Scarlet Page Case Study by Willow Alston

Research and Development Project B Lucy Baker – 07114668 Willow Alston – 09140115 Ros Garland Case Study Scarlet Page Photography

Contents Introduction

About Page

History of Page’s Work

The Interview

Important Events in Page’s Career

Page’s Publicity

Page in Professional Context

Freelance Financial Details

Shoot.

Inside Shoot.

Shoot. Finance

Shoot. in Professional Context

Evaluation

Conclusion

Introduction This case study is focusing primarily on the freelance photographer Scarlet Page as well as the involvement of the photographic agency Shoot. within her business. In order to do this effectively, we will be considering the competition to both of these within the industry as well a number of financial aspects. Page’s business aims to produce high standard and quality images for a number of publications as well as uses, with her focus having been placed on music photography for the past 15 years. However with Page’s recent change in genre to children’s fashion and decision to relocate out of London, this provides as interesting investigation into the business of a freelance photographer. Throughout this case study we have looked at the various genres in which Page has covered throughout her career as well as how these have impacted on her business. We have also examined Page’s history within the industry and how she remains competitive in an increasingly saturated market. We have also considered the way she works alongside Shoot. and in particular her agent Penny Caplowe. We have used a number of primary and secondary research materials to help gain an insight into these areas. This included a face-to-face, in depth interview with Page herself in London, where we discussed many important factors which this report focuses on. We supported our primary research with the use of secondary resources such as Page’s own websites, blog and social networking sites. We have also considered the numerous exhibitions Page has done as well as her involvement in charities. We used the Internet to gather financial details of Shoot. which are in the public domain, as well as information about the organisation and its members and clients. The negative and positive aspects of Page’s profession and career choices are an underlying factor throughout. Combining both the primary and secondary sources we have compiled an informative and concise report concerning various aspects of Page’s freelance career.

About Page Scarlet Page is one of the UK’s leading music photographers and has been for the last decade or so. Being the daughter of Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin guitarist), Page has always be in close contact with the rock and music industry so it is of no surprise that this is the genre she chose to photograph. Page’s mother, Charlotte Martin, was a popular French model in the sixties and seventies, so it is again of no surprise that Page felt comfortable in a world of cameras however she prefers to remain firmly behind the lens. Page started to explore photography more thoroughly during her foundation art and photography course. It was during these studies that Page claims she began her interests in realist art by copying photographs and producing realistic paintings and drawings. After exploring various mediums of art, Page began to focus more on photography and proceeded to develop her skills in this area. She then went on to complete a BA in photography, film and video in 1993 at the University of Westminster. After completing her studies at Westminster, Page was lucky enough to gain work experience in 1993, with acclaimed rock photographer Ross Halfin. Page has stated that: ‘he embraced me into his fold of rock and generously showed me the ropes.’ with how feel

During her experience with Halfin, she was able to network many of his clients including the Foo Fighters. She also learnt to interact with the clients effectively and to encourage them to at ease, allowing for natural, spur of the moment photographs.

Page’s business was a natural progression from her work experience with Halfin that lead to more jobs coming her way. Page has stated that ‘there was no original plan’ for a business and that things simply ‘fell into place.’

Page has an extensive list of clients which include: Placebo, The Darkness, Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson, Stereophonics and Duran Duran. After working alongside Penny Caplowe for a number of years, Page agreed to join the agency, Shoot. as she felt this was the right move for both her and Caplowe. This inevitably lead to a broader range of clients and allowed her to explore a range of avenues in her genre. Throughout the years, she developed an interest in a variety of subjects including charity work, gaining clients such as War Child and the PDSA. By working alongside charities, it encouraged her to photograph subjects outside of her comfort zone and with techniques that she had not previously adopted. Page decided to relocate from London to Reading after getting married. This gave her the ability to experiment with different photographic interests including fashion and children as well as combining the two.

