How can you find the best entry-level photography jobs?

The photography market is flooded. Realistically all you can do is create a showcase then start putting your skills out there. It doesn't hurt to make a little posted and go from Church to Church posting it, then be ready when the opportunity comes in. You can use freelance sites too. And, if you can schmooze with a billionaire who will patronize your work, and buy copies of your works, then you are likely to have success. There are some museums that once you are discovered (like the Gagosian if they like your work), that will make your work available in their galleries for sale. Network, go meet people. Keep your camera ever ready for the moment when it arrives.

From experience, don’t niche down too far too early. Taking on jobs across the board will help broaden your skills and knowledge as well as exploring other areas of photography. Once you have found your niche that you absolutely love, run with it. Advertise for your niche but don’t turn down other jobs which might not fit in the niche. As long as they fit within your morals and style take them. Just don’t advertise the fact.

Keep and be early for your appointments. Provide a top quality product and do Not over charge. Be Honest. Thank the customer for their business and let them know should they or their family and friends need your services you would be very happy to accommodate their requirements.

Put out model calls through social media. This widens your audience because people tag and share it with their friends and family. Always treat any free job (I.e. model call) like any other job, demonstrate your professionalism and skill. Have contracts/model release in place to protect yourself and them too!

I really started the photography experience with forensic photography. In this situation there is no such thing as bad light or bad weather or bad anything. You have to get the needed images. I really learned how to improvise such as how to put hour camera and strobes into plastic bags when it was raining. A back road accident at 2:00 AM, total dark that covers several hundred feet, how to light. This is where I got to really see and look around. I now see all types of light images on walls and interesting things to photography. None of this was ever presented in a photography class.

The best way to market yourself is networking. One of the best online places is LinkedIn. Here you will find everything you need to appeal to potential customers. Offline I find BNI, Toastmasters, and local networking groups the best way to interact with the local community. I think every photographer must make others understand what is special about what he does and what exact problem you solve for them. Of course always bring with you some business cards and let other understand how much you love what you do!

Networking is really powerful for building trust and authority in your area. Depending on the genre you are wanting to get into, different types of networking will be beneficial. If you go into corporate headshots for example, something like BNI would be useful. Alternatively if you go into fashion photography they won’t be useful, but get yourself to networking events geared towards fashion.

Maybe the right answer is to make others give you jobs and gigs.. But first, let's say something about rates.. I love to say, make love with your pricing. You can start with a low rate, but remember to challenge yourself with something a little uncomfortable. This will help you to deliver quality and focus on your customer... About applying for jobs and gigs you can approach people using your networking skills, but the best is to get approached by others showing them your work. How? Use LinkedIn for example, post your work, and share the customer experience you give. Show your network what you are capable of. So they might approach you when they need to.

The best way to improve is to ask yourself. Who is the person I want to be? .. and then find someone that already made it to the top. You don't need to reinvent the wheel, you need to customize it and make it yours. I learned a lot thanks to my mentor and friend Peter Hurley. I just found the best headshot photographer in the world and learned from him everything I could. Of course, the learning just started. But this is how to learn and improve fast.

If we are talking an entry-level position in its truest sense, starting the journey in high school or college is the path. Work in the journalism and/or sports department taking photographs of school events. Doing both will build skills in composition, captioning, story-telling and equipment use. Once you leave the educational system, you have the skills to vie for that entry-level position. It may even be at that same school where you now have experience and you are known. If outside of the system, you now have people from whom you can get references.