yesterday’s daily post could be summed up in seven words: don’t knock it until you try it. stock linked me to a chris hau video the other day that is premised around the idea that as a photographer you can quickly and easily make $500 in a single day by sending out a facebook post inviting people to meet you at a given time and location for headshots. i told stock that this seems like the type of thing that maybe someone else could do, but not me. who would care if i put out a post about headshots on facebook? what if no one books and i look like an ass? i didn’t want to try it.
so after a voice note slap back from stock reminding me that i don’t know how well it will work if i don’t try, and that someone like chris hau probably knows a lot more what he’s talking about than i do. the funny thing is, even before he sent that message, i had realized there was an opportunity for me to do something like this, and i even have a location to do it from.
i reached out to a friend that i met while working as a local news editor in brooklyn who owns a dance studio in greenpoint. a few months ago, she invited me to join a private group on facebook for creatives and business owners in her network. out of that group, she created an event that ended up being a success. it dawned on me that i hadn’t really contributed to this group at all, and that chris hau’s idea could be a great way for me to engage. so i did what i had told myself wouldn’t work for me a few hours before this realization: i sent a facebook message.
today, she got back to me positively and asked if i want to grab coffee on sunday. badabing.
even as i’m writing this i realize that there is a huge group of creatives who are always in need of headshots that i’m connected to through my event photography work, and that once i get the kinks worked out with this group, they will be my next target market.
with these two groups, even if only 10 people sign up for headshots, i can earn almost $1,000. in two days. of course all of this is hypothetical but three days like this and i already bought my next camera. which despite my canon fanboyism will probably be a sony a7r ii with a sigma mc-11 ef lens adapter. small, light, and 47.2 megapixels, so perfect for landscapes and portraits. that should tide me over until canon finally releases a truly pro-level mirrorless with in-body image stabilization.
the point is, if i want to afford the new toys i have on my wish list, this is what i need to do. this and a whole lot more. i think it’s time to reassess, because now i’m starting to wonder: what possibilities am i not pursuing because they didn’t seem plausible?