History of Page’s Work Page’s first break into music photography came in 1993 following her placement with Halfin, when she photographed Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden. The image was then published on the back of Raw magazine (Rock Alive Worldwide). This magazine focused primarily on the rock music industry and was heavily imaged based. This provided Page with the opportunity to showcase her talents for the first time and put them in context within the industry. From this she went on to developing a documentary style. In 1994 she began experimenting with live portraiture using The Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys as her subjects during the Lollapolooza tour of North America. It was after this that she produced her first major album shoot, in 1995, when she was commissioned by critically acclaimed The Verve for their release ‘A Northern Soul’. During this early period of her work Page produced images for a variety of different publications allowing her to fulfil a number of clients briefs and demands by experimenting with a range of techniques. By this time her work could be seen in numerous newspapers, magazines and press releases including The Times, The Independant, Kerrang!, Clash, Uncut, Q, Mojo, Blender, Flaunt and Spin. Page has often said that the best publicity is to be constantly seen in person and in print and this she had clearly achieved at this early stage in her career. 1999 saw Page begin her involvement in charity work with an exhibition for Task Brazil and the ABC Trust entitled ‘Scream’. This event included involvement from many professionals from the music industry including a some of the most popular and well known musicians around.

By 2001, Page was photographing world renowned celebrities from the music industry including Blink 182, Placebo, Rammstein, Linkin Park and System of a Down. Robbie Williams was a crucial client to Page as she was involved in photographing his concert (‘Live at the Albert’) as well being responsible for producing all of the images printed in his book ‘Somebody Someday’. Williams has again the subject of her portfolio in 2002 along with Tenacious D, Hoobastank, Alien Ant Farm, Boy Sets Fire, Stereophonics and Foo Fighters. Page continued her work with a wide variety of clients over the next decade, increasing her reputation within the industry and creating a strong back catalogue of images to her name. Page produced the ‘Your Child’ exhibition in 2006 in aid of War Child. The exhibition was displayed at the Royal Albert Hall in London as well as in Fopp in Bath, gaining publicity and exposure of Page’s work. This exhibition, albeit unintentionally, showcased Page’s ability to capture more sensitive moments, then her previous work may suggest. Pages work has now taken a new and interesting direction, with the inclusion of fashion and children photography now in her remit. This recent decision for Page is still in the experimental stages, which is requiring her to explore new techniques and introduce herself and network in a new market within the photographic industry.

The Interview To gain a more in depth understanding of Page and her business we arranged an interview with her via email correspondences (please see Correspondences section in the Research File) which was conducted in Camden, London over a two hour period. We carefully considered the questions in order to balance the business orientated questions and the more personal ones. We felt it was necessary to enquire into a degree of personal information as this has a major influence upon the work of a freelance photographer. As Page does not have a personal studio or a specific business location, we met in a mutually agreed location, in an area that she has worked in prolifically. The areas that we interviewed Page on covers her inspirations and experiences through to the monetary side of her company as well as the balance between freelancing and the involvement with an agency. Page stated that there was no original plan for a freelancing photography business, but that it was a natural progression from both her work experience with Halfin and the increase in her work load which caused the need for keeping accounts. ‘There wasn’t an original plan for the business, it’s not like an ordinary job... It seemed like the next logical step and it all fell into place’ When asked to describe the involvement of any employees or assistants, it was clear that they generally were all recommended by her agent and the Shoot. agency. Page regularly uses a select few assistants, that she employees with a wage of £150 per shoot. Page went on to explain her involvement with Shoot. Prior to Shoot. she had previously worked with Penny Caplowe, before she formed PCP (Press Council Photography) and Page continued to keep the work association and joined her when PCP was created, with Caplowe acting as her agent and recently followed her onto her new position at Shoot.

Page benefits from the agency in a number of ways including access to regular clients, advice on a variety of aspects and financial stability as well as mail outs. Page believes that most of her work now comes through the agency but feels it is more repeat bookings than new clients. However Page continually reinforced the notion that the best form of publicity is to be constantly seen.

‘The more you are seen the more work you get in print.’

As stated earlier Page has an impressive and diverse client list. Which include Stereophonics, Placebo and Foo Fighters. According to Page, one of the most financially and also most beneficial in terms of publicity was being the official photographer for The Darkness and going on tour with them. This resulted in them buying the copyright to all of the images produced throughout this time. Being a freelance photographer, Page owns the rights to her images unless she chooses to sell them on or syndicate them, as is according to copyright law.

