are equipped with built-in Pocket Wizard remote receivers and have a charger that operates 110/220 electricity. (I have a Multi-max transmitter/receiver, 2 Manfrotto portable light stands and 2 umbrellas packed into a Think Tank rolling case so that I can check it when I travel. I also have a Domke sling bag packed in with the lights, so that I can carry them around on my shoulder at locations if needed and not use the case.)

1- Think Tank modular belt system to carry the gear on me as I am shooting an assignment.

1- Think Tank Shape Shifter backpack to carry my laptop and other small items.

1- LaCie 320 GB Rugged portable hard drive (to back up photos and have library of photos on hand.)

1- iPhone with unlimited data plan (my version is unlocked so that I can change SIM cards when I travel.)

I am able to travel easily with this gear, which is important for me, since in Asia I must sometimes take taxis and other public transport. When I take my lights, I can rest the backpack on top of the rolling case, and wheel both at the same time.

Luxury Items

The other items that I have, when I need them (but which you won’t need to survive) are:

1- Canon 1D, Mark IIn camera (an extra body)

1- Canon 300/2.8 lens (very old, use it at most a few times a year)

1- Canon 400/2.8 lens (also old, use it once or twice a year at most)

1- Canon 580EX II flash (this is a back-up to my other one)

1- Unlocked cellphone that is tri-band. (This is an older phone I use in some countries as a way of getting a local pre-paid SIM card, so that if I am someplace more that a day or two, clients in that country I may be shooting can reach me. I also avoid excessive roaming charges on local calls being made or received.)

I don’t shoot sports as often as I did when I worked for newspapers and wire services. I had a 300mm and 400mm of my own then, but they were the old Canon FD style, and I got rid of them when I made a full switch over to EOS style gear following Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China. This was the last time I ever really needed my old-style 400/2.8 for something so significant, until shooting things like the Beijing Olympics.

Can You Light?

One of the most important skills I have had to learn in my freelance work is lighting — even if this means using only one light to illuminate a subject or object. I use my on-camera flash at times with an off-camera sync cord, but that does not always make a magazine-quality portrait that a client will like.

One of the first questions I ask people who want to go freelance is, “Can you light?”

The Norman 400B’s are great for me because they are portable, and I can set them up anywhere from an office to a farmer’s field, without worrying about electricity to operate them (except to recharge the batteries).

I used to have company-issued 200B’s when I worked at the Phoenix Gazette, back when we shot almost 100 percent slide film. But even with digital cameras being able to do so much with available light, this doesn’t mean that an editor or client wants to receive a poorly or non-lit portrait. Window-lit portraits and situations can only be done so often, and a window won’t follow you around a large factory.

In my next post, I’ll discuss nine essentials (beyond your camera equipment) you’ll need to launch your freelance career.

The 2008 Beijing PARALYMPICS...not the Olympics!!!

Well, it has been almost 2 months since the Olympics opened and finished in Beijing, and it seems such a distant memory now that everyone has come....and....GONE!!!

Well, after most of the photographers left to go back home, I had both the pleasure and luxury of staying in Beijing to photograph the Paralympics, that take place about 2 weeks after the more famous Olympics end. Many of the same venues are used, but it is a much different and also fun atmosphere.

I had attended and photographed the 2000 Sydney Paralympics (http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/411), and remember I had such a good time doing it, that when I knew I could cover this too, my wife suggested I just go ahead and do it, even without any assignments for it. She said that I seemed like a new person after the Sydney games, that I should just go do it again.

Well, I did and am glad I did.

Some of the things I did this time, was come and go as I pleased, and covered sports I mostly had no real idea about from previously, or that I just felt drawn to. Some of those sports are: 5 to a side football (teams made of blind participants playing soccer while wearing eye covers to insure the participants eyes are equally sightless), Wheel Chair Rugby (where there is brutal contact in specially built wheel chairs and lots of crashes, etc.), Wheel Chair fencing, Judo and the Marathon, (where the wheel chair participants drove in front of Mao's portrait in Tiananmen Square.)

The other nice thing was that there were no huge crowds of Media or Photographers, so you get to a venue, and just find a place to shoot photos from.

