CRITICAL PHOTOJOURNALISM

Accounting + Taxes

Filing taxes as a freelancer can be a complex undertaking, so hire an accountant as soon as you can to avoid having to do most of the heavy lifting. As mentioned above, you will want to decide about your business structure which determines what kind of tax paperwork you file. In the United States, you will automatically be considered a sole proprietor by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if you file as a self-employed freelancer with majority 1099 income. This is a relatively simple way to go and how many photographers start out, since it’s automatic. However, sole proprietors take on all liability so if a client sues you or you default on your business debt, you are personally responsible. Sole proprietors are also responsible for paying self-employment tax at a flat rate. 

If you want to go the route of a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), this option requires additional paperwork to be filed with the IRS but it does provide some liability protections and offers some flexibility in self-employment tax costs. However, LLCs require an annual fee and may make more sense for photographers who are making stable income. If you are just starting out and liability is less of a concern, it might make sense to remain a sole proprietor. Regardless of what structure you choose for your business, familiarize yourself with your city and national laws and tax requirements for self-employment. In many places, your tax burden will be larger and different because an employer is not taking on part of the tax burden. 

When LA-based editorial photographer Kat Contreras was considering how to set up their photo business, they decided on an S-Corp because of the benefits of having a tax ID and because they were really interested in building business credit for capital. “Tax wise it is definitely a plus,” Contreras says. “I only pay $800 a year in taxes.” (At the time of this writing.) They were also able to set up payroll for photo assistants and others working with them at their Los Angeles photo studio. 

Another component of keeping your taxes organized and error-free is managing 1099-NECs for people you’ve had to hire such as photo assistants, digital techs, makeup artists, etc. In the U.S., you are responsible for sending a 1099 to every person you’ve paid over the amount of $600 so that they can effectively do and file their own taxes. They need to file the form you send them with their taxes, so that you can officially expense the cost of paying any colleagues in relation to your work. Importantly, keep in mind that when you are a freelancer, almost everything (be sure to check with your accountant what is allowable!) is a write-off, including:

• Your vehicle costs: If you’ve had to purchase a car or do any repairs in any given year, that is a tax write-off. 
• Your mileage and parking for driving to and from assignments, meetings, or anywhere related to your work as a freelancer. 
• Your home office: The square footage of your home in which you have a desk or wherever you edit your photos and/or house your camera equipment should be included in your taxes as a write-off. 
• Studio: If you lease, own or otherwise operate a studio you pay for, that space and any related expenses for it such as electricity, water, etc. should be included in your tax expenses. 
• Educational materials and subscriptions: Books or art you buy for reference, any subscriptions to media and social media platforms where you display your work, etc. these can often be considered write-offs. 
• Meals and networking events: If you are getting coffee or lunch with colleagues, clients, mentors or anyone connected to your work to discuss your work, this is a business meal. If you pay for portfolio reviews or workshops, those are also business expenses. 
• Travel: This could include daily per diem, flights, lodging, rental cars and any transportation costs for assignments, portfolio reviews, location scouting, etc. 

Finally, freelancers will typically want to pay quarterly taxes, so you aren’t getting large tax bills at the end of the year. You can work with your accountant on how to do that and how much to save. You might also want to think about putting money into a retirement savings account. There are many options for these types of accounts, so work with your accountant or a financial advisor on which one(s) would be optimal for your needs. If you are planning to work for yourself for many years or for your entire career, you’ll want to begin putting money aside for retirement sooner rather than later. Interest on retirement accounts compound so even if you can only put very small amounts aside for some time, $50/month + interest will be far more money in 20 years than $0/month over the same time period. 

