365 Ways To Get More Jobs - Rosalee Roy

One of the most popular questions I get during workshops, meetups, conventions, google hangout or just walking down the street is " HOW DO I GET MORE WORK"! Well, the most effecient way is to put yourself out there. You have to let people know you are a photographer...at ALL times. The internet, social media, and word of mouth are your 3 main points. But that my friends is just the beginning, the hardest part is to stay motivated and CREATIVE!

So how do you do all that and wrap it into one project?

My friend Rosalee Roy is going to show us how a simple idea, from a well know project has helped her not only become a better photographer, but also get more work!

365 WAYS TO GET MORE JOBS

My name is Rosalee Roy. I started to become interested in photography about 6 years ago. My husband bought a DSLR (Canon Rebel XT) and i thought I'd give it a try.... next thing you know, i was borrowing it all the time!

My first gig was when my best friend asked me to take pictures at her wedding of the limo ride to each shooting location and also some during the formal in-betweens (she had already hired a pro for the important parts). It was very casual and I didn't want to get in the way of the hired professional so I couldn't believe it when my friend ended up liking some of my photos more than the pros! It was at that point I decided to pursue photography more seriously. I started by taking a few night courses which helped me learn more of the technical side of photography. It also helped me with the visual side, like framing and what gives good flow to a photo. After I completed the courses I got a few paid gigs but was always feeling like I couldn't totally engage myself in photography. I couldn't put all of the time and effort that I wanted to into photography because I had a full time job as a receptionist and I'm a mom. So i decided to quit my day job and pursue my dreams.... as cheesy as that sounds.... it was totally true, that was 2 years ago. Now, I'm a stay at home mom with a photography business that I'm very proud of! If I can do it, you can also!

Project365 is something you may have heard of. The concept is very simple, take a different photo every day for 365 days in a row. There are a ton of variations out there, so I just wanted to share what I did. I decided to do a self portrait project where I had to take one photo everyday for 1 year.  The rules being:

1. Some part of you has to be in the picture (whether it's your arm, eyeball, foot...whatever you choose).
2. Each photo has to be unique, you cannot repeat the same photo twice.
3. You as the photographer, must click the shutter (whether you put it on a timer or have a remote).
4. You must post it to something public (ie.Facebook or Flickr), that way you are accountable. Trust me, people will let you know if you've missed a day or not.

One thing that was really cool about this project was that it gave me an opportunity to wonder around my town (or wherever i was at the time) and find different locations.  It can get really boring shooting in the same locations all the time, so this project forced me to get out there and find new spots. This was great not only for my 365 project, but for my clients as well. I now had more locations to offer them.

Rule 4 of the project is that you must post it to something public (I chose facebook). I noticed that people started following my 365 project album very closely. I started to get a little group who would always comment, some would only "like" certain ones, and some that wouldn't say anything at all...... but that's all OK, it's exposure. The point is that you have to post an image everyday and everyday it will be in their news feed and it's always a new and fresh image. You start to be in the back of their heads and they start waiting for your post. Consistency is key and this project really helped me with that. Another thing is that if can get people to comment, then their friends see their comment and so on and so on..... it's a snowball effect and it really works! So always try to create a conversation, either in the description of the image, or in the comments. You want people to stay engaged.

It all sounds fun at the beginning, but a 365 is a serious commitment, you after all have to take 1 photo every day no matter what! Something that helped me a lot was to make lists of ideas as they came to me. I kept a pen and paper on my night stand just in case I couldn't sleep or if I woke up in the middle of the night and thought of something, id write it down right then so i wouldn't forget (this is a good idea for everything else in life also). The lists I found to be extremely helpful because there where days I wasn't feeling creative at all. For those day's I'd head over to my list and shoot one of the ideas that I hadn't done yet. This made the "thinking up a new idea everyday" process not as painful and it helped me stay more organized.

As far as the shooting went, I shot whenever I had time that day. I always left my camera up on the tripod just in case I needed it. I also had 1 strobe with an umbrella and my remote ready for when i could run out and take my shot for the day. When I first started the project, I had no idea about shooting with multiple strobes, nor if I really had the creativity to shoot 365 self portraits of myself and have them all look different! I didn't worry about it, and I started the project using mostly 1 off camera flash with an umbrella or just natural light. I got to learn a lot about how the single flash worked. I primarily used it to stop down the background and give my self portrait a more dramatic look.

I also did a lot of natural light shooting, it's not my favorite way to shoot, but many times I didn't have all of my gear with me and as they say, the show must go on! So I shot with natural light

After a couple of months, I decided that I wanted to kick it up a notch, so I decided to add another strobe into the mix. I started experimenting with a two flash setups and I loved the way I could add Rim light with the second strobe. I really like adding rim light to my images because that separation gave it a very nice 3D look to some of the images. What I really started to notice was the difference in my images. This project forced me to practice, forced me to be creative, forced me to shoot and ultimately forced me into becoming a better photographer.

One thing that really caught me by surprise was the amount of exposure I was getting. Not only from posting it up on facebook everyday, but just in talking about it to people (considering it was basically my whole life for one year it was all I could talk about) got me even more exposure. I would walk into a public area with a back pack full of gear, light stands, tripods and umbrellas definitely gets you noticed. People would always stop and ask me what I was doing and I took the time to explain it as well as hand them my business card!

At the end of my project I ended up with 365 pictures of myself. I use them all for promotional purposes. For example, my business cards are all different shots from my 365 project. On the front is one of the images and on the back is all of my contact information (MooCards.com). This is a big benefit when you are meeting clients or simply handing someone your business card it shows a small glimpse into your portfolio, but it also shows that you are creative and it helps reasure people of your talent. It's also fun for them to choose which one they'd like to take for themselves. What I really like that happens is that they always end up looking through all of them and commenting :). This engagement with your clients is extremely important.

I also use them for the scrolling introduction page you see on my website, my bio page and also for my facebook profile and fan page profile picture. I'm very happy that I did this because there are so many times when you'll need a good picture of yourself, and what better selection to choose from then 365 of them!

You might be asking yourself, how do I do this, how do I start?

Well I'm here to tell you that to do alll of this you need two things, a camera and dedication.

Without those two, you aren't going t get very far. My biggest piece of advice is to let your imagination take the lead. Don't put up walls, barriers or excuses. Have fun! Experiment! Go get yourself a flash take it off the camera and start playing with it. Try it out in different ways and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Start playing with your exposures and ambient light. See what happens when you stop down and crank up the flash power. Then, get a pen and paper and start jotting down ideas, get your list going. Start roaming around your town to find cool new locations. Also, I did a little research on posing and how to do it properly. I wasn't embarrassed because I was just shooting me, I was the model so I wasn't intimidated at all. Remember, if YOU know how to pose well, you will be able to tell your clients how to pose. When it comes to posing I learned that it's all about over exaggerating your movements and expressions. Think of something funny and actually laugh out loud to catch that natural smile. Or think of something sad that creates real tears. Try to get the viewer to feel what you are actually feeling. Your photo will be more relatable to them and they will crave to see more of your work.

So get out there, start your own 365 project. Don't procrastinate and just do it. You will not only become a better photographer, but you will become a better more creative photographer which is what really counts when you are trying to compete with others for a job.

Check out more of Rosalee's work and stay in touch:

http://www.rosaleeroy.com

And like always, if you like it go ahead and share it!