This session appealed to me as it was being taken by an ex-Creative Media Student of Glyndwr University, it goes to prove the ex-students are successful and more importantly as Alison is still locally based, successful in North East Wales, as my family and I live in Chester this is important to me although I will not allow it to restrict my career choice, it is reassuring to know that Photographers are finding work and making a living in this area.When researching Alison’s work prior to the session, I was pleased to see the creativity and diversity within Alison’s work, she simply isn’t a wedding photograph or typical studio portrait photographer.
Since leaving university Alison has set up and owns The Photo Foundry (www.thephotofoundry.co.uk), which is based in North Wales. Alison undertakes photography assignments for artists, capturing them whilst working, as well as photographing their work and helping them promote themselves via electronic means of in advertising etc for exhibitions. Alison also enjoys passing her knowledge on by undertaking workshops where she teaches/advises artists on photographing their own work. Alison also takes commissions to photograph and film musicians, festivals, charity events, basically she appears to be open to use her artistic ability to help anyone whatever their passion is.
www.facebook.com/pages/Alison-McLean-Photography/192393004124243
www.flickriver.com/photos/kathka/sets/
This session intrigued me as since I have started my degree course friends and family have asked me to undertake photographic work for them. This has been both in event photography and/or family portrait shots.
I was looking forward to this session as I felt it would give me help in marketing myself to make a living from freelance photography, and I wasn’t disappointed.
After briefly telling us a bit about herself and her time at Glyndwr, and how important it was to gain as much knowledge whilst studying as you could, Alison went on to focus on the practical advice she could give us to make the switch from university life to the business world as easy as possible.Firstly, she stressed the importance of having your own website, as it was a great marketing tool in this age of technology. Alison then went on to give us some very practical tips and advice, with details of where to get further information.
Your website should:
• Have an original domain name (check www.namesco.co.uk to see if the name is used elsewhere before starting)
• Use a free website (this reduces your costs) www.carbonmade.com , www.cargocollective.com
• Work with a Graphic Designer – this will enable your website to have a professional appearance
• Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct (www.ghotit.com can check this for you)
• Get a friend(s) to proof read your website, someone who you trust to give honest feedback.
• Use video, blogs or keywords to increase visitors to your website
• Consider the use of freebies or competitions to increase visitors and to encourage viewers to return
• Ensure your website is ALWAYS kept up to date, if there is nothing new it looks like you aren’t doing anything, even when busy make the time to update your website.
Secondly, Alison then went on to mention Business cards, and the benefits they can bring
Your business cards should:
• Have a brand, link it to your website brand if possible
• Use quality cards, this gives a professional appearance (they will also last longer for your customers)
• Keep them uncluttered, you want the information to stand out and be easy to read
• Consider postcard size, these can give greater opportunity to show your past works
• Consider the future – if you show details of a competition they will have a short shelf life
www.moo.com
One of the main objectives when setting up in business is spreading the word. Alison summarised this into three main categories: Word of Mouth, Social Media and Networking. Alison then went on in greater detail about each of these aspects.
Word Of Mouth
• Family and Friends – they could be your greatest advertisement
• Colleagues and Students – offer to take photos of their work
• Referrals – the most satisfying as it means someone likes your work enough to refer you to someone else.
Remember even with family and friends always be professional, a good motto is “under promise and over deliver” always give yourself extra time in case of accidents/emergencies.
Social Media
• Linked in – www.linkedin.com
• Google plus
• Blog e.g. wordpress, blogger
• Flickr – www.flickr.com
• Pinterest – www.pinterest.com
• Social Media Management e.g. tweetdeck, hootsuite
Link the connections i.e. put a share/link on facebook whenever you update your website etc. On a practical note, write in the third party, detail upcoming engagements (gives potential clients the chance to see you at work)
Networking
• Exhibitions
• Graduate networking events
• Fusion (the Foundry, Wrexham)
• Events
• Chamber of Commerce
• Linked in business groups
• The pub
• Redeye, the photographers network
Alison then went on to recommend the top groups we should get involved in or with:
• Redeye – www.redeye.org.uk
• Welshot – www.welshotimaging.co.uk
• Local Camera clubs
• Photoalternative
• Insideout art group – www.insideoutart.co.uk
• Open eye gallery (Liverpool) – www.openeyegallery.co.uk
• Blank media collective (Manchester) - www.blankmediacollective.org
• Ffresh – www.ffresh.com
One of the things to bear in mind after leaving university, Alison said was to keep inspired, she then detailed how she does this.
