Are you a freelance professional photographer? If so, Auto Enthusiast Network is looking to build its list of photographers and you could be one of them! Interested? Read on . . .
Auto Enthusiast Network was founded as a place to connect auto enthusiasts with photographers to showcase the vehicles other media sites seem to miss. Whether they don’t have space, don’t have time, just outright miss, or it doesn’t fit their agenda. Enthusiasts love their cars; they love spending money to improve them; they love to see it in a national publication; and, they love taking pictures of thems. But, truth be told, many are not very good at it or lack quality equipment to get epic shots. That is where you step in.
Photographers Filling A Need
We photographers know it better than anyone — a good photographer is often hard to find. We also know the value of a good photograph over a crappy one. A bad photo is easy to spot but the difference between a good photo and a great one can mean the difference in getting your car noticed or being left out. It doesn’t matter whether you are looking for Likes on social media, trying to get into a magazine, or working to sell a car, there is no reason to have bad pictures when there are so many great photographers across the country. The problem is making the connection between photographer and enthusiast. It is one of the primary reasons I saw a need to create AEN.
I’ve seen too much junk out there and think it is time for a change. People are proud of their cars and should be just as proud of the photos of it! No more dumpsters, trashcans, or guys picking their nose in the background — or worse yet, half the car cut off with a huge sun flare fuzzing out the other half of the photo. Of course, it depends on the situation as to what the person wants to accomplish. If you just want to post a pic of your car on
social media for friends then a cell phone is just fine, but if you want to have high-quality photographs to display your pride and joy, you better get a professional.
The Changing Automotive Media Landscape
The plan here is quite different for those of you who have freelanced in the (aftermarket) automotive media before. The landscape has certainly changed, and if you’re like me, you came in after the glory years. For the most part, gone are the days of making fat cash being an automotive writer or photographer, especially with the collapse of print. You have to fight tooth and nail to get what you think you’re worth. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the auto media, they are doing what they have to in order to survive.
Traditional (aftermarket) automotive media is paid for by advertisers. In return, the media company pays you for the photos and/or articles. The problem is the margins have shrunk and advertisers can now take care of most media needs in-house. Why would they pay $10,000 a month to reach their readers when they can put that into Google Search or do it themselves on social media?
Herein lies the conundrum for traditional auto media. They have overhead they must pay for — a building, staff, insurance, 401k, etc. As a result, they have to stretch the advertising dollars to pay for all of it. On top of that, they have to write fluff pieces to keep the advertisers happy or risk losing them. In the end, it means freelancers get paid substantially less than they are worth after doing all the heavy lifting and the readers are left reading veiled sponsored content.
What It Means For Freelance Photographers
You can scream all you want or threaten to quit, but the truth of the matter is there is some other person hungrily waiting in the wings to take your place. Honestly, there is nothing the media company can do about it either unless they sell more advertising, and that is limited by what the market can bear. A good year this year doesn’t mean it will be good the next, and most haven’t given their employees a raise in several, so I can guarantee they aren’t going to give it to the freelancers. Once you bump someone up, you can never take it back. So to be safe, they keep the pay low through the good and the bad.
I’ve seen it firsthand being on the media company side and thought there has to be a better way but never had the time until I was laid off during the pandemic. As they say, necessity is the mother of all invention, and I’m hoping AEN is a better way. I’m not going to sugarcoat it and say you are going to be a millionaire from this venture, but I don’t intend to bend you over either. Nor do I intend to be a millionaire, myself — I’m happy making a living doing what I love and maybe having a little leftover for car parts.
A mentor of mine used this saying a lot: “A rising tide floats all boats.” AEN will live by this premise; for better or for worse. The enthusiasts and photographers are all in different boats but I think we can all rise together to change auto media for the better. I can’t guarantee it is going to be a success, but one thing I can guarantee is I won’t go down without a fight! These are my two passions, and I want to stay in the industry.
I think I have a good idea and need people to get on board for it to be a success. AEN is going to be dependent on two things — 1) hard-working, go-getter photographers, and 2) enthusiasts who want to pay for their services.
How Exactly is it Different?
I know you’ve been thinking it, so here is the answer. There are a few principles upon which AEN stands which make it different from traditional media:
- It will not rely solely on advertising dollars to pay the bills (at least for the foreseeable future). Yes, there may be advertising eventually, which hopefully would mean lowering the cost of a shoot and more money in a freelancer’s pocket.
- The enthusiast pays for the content. Not through a paywall, but by commissioning the photographers to take photos of and/or write stories about their car. In return, they get to keep the photos (something traditional media and even some pro photographers don’t do). Additionally, they get to showcase their car on a national media site — guaranteed — no more hoping a freelancer can find a media outlet to pick it up. Whether it’s a photo album or an article, they have a place to show off their pride and joy.
- Photographers are free to work for themselves or with anyone else they wish. There are no contracts, minimum shoots, fees, dues, etc.
- Photographers are rewarded for extra sales efforts (i.e. the rising boat analogy). Minimal flair gets you minimal results, so there is an incentive to do more. As you know, content is king and we will need plenty of it.
The Next Step For Inquiring Photographers
Ok, so now you understand where I am coming from, so I’ll quit rambling and get down to the nitty-gritty. I make money when you make money. I am providing you with some essentials to succeed and taking on the burden of doing a lot of the backend work that none of us really like doing. Additionally, I provide you with a credible national media outlet to house your portfolio. This especially comes in handy when you want credentials for an event to shoot photos (more on this in the future). For providing these services, I take a percentage of the overall total. The more you sell, the less I take, but we both float upwards.
If this sounds good to you, please go to the Contact Us page and let me know of your interest and what part of the country you are located. I will get back to you with an email that spells it all out and answers more questions that I’m sure you have (like pay). I’d like to keep that information as confidential as possible, so I don’t want it out here on the ol’ interweb. I think you will find it favorable for a freelancer unless you are a super high-end photographer getting paid big bucks by Big Auto.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you find the incentive to join the network!
