Insights: How Photographers REALLY Make Money - Part 2
Christa Funk, Nathan Gallagher, James North and Bethany Mercer on the realities of life as freelance photographer.
As regulars will know, I’m on a mission to help my Insights paid subscribers find their own answers to two fundamental questions:
How can I spend more time doing the things I’m passionate about?
What does a ‘successful’ creative career really look like?
That was the thinking behind my three-part series on the reality of earning money as a freelance creative.
If you missed this the first time around, catch up below:
As this series was so popular, I’m back with another two-parter discussing the reality of how freelancers - in this case photographers - actually earn a living.
Catch up on the first part with Chris Burkard, Bella Rose Bunce, James Bowdon and Hannah Bailey below….
…and beyond the paid subscriber jump: read on for the latest instalment with Christa Funk, Nathan Gallagher, Bethany Mercer and James North, as well as my own thoughts on how AI will potentially impact creative careers such as photography, journalism and film-making - and how we should think about it.
It’s amazing how quickly the creative and freelance landscapes have changed since I began this series last summer, and especially in the six short months since I posted the last instalment in December 2024.
Back then, I wrote:
“Photographers are in a particularly interesting position these days. Gone are those pre-digital days, when analogue syndication meant photographers could establish a niche for themselves while also making some proper cash.
The advent of digital scuppered that business model for all but those at the very top of the food chain”.
Since then, as we doubtless all recognise, the picture has changed even dramatically: thanks to the cultural, economic and geopolitical impact of events in America; and the insanely fast-paced encroachment of AI onto every aspect of the creative working life.
As Joe White put it in last week’s Insights post about commissioning creative work as a marketing manager:
“Budgets are shrinking, and AI is supposedly about to steal your lunch (though I’m not convinced). The mood is understandably pessimistic”.
Of course, as is the case with any technological advance on this scale, at this point it’s basically impossible to predict where we will end up.
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