Spring Freelance Diary
Photographing a rugby match through a fashion/documentary lens and what gear I took with me on a trip to the Faroe Islands
Hey everyone,
A good catch up is in order! I took a break from Substack last month as both work and life got pretty busy. After the slow winter months were spent hibernating and re-charging my batteries, spring came along with lots of new energy and it only felt right to say yes to pretty much everything that came my way.
To keep things fresh, I’m mixing things up a bit in this diary and focusing on a couple of case studies of jobs that took place, plus a little recap of the rest at the end. I’ll share how I photographed an international rugby game for the first time (the biggest ever turnout for women’s sport in Scotland, no less), what it was like capturing a press trip on film alongside digital for a new hospitality client, and some insight into the personal travel photos I shot on a recent trip to the Faroe Islands. As I was rounding this off a notification popped up to say I’d almost hit the email limit, so maybe this is a sign to post a little less, more often. Let’s see!
The last few months in a nutshell:
The good - The new season brought with it lots of work! I shot a mix of brand events, a few commercial jobs - two of these were in Scotland which I loved - and I covered a couple of private photo bookings too. Riding this positive wave while it lasts - June is looking to be my busiest month to date.
The bad - A few dead-end enquiries including a client ghosting on a big job. And the ramped up schedule threw off my routine, understandably, so things like new client outreach and writing this newsletter took a backseat while I found my feet in the new season. Lots of travelling which is a privilege but a bit tiring at times.
The ugly - I shelled out over twice the price for a couple of memory cards this month, versus the cost of the exact same products in October last year (£104.48 vs £232.68). Prices directly driven up by AI. Yikes.
Spring Favourites:
I stumbled across Amanda Lee Tromp’s photography through her series Camp Notes which documents summer camps in the US and focuses on girlhood, and wow - seriously beautiful stuff. Her commercial work is great too. You can follow the project here.
I love this piece by Liza Gurtin on overshooting at weddings and how the photographs of an experience can change the way we remember them.
Professor of photography Heather Morton just closed a ‘State of the Photo Industry’ survey gathering insights from freelance photographers allover the world. I’m super interested to see the results which she’ll be sharing on Instagram soon.
I went to the Nat Geo Summit in Amsterdam back in April which featured speakers like filmmaker Alice Aedy, DOP Sophie Darlington and ecologist Dr Steve Boyes. The storytelling was phenomenal and I left feeling like I should leave life as I know it behind, move to a far flung corner of the world and begin documenting the effects of climate change. So a great success, I think?
The Faroe Islands
Rewinding to early April, just before work started to really pick up and just after a lovely Easter weekend visiting family in Scotland, my boyfriend and I decided to take advantage of the direct flight route to Vágar from Edinburgh and embarked on the long-dreamt-of trip. I have a film photo diary + travel itinerary up my sleeve, so if that sounds like your cup of tea then stay tuned for the full photo story and details on what I got up to. For now, a peek into my camera bag.
Alongside my film cameras, I packed my digital kit with me (my Canon R5 along with my 24-70, nifty fifty, 35mm 1.4 Sigma art lens and an old 70-200 f4). These lenses can be used on my film camera too, and I ended up using my 50mm and 70-200 the most.