‘This is not something I would usually do and not something I did lightly but it was financially worth it.’

On average, Page now photographs two to three shoots per week. She gave an example of a press session shoot of Feeder where she earned £1500 per day. The final product of this shoot included 8 high resolution photos with each additional photograph costing £25.

‘Press sessions used to be £3000-£10000 but now they are usually £5000 all inclusive.’

She then went on to give a break down of the fees for an editorial shoot. She used Kerrang! magazine as an example as she has produced work for this publication on a number of occasions. For a single page, the fee would be (approximately) £150, for a double page it would cost £250 and for a cover shoot the fee would be £400.

When asked, Page explained that she did not have a deposit system and often negotiates cost in accordance to a clients budget. She stated that as nobody has ever refused to pay after a shoot has been completed, she has not been let down by this way of working. Being a freelance photographer involves dealing with an unpredictable income. As a result of this Page could not fully disclose to us the in depth aspects of her financial details, as it varies from client to client. Page overcomes this unpredictably by taking every photographic opportunity presented to her. ‘I only turn something down if there is no other choice.’ Coinciding with the change of genres, Page has also made the physical move out of London. However she believes that this has not made a negative impact on the quantity of work that she obtains despite the majority of her work still being in London. Approaching the topic of Page’s shift in photographic genres, moving more towards children and fashion and further away from music and the rock industry, she puts this down to a number of reasons, including natural progression, taking time out to have a family and the rapid change to the music industry due to the digital revolution. She also feels the change is personally beneficial, allowing her to take a step away from the more energetic demands of live music photography. ‘I don’t want to be forty plus and in a mosh pit to photograph three songs!’

Important events in Page’s Career

Exhibitions/Charity Involvement Page has participated in numerous exhibitions, the most successful being the ‘Your Child’ collection for War Child. Despite the success of this, Page mentioned in our interview with her that: ‘there was not much financial gain or work generated from the publicity from this project’ She insists that the learned from the project but it did not influence her later change to children’s photography. She also stated that her involvement with charities is more of a personal interest. Although Page does involve herself with charities for personal reasons, her business has also benefitted from some paid charity jobs including a calendar for the PDSA.

Digital Revolution An important aspect to consider when putting Page’s business into context is the digital revolution in both music and photography. When Page began her photography business, she shot on medium format film and was involved heavily in producing shoots for album covers and inlays as well as posters and press releases for editorial. At the start of her career all of Page’s images were meant for hard copy and physical usage. However with the coming of the digital revolution this is becoming less and less the case and music has become much more focused for an online presence. This change in the music industry has had a massive effect on the type of shoots she has worked on and the technique she uses. Despite having a preference to shoot on film, the cost implications of printing and reproducing work in this way has lead Page to follow the digital revolution and use a DSLR (Nikon D3).

The digital revolution has also had a profound effect on the general publics ability to become ‘photographers’ simply through the use of their phones, or cheaper, widely available compact cameras. The inexpensive cost of digital photography allows more people to become professional photographers, saturating the market with new competition, making it a more competitive industry as Page’s career progresses. ‘I rely on the body of work that I already have and reputation to maintain my workload.’ Page is currently scanning and digitalising her early images in order to allow them to be reproduced and syndicated with a greater ease. This is financially beneficial, despite its time consuming nature, to her business and clearly demonstrates the effects of the digital revolution on her business.

The Shift in Genre As briefly mentioned earlier, Page is beginning a new direction within her business. This comes after returning from maternity leave, which has caused a distancing from the music industry, particularly the live shoots. To encourage this move for her business, she has set up a new website dedicated to her children photography, along with a portfolio and a new blog. Financially this may be beneficial future for Page as it opens her up to a wider audience and client base. ‘Photographing children has always been a passion and I am now concentrating on capturing the essence of children and families. Having trained taking photographs of ‘Rock Stars’ children are a breeze!’