Types of Freelance Commissioning

The first step toward a successful freelance career is deciding what kind of photography business you want to have. We primarily focus on editorial work but photojournalists can and will often apply their multifaceted skill set for a variety of clients. Consider the types of assignments/commissions you’re most excited about and/or capable of:

• News and editorial photography: This genre includes working for print newspapers, magazines, digital news media platforms for radio, broadcast, online-only news sites, and wire agencies. Assignments with editorial outlets should adhere to photojournalism ethics. 
• Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and nonprofits: These organizations often hire photojournalists to document the work of their orgs or to document a social or humanitarian issue the organization is attempting to address. Assignments are frequently international and project-based (taking place over several days or months). 
• Grants and fellowships: These support long form and personal work that often result in books or gallery exhibits and/or editorial publication. Frequently, grants will require that a photographer has already aligned the project they’re proposing with an editorial outlet who plans to publish the work once it’s completed. As highly coveted and competitive forms of funding, photography grants can be hard to come by but are worth consistently applying to. Even if you don’t get a grant a few times, keep applying and refreshing your portfolio for the proposed project. Look at what kinds of work the grant has funded in the past and assess how your work fits within what they appear to be looking for. 
• Advertising photography: Focuses on creating images that tell a story about a brand and persuade consumers to buy a product or service. Advertising photos are more promotional than commercial photos. They prioritize product benefits over features and try to elicit emotions and connect consumers with the brand's narrative. Advertising photos can focus on the added value of a product, such as an appealing lifestyle or benefit, to move the customer to buy it. This is typically the highest revenue area.
• Commercial photography: This genre spans a wide gamut of advertising and marketing including fashion, food, product, automotive, sports, travel and much more. There are as many types of commercial photography as there are industries. Commercial commissions are typically more focused on aesthetics and intentionally crafted messaging to sell or present particular products, so journalistic ethics are not necessarily applied in all commercial settings. Rather, photographers are expected to understand and produce the vision of the commercial client. Often, commercial clients will want an “authentic”, documentary style approach for lifestyle marketing campaigns. 
• Corporate photography: This is similar to commercial work, but is typically more internal-facing such as images made for brochures, business-to-business publications or other visual messaging shared within or among a company’s employees. Employee headshots for company websites and social media platforms are another frequent corporate photography request. 
• Fine Art: Documentary photographers/photojournalists will often show their images in museums, photo exhibitions or festivals, and gallery shows. There are many spaces in the art world that are interested in and receptive to documentary-style imagery and people will also purchase your images from these spaces. Consider putting on gallery exhibits for long form projects you work on, especially if a community-engaged format like that can help educate local residents about a particular issue you’ve been documenting in their community. Photographers can also apply for artist residencies, which will typically allow time for focused work on a long form project. 
• Publishing: Photojournalists have increasingly turned toward alternate publication methods, such as self-publishing photo books and zines or working with photo-specific presses to produce coffee table-style books. This can both be an excellent way to expand the reach of your long form project work and/or offer additional income.
• Event photography: As discussed in Ch. 8 Event Photography, this form of visual work can entail all manner of events from private parties, anniversaries, corporate galas, weddings, etc. See Ch. 8 for an extensive discussion of how to approach event photography. 
• Family photography: There are many photographers who make their entire career focused on photographing family events, senior portraits, weddings, engagement portraits, maternity portraits, boudoir, and birth/infant/child photography. These are good spaces to make additional income beyond editorial work that similarly exercise a photojournalist’s reportage and portraiture skills. 
• Portrait/headshot photography: Similar to family photography, this genre tends to serve private individuals by supplying portraits or professional “headshots”  for actors, artists, authors, dancers, and increasingly any person who wants a more stylized portrait for social media profile photos. 
• Stock photography: While photojournalists have rarely been main producers of stock images in the past, there are increasing opportunities for high-quality documentary-style stock images with several stock agencies seeking more authentic candid photography. However, acquiring model releases for any recognizable people in your frame is typically a requirement of stock photography and photographers have little say over where images might end up once they’re included in the stock collection for sale. 

• The Author's Guild of America has a more detailed model contract AI clause that is publicly available and can be adapted for a photo contract.
• Model Release Form Templates 
• Copyright Resources
• Writing an Effective Pitch

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