How I started: Being the LOUDEST (and not the best) in the freelance world
If you are a freelancer, a business-owner, or anyone who works in the world for money, you know one crucial fact: Connections make the world go around.
So here I was at 14 years old, totally oblivious, a 1000rmb second-hand camera in hand: Ready to take on the world of photography and have my photos grace the cover of Vogue. But to my dismay, my newly created gmail dedicated to my photography career had not a single message in the inbox.
Rachel at 14 with a humble Canon 400D (the equivalent of an iPhone 6 for cameras)
I had a couple photos of my work on my photography-dedicated Instagram and researched the best hashtags to use to gain the most traction in Shanghai, but Louis Vuitton had not contacted me yet!
I checked in to the 14 likes on my account. My sister, a few friends, my boyfriend. No Versace.
So I did something a little out of frustration and a little out of desperation. I listed out a bunch of these companies in Shanghai with interesting products that I thought I could photograph. From candles to lipstick to earrings to soaps. And I drafted a message to each and every one of them asking if they wanted to send me their product so I could work on my portfolio and they can get a set of free photos.
Out of around forty companies, I got about ten responses and eventually collaborated with three of them. And this is how I entered the world of freelance, as a 14 year old with basically no experience, and a less-than-average quality DSLR camera.
Working for free taught me things like how to draft agreements, communicating about partnerships, and most importantly: I could explore my creativity and gain experience with relatively low pressure/expectations. This made me more confident when I started working and pitching to other companies, and eventually figuring out how to charge for my services.
thanks to Mattias Isaksson (www.mattiasisaksson.com) for this photo
Especially when starting out, there is so much to gain outside of dollar signs.
Eventually I got to a comfortable point in my freelance career where I was bringing in mid to high 4-figure (in rmb) photography clients on a monthly basis, purely based off the existing network I built. Getting here is also a collection of stories, experiences, and mistakes itself — I’ll save these for another day!
a few early photos I took with the first couple of brands I worked with
Entering the freelance world can be extraordinarily daunting. However you do it (or did it before), I am high-fiving you for taking that super bold step. For me, it was a matter of being the loudest one instead of the best one with the best equipment — getting into that network, because you know, connections make the world go around.**
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