A Guide to Being a Freelance Photographer During Coronavirus

The latest update to this blog is May 18th, 2020.

As freelancers, we are use to being nimble, creative and flexible, which I believe are all things that are going to help us get through this time. In all of my research these past few days, there is an overarching theme: Be ready in 3-6 months to work really, really hard.

Let me start by saying that I’m not an expert at being a freelancer during a pandemic. I’m also not a lawyer or giving legal advice. I am also not a certified public accountant and am not offering accounting advice. The rules are being written by the day and by the hour. Information and decisions keep changing, so what is true as I publish this might not be true an hour from now. I encourage all of you to keep up to date and make your own, informed decisions on how to run your business best. With that said, this is my attempt to put together some ideas and thoughts that might be helpful for us all. On March 18th, I hosted an online conversation that can be seen here where the following information was talked about and discussed — and a place where we could all come together for group therapy. I’ll be continuing to host these every Wednesday at 10am CST. Register here for April 15th conversation.

Like I said, I don’t have all of the answers, but I do know that if we come together as a community, we are always better. Without further adieu, here is The Guide to a Freelance Photographer during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

***Click here to listen + view the full group talk on March 18th!***

FEDERAL RELIEF RESOURCES FOR FREELANCERS

Payroll Protection Program:

This is a loan in which you can receive 2.5x your average monthly payroll over the last 12 months and portions of the loan are forgivable. The purpose of this loan is to make it possible for you to pay your employees, independent contractors, rent, utilities, and insurance premiums.
If you use the funds to cover the approved costs, the loan amount will be forgiven.
No personal guarantee is required.
April 3rd: Small Businesses + Sole Proprietors can begin to apply.
April 10th: Independent Contractors + Self Employed Individuals can begin to apply.
8 Week Window: When you receive this money, an 8 week clock begins. You must use these funds within this amount of time. If you use the money for approved expenses, the loan will be forgiven. After the 8 week period, the money is converted into a note (loan) and you will have 10 years at no more than a 4% interest rate to repay. You also have 6 months with no interest or principal payments. You can think of this as a line of credit for cash on hand.
Commissions, Tips, Health Insurance Premiums, etc. are all included in your payroll. Independent Contractor Payments are not included if you are the owner of the company claiming 1099 contractors on your payroll.
You must apply for the PPP thru your bank. Some people are having quicker response / success from smaller banks, so I encourage you to reach out to your banker. Here is a link to the PPP Application Form and you will also need to prove additional payroll documentation, which your banker can help you out with.
Learn more about the Payroll Protection Program in this article and I'd suggest checking out this podcast!
Here’s a great article, specifically for Sole Proprietors & Independent Contractors and the PPP Loan.
Paycheck Protection Program: Loan Forgiveness Application from the SBA

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan:

This loan is offered directly thru the federal government. It’s similar to the Payroll Protection Program, but instead of using the funds only towards payroll expenses, it also can also be used to help with costs related to supply chain interruption due to Covid-19.
If you use the funds to cover the approved costs, portions of this loan may be forgiven.
A $1000 per employee and up to a $10,000 advance, which is likely to be considered a grant, is also available within 3 days. You may qualify for more than this - the initial money is just to help you right away!
This is a 30 year loan with a 3.75% interest rate.
Personal Guarantee is required for this loan
You must apply for the EIDL Loan through the sba.gov website and here is the link!
Here is a great article to show the difference between the PPP and EIDL loans!

Confused as to which loan to apply for? You’re not alone! Below is a graphic to help explain the difference between the two loans and I also encourage you to read over this Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act, put out by the US Senate.

MINNESOTA : PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

This is new - and fantastic - for those of us in Minnesota! The state just opened up unemployment assistance to independent contractors and self employed individuals!

Before applying, I encourage you to read this *super helpful guide to applying!
Apply online for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program!

