I want to produce.

An Agony Agent submission.

As some of you know, I love giving advice. This is an ongoing series titled ‘Agony Agent’ where I give you advice on any creative/ industry problem you may have. Feel free to submit your own via the homepage or at the link at the bottom of this article. Can’t wait to read them!

“How does one become a producer / creative producer with a photography background? I have been applying to the jobs but i dont have experience and places dont really accept producing your own shoots. help loveeeee”

Photography by Szilveszter Mako

As someone who has previously been a full time commercial & editorial producer, the first question I must ask is- do you really want to do this? Producing is no small feat let me tell you, it’s a lot of responsibility, gruelling hours, pressure & having to deal a lot with spreadsheets and money. Not the most glamorous (sorry to any producers reading- but I’m also sure you agree with me).

Granted, I know some fantastic producers who are:

1. amazing at their jobs

2. love what they do

But please do think about it. I don’t mean to put you off, but I just want to ensure you have looked into it properly and not been swept up with the associated compliments of saying you are a producer at parties. Go for coffees with producers first and ask the hard hitting questions to really understand their way of life. Offer to shadow on a few shoots, or act as a runner on a larger job, just so you can see it first hand. You will not know if this is something you want to actively pursue unless you have had a taste of what it really takes.

If you are certain of this to be a GOOD producer you are going to have to work your way up the ranks, clear and simple. Which may feel like a step back after being a photographer, but you have now entered a new field here. Find producers and creative producers that you admire, and ask to be runners on their shoots. From there you will become a production assistant, then a production co-ordinator, then a production manager and finally a producer yourself. Each step offering invaluable experience before you can fly solo.

There are a whole host of “producers” right now in London that have not taken this pathway, and not to be mean but it clearly shows. When someone hasn’t done the right of passage they are missing a lot of the small, but invaluable, skills that a producer needs to run a shoot at a seamless level. Also, with the above advice- diversify who you are working for- ultimately there is likely going to be one producer who will see something in your or you have a good rapport with, who will ask you back again and again. Make sure they are very good, booked and busy, but also respected in the industry, as they will be the ones really defining your skillset. But before that day comes, shop around- work with different types of producers, see what they do- absorb some of it, discard others. But seeing how a variety of creatives work in the same field, really equips you with so much more early on than just returning to that one producer who made you feel good about yourself. Once you’re past that phase then lock in to that one who is going to be hiring you regularly, and essentially mentoring you at the same time.

If all the while you are still itching to have your own shoots, reach out to other photographers and creatives you know to see if you can help produce their personal/ editorial shoots. Something that is low risk but likely low/ no pay, but good for the portfolio. This also will allow you to build up your own network with talent on the rise which will only serve you well, think of it as growing together. However, I must flag that these are not the jobs where you are going to learn the hard hitting and difficult aspects of being a producer, which is a lot of the time dealing with clients and budgets. Yes, it will teach you how to deal with small budgets and make you quite scrappy- but you HAVE to do this in tandem with actually working on commercial jobs at a lower rank.

However, as I said before you are not a producer until you have done the work. So whilst you have said in your query that you don’t have experience, and places are not accepting of that- I wholeheartedly agree with them. Producing your own shoots does not make you a producer, but it has likely taught you some great skills when starting out that will set you apart from everyone else. I will warn you it will take time, its not something you can become overnight, but the time will be worth it when you have acquired skills and talent that no one can take away from you- because you’ve earned it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, if you are wanting to submit your own qualm or issue anonymously for our Agony Agent segment you can do so here.

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