Getting Personal Can Save You

This October marked the 10th year I’ve covered the largest fundraising event for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, their Chicago luncheon.  When I first started this relationship I was covering one event a year, now it’s around 5 and it keeps growing as the years progress.  They also contract me out for portrait sessions for their VIPs whom I can then recognize and be sure to capture at future events.  I consider myself lucky that I’ve been able to work with this incredible organization for such a long time, especially since I haven’t always made it easy for them.

One year during this big luncheon, I squatted down to get out of the way while capturing the speakers and was unable to get up again.  My client rushed to help me to my feet and sent me home, telling me not to worry.  They had two photographers for this event so there would still be coverage.  I’d been open with them about my personal life, sharing a tragedy I felt I couldn’t hide when they contracted me for the Chicago Luncheon that year.  Since they understood why I was having this physical issue they were sympathetic to my situation and didn’t view this as a professional weakness.

Let Your Worlds Collide

I’ll never forget my first cold call to the local Girl Scouts chapter.  I knew enough to know who to ask for, even though I couldn’t pronounce her last name. During that first conversation, 13 years ago, as I was settling into my new home office, Julie hired me on the spot and promised to bring me to her next event.  A few months later I was surrounded by Brownies.

During my own personal struggles, Julie has been there for me, lending me her invaluable ear during my struggles and cheering me through my dark times.  Unfortunately, I had the opportunity to do the same for her shortly thereafter.  We had surpassed the binary client/vendor relationship and replaced it with a friendship that goes well beyond grabbing a drink after work.  At this point, she’s practically family.

Over Memorial Day weekend this year she hired me to document her own family, some of whom had flown in from out of town to celebrate her dad’s birthday. I got to listen to their family jokes, cheer as her dad blew out the birthday candles, and watch her daily struggles first hand and in person.  Now I feel like a part of her family too.

Do A Favor For Someone

It was a cold day in January when JCC Chicago first came calling.  For months I had been in contact with an old friend who I’d recently run into at an event I was working. We knew right away that we wanted to stay in contact and eventually work together. A few months after our reconnecting she joined the marketing team at JCC Chicago.

Over email she introduced me to another person on their team who was the one on the other end of that phone call.  She was pitching me a “photo booth” of sorts at their upcoming Purim Carnival, but they had no budget for photography.  You hear that so much it can become exhausting, but I knew during that phone call that I wanted her as a client so I made a deal there on the spot.  I promised I’d do this one job, 2 hours of sitting in one place shooting families in front of streamers if the next time they came calling there was a budget in place.

Craig was so frustrated with me as I dragged him and Aleck out to Northbrook on a chilly Sunday in February for the event.  “You should not be working for free anymore,” he kept saying, but something felt right and I knew I should at least try it out.  The event was a blast, we all had a ball as we ran into a ton of old friends enjoying themselves at the carnival.  JCC Chicago was thrilled with my work, but they were even more excited about my energy, knowing that I would be a great fit for their community. The next time they called they had a budget.

Now I don’t recommend taking unpaying gigs on a regular basis, it only makes it more difficult for other freelancers to continue getting paid for their work, but sometimes you have to take a chance.  When you can get a glimpse into the pipeline and see the paid opportunity on the other side it can make all the difference.  Most importantly, trust your gut.