Articles written by Walid Azami

Why do you feel it's OK to work without pay? Other occupations charge, and they charge handsomely for their expertise, but photographers are seemingly shy when it comes to money. Knowing this crowd, I'll need an obligatory qualifier: Not all photographers are shy, but a lot of them are.

I recently used one of my quarantine nights to create an art project for myself. A few weeks ago the rules were stricter about staying home and I used it as an opportunity to expand my own skills and vision. I encourage photographers who are stuck at home either because of the quarantine or protest curfews to push their limits and try new things.

I've seen people learn photography and lighting from a technical standpoint and for me, it always went over my head. What!? There is a mathematical calculation to getting good light? I always went for what "felt good" and for the longest time I felt insecure about my process, even though I booked often.

Freelancers, we're no different than anyone else suffering because of the pandemic and associated economic setbacks. Maybe that's not correct, because we've probably become more resilient to uncertainty just by our job description alone. Lucky for us, some brands are paying attention and doing what they can do soften the hit. This is how I received three months free from Adobe Creative Cloud.

When I picked up the camera a little over a decade ago, I decided that I'd cut out magazine photographs and make a journal of images that had closeups of the eyes. It was the only access that I had to see the reflection that showed me a little moment behind the scenes of the photoshoot. It's the "lighting hack" that I tell everyone about, because it is the first clue to what type of lighting modifiers were used to achieve an image.

Photographers: if you're looking to have a smoother shoot, you might want to try these few tips that really contribute to my photography sessions. Remember, it's how you manage a shoot that really contributes to someone's opinion of you, assuming the photography is already done well.

You need balance as a photographer, and that means addressing the business side as well. We are creative beings, and running the day to day is something we're so great at avoiding.

Booking clients is easy once you understand how you can be their solution. If a potential client made it from a search engine to your "About Me" page, they've somehow pre-qualified themselves as a client.

We've both heard statements like "I just need a few shots, that's it. I don't need it retouched" and it's frustrating.