Yesterday Landis Images turned 1.
That’s me in my office, where I’ve spent most of the last year. (It’s more cluttered than that, so thank goodness the lens that shot this photo wasn’t too wide.) So what have I learned in the past year? Quite a bit.
I learned about contracts and copyright laws that I didn’t have to worry about when I was on a newspaper staff. I learned about taking work when it comes while still trying to keep family and friends a priority. I learned to be brave enough to ask for work and be confident enough to know I can do the job.
I learned that my husband and my family and friends are even more supportive than I thought. I learned that photographers that I admire so much are approachable and give great advice. I learned to shoot and make deadline from a laptop in my car, and I learned how to recover lost files from a CF card.
I learned that I can get much better pictures and much better stories if I have more than half an hour to shoot. I learned about monitor calibration (I’m still learning about that), blogging, the importance of fact checking, how much the blue dot on my iPhone map means to me, how to store cardboard boxes, how much sleep I really need and that no matter how many times I see it, my byline on a photo in a newspaper is still exciting.
The most important thing I learned this year was probably that I miss people. A lot of photographers will tell you that after they went freelance, they’d never go back to being a staff photographer. I learned that I’m the opposite. I’m six years in to my career now and I’ve never been on a staff with another photographer. I enjoy collaborating and learning from other photographers and writers and editors, and I miss that.
So what’s next for Landis Images? Hopefully my photography and business will continue to grow and I will continue to work on my long-term projects, as well as keep my freelance clients. Also, I hope to start doing more video and multimedia on a professional basis. No matter what, I hope I continue to have fun while I work!
Thank you to everyone who has supported Landis Images and encouraged me over the past year! I couldn’t have done it with out you!
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