• Twitter – what are others up to?
• Redeye/welshot
• Collaborations
• Art house co-op - www.arthousecoop.com
• Eager (Company in Holland, which sets photography assignments/projects)
• Projects
• Restrictions
Alison also recommended keeping a file of your ideas and past works as a tool for new works. Something that may not have been possible 6 months ago could be possible now. Knowing what you would like to do could make you see an opportunity you could have missed if you hadn’t noted it down.
Continuing Professional Development
• Redeye/welshot/camera clubs
• Current trends
• Photography skills
• Competitions e.g. photocomplete
• Online magazines e.g. fotoblur
Keep up with current news, events etc. Entering competitions could open doors to new markets and or clients.
Basic business essentials are something you need to deal with if setting up as self employed or creating your own business but you can get help on these areas very easily.
• Tax and business practices
• Business bank account
• Money saving expert
• Accountants
• Insurance
• Employing others
Websites we might find useful:
www.a-n.co.uk
www.bjp-online.com
www.freelanceuk.com
www.photographers.co.uk
www.professionalphotographers.co.uk
Alison@thephotofoundry.co.uk
This session with Alison was everything I hoped for, she gave the information in clear concise details, and not only could you see she enjoyed the work she does but actually wants others to enjoy it too. The help and information she gave was practical and down to earth but also very relevant to anyone wanting to start their own photography business after leaving university.
Show passion in your next step (Photography & Video) by Minimal Media
Minimal Media is a creative production company based in North Wales, but they work all over the country. They specialise in both still and moving images. Their aim is to provide a friendly and reliable service to help you to communicate your ideas, and to tell your story in the simplest of ways. They have undertaken work for charities, community based organisations, education, marketing, events, short films and more. This session was detailed as a presentation from the team on what brought them together, how they set up their own media company, working life at a media company, their product and how they market their services. This seems to be a common vein on Creative Future sessions, informing us on how to make it in the real world, the pitfalls we might incur, and to gain the benefit from others who have trod the same path.
Minimal Media is a group of currently three people, Graham Cooper, Hollie Harmsworth & Alan Whitfield, all three are ex-Glyndwr students, and they all graduated last year. So once again they are students from my field of Film and Photography that are now making a living from it.
Graham started off with the statement “Never say No” then went on to explain, if you want to succeed you never turn down an opportunity, as work experience will not also improve your knowledge, but will also get your name mentioned in the acknowledgments and therefore will help spread your name both in the industry and to potential clients of the future.
They then mentioned a couple of local initiatives.
A local group based at Glyndwr University called Glyndwr Resonance, they had approached Minimal Media for help to produce a film called Resonance. Minimal Media accepted the offer and Alan is producer, whilst the Directing is being undertaken by Graham. It is a grand story about a mythical object of incredible power, co-created by professionals and audience, told across multiple platforms. A sci-fi thriller unfolding across multiple platforms and around the world, Resonance centres on a mysterious Object and the people whose lives it alters. www.glyndwrresonance.co.uk 
Alan then mentioned GO Wales, which has a local office at Glyndwr University, they offer a range of service proven to help students, graduates and businesses in Wales. Their services include work placements, funding for training, an online database of jobs in Wales and the Graduate Academy.Go Wales offers a Freelancer Academy & Internship package, it is a free 6 day training course designed to help interested graduates to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to progress your business idea. www.gowales.co.uk/en/Graduate/freelanceracademy
Their advice for people looking to set up as self employed was practical and down to earth. Initially ensure you get the name for your company/trading name right, your choice of name will be with you for the rest of your career. Then they mentioned the serious business stuff – taxes, business accounts and insurance. One of the hardest things about being self employed is approaching people, Graham then recommended that you do this in person as emails, telephones can be very impersonal, and it is also harder for potential clients to say no face to face.
