Tasha Faye is no stranger to Propel. The young freelance photographer has been friends with us over a number of years and we’ve had the privilege of seeing her career grow. We chatted to Tasha about her how she got into freelance photography as a career, being a woman freelancer, and the complexities of pay and portraiture copyright. She also offers her advice to any young creative wanting to make photography into a career.

Photo credit: Isabel Marcelo, @bienne.studio.

What do you like to photograph and wow did you get into freelance photography as a career?

I don’t think I stick to just one thing but my favourite thing to do is (creative) portraiture, and I also do quite a lot of events.

I was quite stubborn – and still am – but I was really set on doing it as a career but I never really had a clear idea on what that would be like. Freelancing has turned out to be really good, I can work according to my schedule, choose who I want to work with, and I can do what I want. There are so many possibilities when it comes to working as a photographer, you can work with print, for an organisation or company and take photos for them exclusively, so many possibilities. I kind of prefer doing my own thing because no one really tells me what to do (besides sticking to briefs).

How did you start getting photography jobs?

I started getting jobs when I first moved to Perth, I wasn’t pursuing it as a business before as I was doing it more for fun. When I moved here I did a showcase where you apply and go through a selection process, and if they accept you, you’ll be featured in the showcase as an artist with your own booth and your own work. I was accepted back in 2014 and I think I got a couple of jobs from that. I don’t know really how it started after that, I think it was just getting to know more people in Perth and networking. I know networking sounds really hard but most of my networking was meeting friends because most of my friends are in the arts scene. They either work in arts management or different fields of the arts industry.

A lot of work that I got was by word of mouth, I don’t think I’ve gotten much from online, maybe Instagram. Instagram has been so useful with people finding my work. It’s so easy for people to find you if they’re looking for something specific. I was asked to shoot for 6LACK through Instagram for Listen Out last year. He found me through the hashtag #perthphotographer. Sometimes I think hashtags aren’t useful but then something like that happens and it’s like oh actually they are useful. I didn’t end up doing it though because it wasn’t a paid opportunity.

Photo credit: Isabel Marcelo, @bienne.studio.

There are many unpaid opportunities like that out there offered to emerging artists, what is offered instead is exposure and experience. Have you come across this in your work and what do you think about this sort of approach?

I’ve said yes to unpaid opportunities a few times like shooting for Flex Mami, and the reason why I said yes to her was because she resonates with me and I wanted to meet her. She had already hired another photographer who she did pay but when she saw my email, she said I could come along and photograph on my own terms. She also gave me a media pass and didn’t pressure me to work the whole day or take a certain amount of photos. I thought it was a pretty good deal. I did that to meet her mostly, and to have that backstage experience which was pretty cool.

In general though, I think you shouldn’t do it, there are exceptions obviously and you can do whatever you want with your time and your work but I feel like if it’s a whole event I definitely wouldn’t do it for free. I feel like people can usually afford to pay you; they just choose not to because they don’t consider photography real work. They think it’s clicking a button and they don’t consider the time we use for editing, sorting through photos and all that. Your time is money. If I do any free work, I'm very picky about it. Going back to how people usually can pay but choose not to, that happens to a lot of creative work, they think it’s less legitimate than other jobs.

You recently posted a few comments and shares on your Instagram Story about where copyright belongs to when it comes to portrait photography especially when prints are sold.

I don’t know why I get so anxious about selling prints of portraits but I guess I just imagine if it was myself and I wasn’t a professional model, I don’t know how I'd feel having my portrait up in a stranger’s home. It's a really weird thing. I obviously want to respect the subjects and their feelings, whether they’re a model or not. People often think that models are more used to it but they’re also people who value their privacy and have a say in images of themselves. I think if I were to sell prints of portraits, I feel like the model should get loyalties or some sort of payment because it’s their work as well.

The thing with portraiture is that you have to really respect the model, and in general, respect them as a person. When I'm doing shoots with people, I’ll ask for their permission if I’m going to post the photos. They're not compromising photos of course, but it’s still nice to ask first.

You recently opened an online shop selling your prints, how did deciding on pricing go?

A lot of people have said that I’ve been under-pricing them, and after talking to some of my artist friends who also freelance, I realised that I didn’t really take the cost of printing, time and effort put into the photography into account when choosing the prices at the beginning. They told me all these things that I didn’t even think about. I didn’t know how to address it when I changed the prices on the shop but I tried my best to. I do that often, even with jobs, sometimes I’ll message a friend to ask what they think of a quote I’m about to give, and most times they’re like “No, you need to charge more”.

I think being a woman freelancer, I’ve got an apologetic attitude when it comes to charging for my work. It's really ingrained into us. If someone asks for a quote and I give it to them, and their reply is that it’s too much, then I try to accommodate their needs but sometimes I realise that I’m actually underselling myself. I try not to do that anymore. If I know that they’re really struggling or if it’s a friend who really needs photos, then of course I’d make an exception. Friends are really important, sometimes I’ll ask for their advice about being a freelancer, and it’s really helpful to have friends who are in the same industry.

How do you learn new things and improve your photography skills?

A lot of what I learn is watching what other photographers do and practicing by myself. Portrait and fashion photography gives me the most room to explore creatively; some people I shoot for are happy for me to do really experimental things. I feel like I also learn through documenting events like learning how to be quick or on-the-go all the time. With events, you have to do everything in one shot, so I’ve learned a lot from that. Sometimes I don’t really realise what I've learned because it’s just all in there, there’s nothing you really write down or physical other than how you’ve improved in newer work. It's all in your head, but when you start doing it, you realise that you’ve learned something new.

What has working with Propel looked like for you? What have you enjoyed most?

Obviously the friendships, everyone who works within and with Propel are always really good people. Also Propel have always paid me fairly especially on creative industry standards, and sometimes even paying me more than what I thought I would be paid. It’s always nice when that happens, when an organisation does that you feel like they’re recognising your work, effort and experience; it’s great because I often don’t do that for myself. Propel has brought me so much, I had never done workshops before and now I can share so much with younger people and artists, like I can pass on things I’ve learned and share my experiences.

Do you have advice for those wanting to get into photography – freelancing or otherwise?

The first rule is that you have to be so resilient, you’re going to get so many knock backs and rejections, and so many hurdles and things to overcome. Especially for those who are surrounded with people who aren’t supportive and are unsure about you or what you’re doing, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else does.

With creative work, I feel like there’s no set path that you go down. With photography, it’s a lot of work, it’s a lot about who you know. You have to be really social and open to people, meeting people leads to building rapport. Like I said before most of my jobs are from word of mouth.

Enjoy what you do. If you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy doing, don’t do it, stand your ground, especially if someone hires you to do something that is not you at all. You don’t want to compromise your creative integrity and do something that doesn’t really speak to you. They hired you for a reason so do what you do best!

How do you take care of yourself?

I make sure to take time off. I schedule my days off and I’m mindful not to overwhelm myself with work. Even if I have to work everyday, I try to take an hour or so to relax and watch some TV or take a nap. In photography you have to deal with people a lot and being an introvert, it really takes a lot of energy out of me. I guess also, in terms of taking care of myself on jobs, I practice standing up for myself and standing my ground, that’s an important part of taking care of yourself.

Find Tasha Faye and her work on her website, Instagram and Facebook. She’s also selling beautiful prints on her bigcartel site!

INTERVIEW BY: YOSHIKA KON

INTERVIEW: Tasha Faye