I’ve been on jobs when the prep work of washing, scraping and priming seem never-ending. And it’s that prep work that really counts. When you get to the actual painting is the easy part.

I’ve worked outside when the heat index was well over 100+ and when it was so cold, I wore gloves. I’ve worked on the ground painting basement windows and up a 20 foot ladder on some one’s roof.

Then there are the bugs, unfriendly dogs, and clients who watch over your shoulder to make sure you know what you’re doing.

Contacts are very important as we don’t advertise. Our paint dealer gives out our name to prospective clients and the area lumberyards give our names to their clients who are building or remodeling their houses.

We’re friendly with the local carpenters, drywall finishers, etc. They give out our name and we do the same for them. They also call us when they need painting done. And our clients give us referrals all the time.

We try to be flexible in our hours that we work on a job so we aren’t in the way of other contractors.

So even if you don’t know any freelance illustrators, you could get to know every bridal shop owner, florist, tux rental store, wedding event planers, caterers, DJs, and church hall contact people.

At weddings, you’ll start seeing some of the same people like caterers and florists, so take plenty of business cards to pass out.

Senior class pictures are a big deal in our area. The kids like to have a variety of inside and outside pictures, formal and informal ones. Get to know your local school personnel.

Find your niche and go from there. We concentrate on what I call “bulk painting”. Basic priming and painting or staining and varnishing. We don’t do “faux painting”. We’re “real painters”!

We’re fast, friendly, pay attention to detail, give free estimates and written bids, show up on time, and try to do a little more than the client expects. Like bring in their newspaper, water their dog on a hot day, learn their kids/pets names, etc.

We do some volunteer work as well. We’ve painted playground equipment and shelter houses for our local parks and painted shelves for our county fair. We usually get free publicity/photos in our local paper for doing that.

You’re on the right track. One day you’ll be so much in demand you’ll be able to pick and choose your jobs and people will actually wait for an future appointment for you to do their photos.

And you’ll be doing what you love to do!

A lot of the photo society and speakers we have are RPS. So was tempted to go with them.

Oh it’s so confusing.

But yes… I did join the BIPP, they’ve been marvellous so far. I don’t quite have the shots I need for my qualification yet – well, in the words of my mentor if I submitted a panel of the not so good ones, I’d probably pass; but the better shots make the not so good ones look bad.

So I’m at a point where I have about 80% of my panel complete (and I have, in fact, in the last couple of days ordered my actual panel prints – large flush-mounted prints). The remaining 20% of the panel should hopefully come from the next couple of shoots and then I just have to find out when the qualification panels run – they do them in bulk a few times a year.

So we’re getting there!

I find the SWPP lacks credibility in my eyes – funny logo, ‘free gift’ when you sign up. I would have thought the RPS, MPA or BIPP would be the choice for someone serious about their art and their image.

My purely instinctive reaction (based on no evidence) is that the RPS is for people who live in London and like to meet in a gentlemen’s club and make wagers while sipping single malts. MPA is for art photographers. And the BIPP is for the ‘engineer’ type photographers – those who do a day-in-day-out craftsmanlike job. Like I said, these instincts are based on nothing other than the image I have picked up.

At the start of the year, when you joined some society(BIPP? or SWPP or someone), you said you was hoping to get letters after your name in 8 months, (though it might take 2 years). (I think I replied it was on my list of things to do this year too).

I was just wondering how that was going?

(I’ve failed miserably, since I can’t decide whether to join the RPS or SWPP or SWPP and another one (since besides weddings and portraits, I do abstracts and a lot of gig photos and landscapes and other stuff, so SWPP could be a bit limiting)).

Next year (or next month) I definetly plan on kicking off the whole qualification thing. Honest gov!?!