In this video I talk about ways to build an event photography portfolio when you're first starting out.
Heres an excerpt from my Complete A - Z Guide to Becoming an Event Photographer ( mikmilman.com/guide-on-becomi... ):
Getting started in event photography can be tough. It is your classic situation in which you need a portfolio to get work, but you need work to build a portfolio. So how do you get started?
You don’t need to work for free to get started. Rather I suggest you work for yourself. Become the unofficial event photographer in your own life. You do not need to be at a bonafide event to practice and start building an “event” photography portfolio. There are many events you may already be going to that you can begin documenting for practice. For example: music festivals, art openings, concerts, and more are likely events you are already attending. I am an experienced event photographer. I have shot for companies like Nike and Adobe, but If you look at my portfolio, you can see recent events I photographed for my own enjoyment. I have no problem including these in my professional event photography portfolio because capturing moments is capturing moments whether you're paid to do so or not.
How I got started
When I first moved back to Los Angeles and decided to make my passion my profession, I was faced with the dilemma of not having the portfolio I needed to start doing professional work. Most of my time during and after college was spent making fine art photography. I was confident in my knowledge of photography, but knew better than to be presumptuous and assume that it would 100% equip me for professional work. At that time the photography market was not as over saturated as it is today and I knew wedding photography was an easy field to get into, so I decided to pursue it. I knew that the best way to learn was by doing and I wanted to learn the trade from someone with experience. But to even second shoot, I knew I needed a portfolio. So what did I do? I shot a wedding for just about free. No joke, I think I charged about $180 just to cover my rentals- I didn’t even have all the gear I needed yet! But that one wedding I essentially shot for free landed me a second shooting job with the largest wedding studio in Los Angeles at the time. It was my big break in what was quite honestly a very difficult time for anyone: It was 2008 in the height of the great recession.
How Did I Make that Happen?
I’ll be the first to admit I am not a very organized person. But I was serious about pursuing a career as a photographer. So what I did, was make an excel sheet of every wedding photographer In Los Angeles that I could find. In it, I included the name of the studio, the name of the contact person, their contact info, and any notes I had on them. I then proceeded to email each of them and follow up with a phone call. Sadly, very few called me back and pretty much none of them were looking to even hire an assistant. However, a couple of them referred me to the studio that had the largest segment of the market at the time. So I gave them a call thinking that they would of course blow me off. Strikingly, the next day I got a call! I set an interview, showed up in a suit, shared my limited wedding portfolio, and was hired on the spot! I remember them telling me something like, “well, we have like 100 people interested in a job with us, but you seem good to us.” Not only did they bring me on on the spot, but it was as a second shooter, not an assistant!
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I have been a professional event photographer and photography teacher for 10 years. Follow the links below to see my work.
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mikmilman.com
7 янв 2020
