Do you Supply Photos?
As a freelance writer, your number one task is to produce high quality content. But with that being said, there are times when a client may want more out of you. One of the most common requests of freelance writers is to supply photos in addition to content. Have you ever been asked for images by a client?
For several months I have been attempting to break into a particular national sports magazine. A couple of weeks ago things finally broke my way, and the editor assigned me a story. At close to $.50/word, I was quite excited about finally breaking into this publication. Soon enough, my jubilation turned sour when the editor asked if I could take some photos as well. While I know some freelance writers who have no problem with this, I am not one of them. Not because I do not want to help out, but because I am not the best photographer. On top of all this, you need to have a high quality digital camera in order to supply high quality photos. Again, this is something I lack.
So what did I do? Simply put, I explained my position to the editor and she was more than willing to accommodate my situation. I got to keep the writing gig, and a freelance photographer is going to take care of the rest.
Another similar situation that I have run into is being asked to provide ideas for photos. This is more up my alley. I have no problems giving an editor ideas on what images would work best with my content. As long as I do not have to actually take the pictures, I can be quite helpful. This brings me back to a post that I made earlier this week on helping freelance writing clients in anyway possible.
Over the next few months I am going to look into expanding into freelance photography. From what I understand this can be quite lucrative, and as you can tell it may also help my freelance writing career. I have taken a few courses on this subject in the past, and hopefully I can pick up where I left off.
Overall, do not be afraid to negotiate with an editor. You may be surprised to find out that they will accept you as a writer, and assign the photography portion of the project to another.