Page’s Publicity Page uses numerous forms of publicity which include two personal websites (one for predominantly music based photography and one for her newest venture into children’s photography). Alongside this, she gains publicity through the agency Shoot., who profile her on their website along with a selection of her portfolio. She also makes use of social networking (Facebook) and keeping several up to date blogs. However as stated earlier, Page believes that the best form of publicity is to be seen out and about taking photographs and networking with the right people. She does not spend money or time publicising herself either through print or online and has even admitted herself that her music based website is in need of updating which could well be detrimental to her business. Page’s personal blog has received 1,270 views per month, but she feels that this is more for the fans of her work and because of her personal connections to fame, rather than to her clients. Each time a person views her site Page gains £0.03, which generates a monthly income of £527. According to urlspy.com, Page’s website (www.scarletpage.com) generates more traffic alone than Shoot. However this may well be due to the fact of her personal life being in the public eye whereas Shoot. is aimed primarily at clients.

Page in Professional Context

In order to place Page’s photography business into a professional context it is necessary to consider photographers that are in a similar position to her in terms of location, genre and those within agencies. Freelance photography is a very competitive industry, with each photographer having their own strategy to deal with this and promote their business. Throughout the process of researching this case study we have looked at a number of relevant photographers. In order to understand Page’s business more thoroughly, it is important to go back to the origin of her photographic experiences with Ross Halfin and consider how this has effected her business. However it is also important to consider how Halfin’s business works and his position within the industry in order place her business in to a realistic context.

Ross Halﬁn ‘I’ve always worked freelance and mainly now shoot tours for clients, and worldwide travel photography.’ Ross Halﬁn Halfin is freelance photographer who started his career in the 70’s by shooting for weekly music magazine Sounds. The writer of Sounds, Geoff Barton, devised the idea for Kerrang! magazine, which caused Halfin to become more involved photographically with the rock music industry. He has coped, as Page has, with rapid changes within the music industry throughout his career, which saw him photograph the likes of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Def Leppard and Kiss. As a consequence to this he spent the majority 80’s touring with a selection of these bands, building up his portfolio. Page’s photography business holds similarities to Halfin in the form of online presence in particular social networking and blogs for the benefits of their followers.

As the images above clearly demonstrate, Page’s photographic style has been influenced by her experiences with Halfin (Halfin’s image can be seen on the left, with Page’s on the right). Although very simplistic, this type of imagery has become a representative of classic portraiture within the rock music industry. This style is highly sought after and can, when well done, increase the publicity of any freelance photographer and enhance their portfolio in order to gain work in the future.

Jay Brooks Jay Brooks is a freelance photographer who is involved in a number of genres including music. He is also a member of the Shoot. photographic agency alongside Page. His clients have included Sony Music, Atlantic Records and Island Records. While his focus may not be in the rock music industry specifically, he is still well anchored within the general music photography industry, for example photographing Florence and the Machine. Like Page, Brooks has a varied range of interests in his portfolio, which is very beneficial to a freelance photographers business, allowing to them gain work from different directions instead of solely relying on and being known for one particular area. Similarly to both Page and Halfin, Brooks also deals with portraiture, albeit not necessarily within music, and is involved in a collection in the National Portrait Gallery.

It is clear that photographic styles vary hugely within any genre, this is an important aspect in being a freelance photographer, being able to express your own style as well as appealing to certain clients because of it.

Julia Bostock Julia Bostock, a freelance photographer since January 2002, is primarily focused on children’s fashion photography. She has worked with many brands to develop their fashion campaigns. Some of her clients include Debenhams, House of Frasier and Great Ormond Street Hospital, areas that Page may become involved in with her new venture. Bostock particularly focuses on fashion for children under ten years of age, with a range of using natural settings as well as studios and props. Her versatility helps her appeal to a variety of clients. She is involved with the agency One Photographic as their only children’s photographer, but also the agency has numerous other fashion photographers including Roger Neve and William Garrett.

With Page’s new direction in her business leading her towards children’s photography and fashion, it is essential to consider the type of competition that she will face and the type of styles that already exist. However Page already has success in one are of professional photography which will aid her success into this new area.

Adrian Green Adrian Green’s portfolio includes a huge number of portrait photography which has a variety of A list names in it such as: Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and Ewan McGregor. However his clients also include businesses such as Debenhams, The Observer and Elle. This is unlike Page as he targets a broader range, whereas she has mainly targeted the music industry (prior to her shift in genre). On his website, Green makes a point of having a section dedicated to ‘Kids’ photography which includes aspects of children’s fashion, similar to the market that Page is aiming to break into. Green, like Page, is also a part of Shoot. photography agency. This could well be beneficial to Page as the agency will already have a client list dedicated to children’s photography.

