Advice from friends

Sebastian Kennerknecht

The best advice for a newcomer would be not to feel intimidated by anyone, or the industry in general. No matter who you are, you have a unique voice that can tell an amazing story which can and will help wildlife be protected and conserved. Don't be afraid to ask for help, there are lots of people out there who are willing to help you along your journey. We are all in this together with the same goal of conservation.

In terms of having your portfolio stand out, I think it's best to really focus on one subject, or environmental issue rather than having a really broad undefined vision. If you come to me for a portfolio review and it's a fantastic collection of say hummingbirds, or badgers, or logging, or trophy hunting, then I will associate you with that strong set of images as a collection. That to me makes the difference if the quality of images is there as well.

Laura Elizabeth Pohl

Ask a potential client to pay you what you actually want to be paid, not what you think a potential client is willing to pay you. Oftentimes I see photographers underpricing themselves because they're worried their creative fees will scare away a client. I've felt this way myself. I completely understand this temptation to lower your price.

But what I've learned over the years is that for most clients, price is one factor of many in whether or not they hire a photographer. They're also looking at the quality of your photos, how well you write captions, how quickly you can turn around the assignment, whether or not you will be easy to work with and other factors. I know this is true because photo editors and communications managers have told me this and also because I used to work on staff at an organization where I hired and managed freelance photographers. Price was one hiring factor for me but never the main factor. In fact, sometimes I hired photographers and raised their rate for the job because I couldn't fathom paying them so little.

If, after reading my advice, you still feel nervous about asking to be paid what you know you're worth, then try this: send in your price quote with the note, "How does this work with your budget?" Don't caveat or add extra words like "because I'm willing to go lower." No. Stick to this sentence, which lets the potential client know you're willing to discuss the numbers. Then, you may be pleasantly surprised -- as I have been on many occasions -- when the potential client replies with a simple, "That's fine."

Faith Musembi

Start where you are and create something with what you have. Far too many people say that they will start creating once they have access to cameras like REDs or CN20s. But if you just use what you have, you will usually find it leads to opportunities to work with better gear. Often you can also submit what you have created with more affordable cameras to opportunities like Jackson Wild or Wildscreen, which will help you on your career journey.

Nina Constable

Working as a self-shooter I have learned how important it is to have a stripped back set-up that is user friendly and allows me to concentrate on the participants and give them my focus. When I first started out, especially shooting on DSLR’s, I would often feel like I didn’t look professional enough and most definitely suffered from imposter syndrome. I tried larger rigs and sound set-ups but found myself distracted with the cables or struggling with the weight and not able to be as mobile as I would like, especially shooting documentary where very little is set-up.

Taking time to work out the set-up that worked best for me and having confidence in stripping it back has allowed me to create an approach that enables me to capture high quality sound and images but in a lightweight and non-faffy way. A fluid head monopod and wireless lav mics are two pieces of kit that I couldn’t live without! They allow me to be mobile at the same time as stabilising footage and capturing great audio.

Having the confidence to come to a shoot without a big crew and rig took a while to feel comfortable with. Not pitting yourself against other filmmakers is incredibly important. We all work in different ways, have confidence in what works for you and don’t overcomplicate it just for the sake of it. You need to enjoy your work to get the best out of yourself and your subjects so take some time to work out how you like to work and what kit best suits that style.

Katie Bryden

Learn as many skills as you can! You may want to be a videographer but learning how to edit will make you better. I think it’s important to try your hand at every role so you can better understand the processes and procedures that you, or your future colleagues, may have to go through.

Suzi Eszterhas

The most important bit of advice I ever received when I got started was “Don’t let rejection stop you”. I have literally lived by this. I faced SO much rejection - from editors, agents, and even my peers. But I just buried my head in the sand and stayed completely focused on my dreams. For me, I loved this work so much that failure just simply was not an option. I always thought that no matter what I would find a way. Even now, as a relatively well established photographer and author, my most recent book was rejected by lots of publishers before it was finally accepted. Rejection is something that you always have to face and you must be resilient and completely dedicated to following your bliss.

If you are trying to break into wildlife photography it is incredibly useful to specialise in something. My specialty in baby animals has helped me stand out from a giant sea of other photographers. You need something that makes you different than everyone else. The subject you choose should be one that you love. The images you create of subjects you are passionate about will always be your best work. 

Wildlife photography is getting more and more competitive every day. Everybody thinks they are a photographer, and now more people have the right gear. And wildlife travel has gotten easier, so more amateurs are going to photograph wildlife. The worst thing happening right now is people giving their photos away for free in exchange for “exposure”. Exposure has very little value in reality. People giving their images away for free are killing the industry and taking pay checks away from those of us that are trying to make a living in this.