How to find work as an event photographer

There are two tried and true ways to start getting work in event photography. The first is to tap into your circle and tell people that you want to start shooting events. There are bound to be birthday parties or community events that would love to have a photographer. In the beginning, you shouldn’t charge for your services, as you are arguably getting more out of the experience than your client. During this time of working for free, it is important to have perspective and know that all this work will pay off soon. You need to grow your portfolio so people know they can trust you and so you can trust yourself while working. The better your photos become, the better equipment you get, the more you can charge. This process wont take long, as long as you’re diligent and continue to learn and grow in this field.

The second way of getting into event photography is email and reach out to all the working event photographers in your area. It obviously helps to have a portfolio already to show them that you are serious and know at least a little about photography. This way will get you money faster, as the lead photographer will pay you to help them with jobs. You will also learn invaluable lessons during this time and grow exponentially. Being open to learning from someone else and being open to learning from your mistakes is the best way possible to grow, and growing means making more money.

From here, working on your website and growing its SEO is your next step when you have reached a point to venture out on your own. This process will inevitably take longer as both of these things are completely different than event photography and you will have to learn whole new skills for this process.