I think the thing that was most amazing this time covering the Paralympics, was that the whole Chinese nation was exposed to the disabled in a way they didn't expect, and came away richer from it. A friend who came from Hong Kong so they could see the 'Bird's Nest' and the 'Water Cube', came away amazed at what the disabled were able to do. They were also moved at how even the last place finishers were cheered on as if they were a Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt.

China had billed these Paralympics as 'Two games, equal billing' and that they did from the Opening Ceremony to the final events. They facilities for the athletes were great, and the hospitality, and crowds. So for those that saw the Olympics, a great time was had. And for the Paralympics, words can't describe the experience.

Here are some of the photos with captions from the Paralympics:





PEK0 20080906 BEIJING, CHINA : Two athletes from Brazil dance and celebrate during the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Saturday, 06 September, 2008.








PEK0 20080906 BEIJING, CHINA : An artistic performance during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China on Saturday, 06September, 2008.






PEK0 20080906 BEIJING, CHINA : Chinese Athletics athlete Hou Bin climbs towards the torch to light it during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China on Saturday, 06 September, 2008.


PEK0 20080911 BEIJING, CHINA : Competition of 5-a-side Football between China and Korea during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Thursday, 11 September, 2008. Each mach is played between two teams with four blind athletes and one sighted or visually impaired goalkeeper on the field as well as five substitutes. Additionally, each team has a guide behind the opponent's goal to direct the players when they shoot.



PEK0 20080912 BEIJING, CHINA : Fabien Lavoie, #11 of Canada, looses his balance during the teams Wheelchair Rugby match against Japan during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Friday, 12 September, 2008.


PEK0 20080917 BEIJING, CHINA : Mykola Davydenko (right) of Ukraine competes against Chan Wing Kin of Hong Kong in the quarterfinal round of the Men's Individual Sabre Category A match of Wheelchair Fencing during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Sunday, 17 September, 2008.

PEK0 20080917 BEIJING, CHINA : Mykola Davydenko of Ukraine celebrates beating Cyril More of France in the round of 16 in the Medal Men's Individual Sabre Category A match of Wheelchair Fencing during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Sunday, 17 September, 2008.




PEK0 20080917 BEIJING, CHINA : Qi Shun of China wins the Men's Marathon-T12 division as the capacity crowd looks on during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Wednesday, 17 September, 2008.












PEK0 20080913 BEIJING, CHINA : Swimmers make their way from the pool after competing during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Saturday, 13 September, 2008.




PEK0 20080913 BEIJING, CHINA : The photo work room of the Main Press Center (MPC) shows vastly less activity and media members during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Saturday, 13 September, 2008 than it did during the earlier Olympic Games.




PEK0 20080906 BEIJING, CHINA : The National Stadium or 'Bird's Nest' glows in the evening after the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China on Saturday, 06 September, 2008.

My first post, let's dive right in!!!

I have never been sure about having a blog or not, but figured after reading some various friends blogs I could give it a shot. Many of the blogs I have read most recently were by fellow photographer friends during the recently completed 2008 Beijing Olympics, so I figured I would 'Dive Right In' with two of my favorite photos from the games.

First is this photo of Michael Phelps of the US coming off the blocks of his Men's 100m Butterfly swimming heat at the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China on Thursday, August 14, 2008 was shot at 1000th sec. at f/3.5 @ 1600 ASA on a Canon Mark III with a 400mm lens.

I like this shot because it is a different view of Phelps coming off the blocks with his big feet and hands that have helped propel him to his record 8 Gold medals.


Second is this photo of diver Huo Liang of China has water streaming from his hair as he does a reverse 3-1/2 Somersault tuck dive during the Men's 10m Platform Diving semifinal in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China on Saturday, August 23, 2008. This photo was shot at 1600 ASA at 800th sec at f/4.0 on a Canon 1D Mark III at 280mm (a 70-200/2.8 lens with a 1.4 extender).

I like this photo cause you never see this much water coming off a person doing a dive, and it has a lot of definition due to the dark background and how swiftly he is doing his turn during the dive.

Well, this being my first post, I will keep it short. I am not sure how often I will blog or post, but please check back in the future.

I will also check back for comments, etc.