Best Business Practices for Photographers [246]
Take Your Kids with You
I have hanging in my office several images where I am carrying my camera bag on one shoulder, a camera bag that really contains diapers and a bottle on the other shoulder, and a BabyBjörn on my chest with one of my children strapped to it. In these situations, I had a two- to three-hour assignment or a project I wanted to work on, but for whatever reason my daughter needed to come with me. The rally on the National Mall celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day took place about six weeks after my first daughter was born, and she was there with me. Ditto an anniversary of Martin Luther King's historic speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—my daughter and I were there while I was working.
In addition, as your child gets older, so, too, are your digital cameras, which makes them more or less safe to hand over to an eight-year-old. A few years back, I took my daughter to cover a protest march. It wasn't an assignment, but my daughter wanted to know what daddy did, and so rather than just tell her, I thought we'd make an outing out of it. So, I pulled out of the closet an old Nikon D1x, charged the battery, put an old lens on it, put it on Program, gave her a five-minute demonstration about how to use it, and off we went. Yes, I made a few photos I liked, but I was more concerned with not losing my eight-year-old, so she was my focus. She watched me take photos and took her own. She was excited about being out with daddy, and she quickly got the hang of previewing her images she had just shot on the back of the camera. She learned how much work it was—running and finding the right spot as the marchers came by and carrying the camera. She was never more than 10 feet away from me, and I always had my eye on her. In the end, after a few hours, she was ready to go home—both tired and excited about "our assignment." With a bit of cropping, she had a few really nice photos to show mom.
Obviously, when you have clients on a shoot, unless your child is old enough to fill the role of photo assistant, you can't take your children. If I'd had to go to a protest where I was concerned for my child's safety, she would not have gone, even if she was strapped to my chest in a BabyBjörn. Yet, unlike Take Your Child To Work Day, which happens once a year, when you run your own business, you can take your child to work any day you want. It's likely that over time they will tire of it, but they will have lasting memories like my daughter, who says, "My dad takes me on photo shoots."
Dealing with the Jealousy of a Spouse or Partner
At points earlier in my wife's career (she's abundantly happy now!), there were times when she said to me, "You love your job, and I hate mine. That's not fair." That, dear reader, is when you help your spouse to find a new job and encourage him or her to take the time necessary to find one he or she loves. We are blessed by whatever higher power each of us believes in, because we have a gift or talent that can sustain us and that gives us pleasure day in and day out. Rather than get defensive, do everything within your power to see things from your spouse or partner's perspective.
Sometimes you have to protect your spouse from worrying about you. I know that might sound counterintuitive, but it's important to consider. If you're a freelance photojournalist traveling to a war zone or disaster site, a white lie may be in order (but avoid a straight lie). Don't say you're going to Arizona if you're really going to the Middle East. However, saying you're going to cover humanitarian efforts instead of that you are embedded in a combat unit will allow your spouse to worry less and focus on carrying on with life, your family's needs, and such. Of course you check in when you can, but don't talk about missing being ambushed by 50 yards or about a firefight that