Paying Rent And Making An Income Alongside Photography Practice ~ Joanne Coates

Joanne Coates is a working class artist and photographer who is based in North Yorkshire and surrounding areas. Her interests lie in rural atmospheres and the working class in photography and gender. Coats has also been commissioned for BBC, The Guardian and many more.

Paying Rent:

- When establishing a personal photographic practice, especially with freelance work, it is advisable to have a part-time job alongside building photography business/practice. This allows to create a safety net in order to pay bills and to put money back into photography practice.

- Another way to make money alongside work, is to pitch photographic essay about and idea to branches such as The Guardian, who pay £400/£500 for this. This includes pitching an idea which can be written by a journalist or the pitcher themselves, and is featured in the publication which can be accompanied by a photograph.

- Art commissions, such as Borderland projects, Jerwood and Photoworks can be applied for, with no expense and are helpful to artists. This is because they provide sponsorship and is an effective way to create, curate and present work.

Advice:

- Spreadsheets are important for keeping track of commissions and money. This is because most companies give the photographer working for them a sum of money, which includes the expense of travel, assistance etc. Therefore this is an easy way to maintain and track this.

- Use network for assistance, for example individuals that have worked together before.

- Commercial work (£6,000) should cost more than editorial work (£400/£500 a day). When beginning it is important not to pitch price too low as companies may disregard as they may believe the work is not professional enough.

- It is important to check emails frequently as individuals and companies may email for commissions.