Graham then advised us that it would cost approximately £30 per year for Public Liability insurance, which covers you for damages to property or people during the course of your work.
Minimal Media’s latest project is to produce a commercial for a new website based company called Publicate. Publicate aim is to make it easy to promote yourself through multimedia content. Hearing about this I felt was beneficial on two counts, firstly Minimal Media’s involvement and secondly the potential to use the website for my personal benefit. www.publicate.it
Overall I felt the session had imparted a lot of knowledge, for a company that was started by graduates last year, it was great to hear that such a new company was getting so much business but also the diversity of the projects they were undertaking.
“Passion is a positive obsession. Obsession is a negative passion” by Paul Carvel was the closing quote for the session and an interesting thought provoker.
Upon reflection, I enjoyed this session, although sadly I felt that they had spoke more about their achievements then how they got there, and had focussed more on their photography assignments then the film. At the moment as I am undecided over which path to choose after university, I had hope this session taken by a company that focused on both photography and film would have given me the option of a different path, where I could combine both my photographic and film making skills.
www.minimalmedia.co.uk
Going in to Business as a Young Entrepreneur by Charli Dickenson
The last session I worked out I wanted to attend was this one, as although again it potentially was going to focus on Welsh funding, I still felt the knowledge I would hopefully gain would be beneficial.
Charli Dickenson is employed as the Youth Engagement Project Officer for Launch. Charli grew up in Bangor-on-Dee, so she knows what it is like to be a young person living in rural Wrexham. Launch is a project funded by the Rural Development Plan for Wales. The Northern Marches Cymru is responsible for delivering the Rural Development Plan for Wales in Wrexham, their aim is to improve the quality of life for people in rural Wrexham.
Launch’s aim is to get young people involved in their communities, and to help them improve the quality of life for young people living in rural Wrexham. It also has a focus on promoting business and enterprise for young people in rural Wrexham.
www.launchwrexham.co.uk
Charli started off by saying the most important point when setting up a new business is the idea, be excited about it. If you aren’t excited over your idea then it’s the wrong idea. Develop your ideas and talk about it, talk it over with friends, family and co-workers. By doing this you can find out how popular the idea is and also get an idea on some pitfalls.
The next stage is to talk to people with business-set-up knowledge, like business line-library, The Zone etc. They will be able to give you practical advice and will probably know if there is a market for your idea. Consider undertaking some market research to see what the general public think of your idea, find out who your competition is – what do they offer? Are they successful? Is there scope for a second company doing similar?
Charli then went on to say to make your business a reality it needs to be financially viable. There are many organisations to help you in this, source funding, and find out where you can get help from. Research to know whether your client base will be local or internet based.
How will you sustain the business? The answer is of course marketing, Charli then went on to give her advice on this aspect. Marketing is crucial for any business it is more of an investment than a day to day expense. Charli confirmed your business will not be noticed without it, but you can advertise by the simplest of means, use social media (facebook, twitter etc.), blogging, cross references fresh posts news of what you are up to etc. Develop a Marketing Campaign, keep track of what works and what doesn’t, remember what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. Consider the Physiology of business cards, the benefits of being able to give out your details anytime any place.
Charli confirmed you need to get an understanding of finances, it isn’t that difficult and there are plenty of business workshops to offer advice and point you in the right direction if you have a problem. The main thing to remember is to seek out information see if you get a Launch Grant to help cover the initial costs. Just remember said Charli the aim of any business is to break even not to get into debt.
Websites to help you find funding (courtesy of the www.launchwrexham.co.uk website)
www.business.wales.gov.uk -The Business Support Finder through the Welsh Government
www.cypnow.co.uk/go/fundingfinder_wales - The Funding Finder from Children and Young People www.princes-trust.org.uk/need_help/enterprise_programme - The Princes Trust Enterprise Programme www.j4bgrants.co.uk - A useful resource for finding sources of finance.
www.ms.fs4b.wales.gov.uk - For graduates the Welsh Government’s graduate business grant.
www.shell-livewire.org - If you sign up you can apply for £1000 Grand Ideas Award.
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