THE STATE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY

For those of us in Weddings and Events:

Clients are hoping to postpone rather than cancel events all together. Vendors are needing to stay flexible to reschedule.
Predictions are that most of us will make a recovery within 6 months and that everything will fully normalize within one year.
Connect with your network - if you are booked on a rescheduled date, have the right people your trust ready to send referrals to, who know will represent your brand well on your recommendation.
This could go two ways:
- (1) Bookings into 2021 could be affected because people are not planning right now for the following year; OR
- (2) Bookings will be double, because people are going to be ready to celebrate when this is all over.
Going forward for a while, expect smaller budgets and group sizes.
Don’t lower your rates but stay flexible with people.
The good news is that people will continue to get married and have events. Eventually.
We are thankfully not in the middle of peak wedding season as this pandemic is happening.
People will always hire a photographer.

For those of us in Editorial and Commercial Photography:

Everything is on hold / we’re just in a holding pattern.
Clients are currently planning on moving forward when this is all over.
If you had a job booked, it seems like editorial and commercial clients are paying kill fees.
Clients are being conscious of their vendors: a large corporation will probably be just fine after this, but the small, independent business partner you have might not. How can you work together both keep cash flow alive and support small business?
Magazines will still be made. Some editorial publications have worked ahead enough for 3-5 months, others only for 2 months. Online content will be updated regularly.
Editorial and Commercial work fully intends to continue to hire photographers, instead of relying on stock photography, when we’re all safe to resume.

BE PROACTIVE DURING THE PANDEMIC

Simple Things:

Do not work if you are sick or at risk to expose anyone else to COVID-19.
Don’t panic on social media. The messaging you put out right now will say a lot in this next year.
Focus on creative work for the first 90 minutes of your day. I bet you’ll feel happier and more productive!
Update your websites, portfolios, etc.
Reach out to our clients, letting them know that we will be ready when they are.
- Is there a way you can help them from afar with imagery?
- Encourage your clients to postpone vs. cancel.
- Remember that we have to keep moving even though it feels like the world is not.
Be conservative with your money.
- Do your taxes and get your finances in order. It will make it easier for you to get relief offerings if that happens and you’re eligible. Knowing where you stand with your money might be hard, but could not be more important right now.
- Check in, respectfully, on outstanding invoices.
- Call your bank or mortgage company to see if they can defer payments or refinance to free up cash. People are having luck with this!
- Seek legal counsel as to legal issues surrounding contract? (you might be able to take a loss on any income / jobs lost during this time on your taxes for 2020 — maybe…)
- Look to see if you have any business interruption coverage in your business insurance policy. If you do, it’s usually under the property clause.
Stay collaborative. Outside of 6 feet.
- How can we be there for each other during this time, both locally and nationally? Who can we connect with to send referrals to, if needed, as things re-book?
- Test Shoots / Get inspired - if you shoot food, what are you cooking in your house? How can you do some personal projects while you’re at home?
- Meet with your team. Even if you don’t have an ‘official’ team, we all have our people. It’s in our nature to stay connected and it is good for us all. Technology is incredible right now.
We can learn something from all of this.
- Plan for the future and create a plan that can make your business more sustainable through harder times.
- Fallout will happen again. Maybe not in the form of a global pandemic, but markets can crash; things can happen. What if you got injured or sick? Be ready!
- It might seem insensitive to say right now, but it’s a hard truth of being a freelancer. You need to have enough to “weather the storm” when you’re in business for yourself. Build up that savings!
- The rules are still being written for relief efforts of COVID-19. Write to your representatives if you believe in something, change is happening now!
Even after this all dies down, COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere.
- Consult a lawyer about any contract addendums or changes that might need to be made as a result of COVID-19 and to protect yourself for future photo shoots. (There’s a link below for some legal resources).

GET READY TO WORK — REALLY HARD

Things are going to be different for a while. It’s not just going to go back to ‘business as usual’.
You may have been comfortable, now everyone is uncomfortable. With this comes growth.
Cash flow isn’t going to be there right away for our clients, and people are going to be very conservative with their money as they recover their losses. We’re simply going to need to work harder for our money. This applies to everyone.
There might not be much help right now, but when the work is there, double up. Work twice as hard in 2021 to recover your losses from 2020.