How to become a travel photographer
Gros Morne National Park - Newfoundland, Canada
How to become a travel photographer. Well…sort of. Am I a travel photographer? Sure, in the sense that I have been paid to travel and take photos when I travel (and videos too). But I don’t want to make it sound like more than it is. It’s not as though I’m being sent on assignment to exotic places for weeks or months at a time all year long. But, I travel regularly (almost once a month at this point) and have been paid to do so, more recently securing substantial budgets and working with brands to travel and take photos and videos.
My travel experience, in terms of getting paid to travel, started when I was touring in a punk band in my 20s and 30s. All over the US, Canada, and a nice chunk of Western Europe too. Full disclosure, it didn’t pay well…and sometimes not at all (poor management ;) At the very least though, the experiences of getting on a plane or into a van, going on road trips, staying in hotels, eating, etc. and having those things paid for was something I thoroughly enjoyed. Maybe that’s my ego though. The drawback with that kind of travel was being in a town or city for essentially less than 24 hours, and seeing almost none of it (unless we had an extra day off on tour). Thankfully back then I had the wherewithal to make it a point to remember some of those places we spent less than 24 hours in, and promise myself to go back. Fast forward to today, and I’m able to return to these places for extended stays; exploring, hiking, and learning…with a camera in hand. And finally - earning the trust of brands to pay me to do so.
Glacier National Park, Montana
This didn’t happen overnight. I explain in my video below how this happened over the course of years, and how I see it (getting paid to travel) in 4 stages. I’ve included a quick summary of those stages below, and go into more details on each of them in the video.
Traveling for self interest: This is on your own dime, and on your own time. On these trips, you have your camera in hand, and you photograph and film anything that piques your interest and just start to build a portfolio. People, places, and things. Variety is good. Over time, you can start to hone in on something (be it landscapes or people or food) that you really enjoy to shoot while traveling.
Barter based collaborations: You’ve gotten the attention of a brand, who wants to send you gear, equipment, apparel, etc. to film and photograph for them on your travels. Maybe make a polished 15 to 30 second marketing piece, capture and edit some nice product photos, and in exchange for that…you get to keep the gear/equipment/apparel. *The benefit of this is you can beef up your website/portfolio with brands and companies you’ve collaborated with and worked for.
Small budgets: I’ve done a couple of these recently. So it might be a small dollar amount that pays for a tank of gas, a hotel, and a couple meals. Again, still shooting and editing the stuff for free (technically - actually no…not technically…literally). On the flip side I’ve made it a point for these small budget projects to shoot them close to home, utilizing visually appealing local locations, so as to essentially earn a shooting and/or editing rate. Yes this negates the “travel” aspect of it, but I think it’s a good way to keep those lines of communication open with brands and wet their whistle for bigger budgets in more exotic locations.
All expenses paid travel plus normal project/day rates shooting and editing: Self explanatory, and this is the goal. Airfare and/or gas, lodging, food, and any and all other expenses incurred while traveling are covered and/or reimbursed in full…and you’re earning your normal shooting/editing rates.
The Quiraing, Isle of Skye - Scotland
Again for me, none of this happened overnight. I started at Step 1 and eventually made my way to Step 4. In truth, a good portfolio isn’t enough to guarantee this happens either. I firmly believe a lot of it is luck and/or who you know. Luck in the sense that just getting on a brand or company’s radar and having them trust you to do work requires a bit of good fortune. You can’t just expect a cookie cutter email or social media DM with a good portfolio is enough. You have to get creative (watch my video on how I landed a big client that is paying me to this day). Conversely, who you know is equally as important. One of my best travel experiences ever, if not the best, was shooting for a culinary travel company in Northern Italy for 2 separate 10 day trips. It was a tough project, in terms of shooting non-stop for 10 days straight on each trip, and the weeks of editing when I got home. But, it was worth it as I learned so much (especially what I could have done better). The reason I bring this culinary travel company up, and getting all expenses paid travel to Italy plus my project/day rates for shooting and editing…is because the only reason why I got that gig is because one of my best friends is the chef who runs the company and who I have trained Jiu Jitsu with for about 19 years now. That’s it. If he, or I, trained at another gym (luck/proximity/random draw of the cards), I wouldn’t have gotten the gig. *And I had so much travel, landscape, people, and food photography to show him…all because I did step 1 (shooting on my own dime and time for self interest) for years and years.
The last thing I’ll mention, and I got over this in the video a bit more concisely, is to be patient and nurture these relationships. Especially when you initially get on their radar and projects are being discussed. Don’t ask for huge budgets right out of the gate. Show what you can do, overdeliver, and be a pleasure to work with. Check out my video below, and thanks for reading/watching!
A short vlog with tips about becoming a travel photographer and working with brands.