I love helping creative people find their way and this is my contribution to anyone starting out on their career as a photographer. In this industry, the learning never ends.

Once upon a time a CV outlined previous experience, skills and qualifications. I don’t have to tell you that times have changed.

We’ve learned enough over the last few years to know 2022 won’t be a smooth ride. While planning out the year ahead, we must prepare to be knocked off our perch now and then. We can handle it.

As we emerge, blinking into our challenging new world, I think we will value our communities more than ever before. We’ve felt the separation strongly.

Does the air smell sweeter where you are? Is the sun shining a little brighter? We are all buzzing with the joy of life returning to something like normal.

One unexpected effect of the pandemic is the number of jobs it’s created. In our industry at least. And there’s real competition for the best of them.

Visit the Creative Directory on the Brownbill Effect and you’ll be impressed by the quality of the creative talent and their work. I don’t accept everyone, they are handpicked and proven and if you have a brief to fill, this is where you’ll find the superior candidates.

I’ve heard the statement, ‘I’m just being transparent’ a little too often lately. It is the rationale people are trotting out when the truth is, they’re letting someone down.

Are you in your current career because it was expected of you? Did you take up a trade because you didn’t know what else to do?

The move to digital was a seismic shift in our industry and very challenging for all of us. It’s probably hard to believe the impact it had now and I wonder if this pandemic will recede into memory just as quickly.

If you’re suited to it, freelancing is a great way to work. For a start, you get some balance in your life. But it can seem a little shaky when the phone doesn’t ring for weeks.

If you find yourself lost in the bush or at sea, the prevailing wisdom says locate north and head in that direction.

Someone I recently placed in a job called me ‘the anti-recruiter’. He meant it as a compliment and it started me thinking about the importance of genuine connection.

Perhaps yours is in good shape but when was the last time you had another pair of eyes across it? I’ve challenged creatives and shaped their folios for many years.

f you’re on the Creative Directory on the Brownbill Effect, you get seen by more people than you can imagine because the Creative Directory is the most effective creative network in Australia.

I said 2021 would take off, and I was right. So many clients are looking for talented people right now.

I’d love the chance to look at your work and finesse it into something powerful. I have worked in the industry for over twenty years and have a deep understanding of how it functions.

Which is not to be unkind to the also-rans. It’s just that they might find it a bit harder to land their first job after Uni.

It represents hard work and discipline -but before we let out a collective sigh, how could any of us get on without those attributes?

Over the years I’ve developed a skill in putting people together in creative teams. Many of these teams are still entrenched in the industry.

Finally, we’re looking at 2020 in the rear vision mirror. There won’t be many sorry to see it go.

What are potential clients looking for in a folio? It’s the million-dollar question.

When I began showing photographers’ folios, all I had was a phone, a phone book, and lots of tenacity. Martin, my then-boyfriend (now husband of 23 years) first introduced me to his parents as Sally Phonebill …

The Brownbill Effect has built a reputation for hand-picked, cream of the crop freelancers and it’s time you joined the group.