It can be seen throughout the case research that all considered photographers have a variety of genres within their portfolio. It seems that this is an important aspect for a freelance photographers business in order for its success within the industry. As such Page’s change in genre to children’s fashion photography should not be hindered by the fact that her career was made in the music industry.

Freelance Financial Details Due to the nature of freelance photography, it is not easy to gather complete financial clarification on an individual photographers income. As well as this, the majority of photographers do not wish to disclose their fees in the public eye as often these vary from each photographer and from client to client. As a rough indication to photographers fees, the National Union of Journalists suggest a number of examples in their Freelance Fees Guide Photography, which can be found in the research file. The guide advises on a number of topics that are necessary within this industry including negotiating day base rates for a variety of medias as well as copyright legislation and production charges. This a fairly comprehensive guide and supports the financial information that Page discussed with us during the interview. Below is an example of suggested rates for magazines which do not include production charges which could indicate the possible financial gain Page has got from such work.

On the previous page is a table which compares Pageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rates to those shown in the NUJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide, it demonstrates that her rates are good value compared to the standard suggested rates and this may well encourage clients to hire her. Looking at the industry that Page is a part of, being a freelance photographer has a number of positive and negative aspects that need to be considered. The decision to be self employed or to register as a business comes down to each persons needs and choices. There are differences between the two forms of working practice that must be evaluated in order to discover the most beneficial course for the person in question. Some of the benefits of being a freelance photographer are the ability to travel, capability to create and work around your own timetable and the flexibility to work for a variety of clients as well as deciding which jobs you want to take on at a particular time. However the financial instability and uncertainty is a negative that needs consideration as this choice, for example, does not provide a pension or sick pay. Another element to consider when becoming a freelance photographer is whether to become represented by an agent/agency. This has big benefits in some aspects as it could provide an extensive client list and regular work, an advantage which Page receives though her association with Shoot as well as business advice. However financially the work load needs to be good enough to create a profit despite the cut the agency will inevitably take. If a freelance photographer is a sole trader, the most simplistic form of business, the main consideration is just to sell any images produced and publicise by the individual, be it through networking or a website etc. Accounts must be kept by through the business or by an accountant employed by the freelancer. A self-employed person is responsible for paying income tax. However a registered company has more financial elements to consider such as calculating tax payments to encorporate every element of their business, e.g. premises and equipment.

Shoot. In order to further contextualise Pageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freelance business, it is necessary to consider her involvement with her agent and the agency group itself; Shoot. as well as how these work separately.

Shoot is a photographic agency and production company based in London representing twelve photographers. It also offers full independent production services throughout the UK and around the World. According to www.companieshouse.co.uk, Shoot. first became an active company in 2001, which now represents 12 photographers who have collectively worked for an impressive client list.

Below is a list of clients found on www.shootgroup.com, the agencies official websites:

Page’s involvement in Shoot. came about because of her long standing association with Penny Caplowe who is now an agent and producer for Shoot.

Penny Caplowe After graduating from Exeter University Caplowe became a press officer at Polydor Records. She went on to work for several major record labels, with artists ranging from indie rock bands to James Brown. She then formed a PR company called Press Counsel with her brother, Charlie Caplowe, it was at this time that Page began to have an involvement with her. In 2001 Caplowe set off on her own and started Press Counsel Photography (PC.P) spending the next eleven years managing the company with a roster of great photographers, including Page. It was at the end of 2011 she and Page along with photographers Jay Brooks, Rebecca Miller and Soren Solkaer Starbird joined Shoot. Within the agency, Caplowe is still Page’s representative, which is the main reason Page consented to the move as she places her trust in Caplowe’s knowledge of her business. Caplowe stated on joining Shoot.: “We are all delighted to have joined an agency for which we have the highest respect. Adele and her team at Shoot have a reputation within the industry, not only for producing high quality imagery with a consummate professionalism, but also for adding a personal touch and being prepared to go that extra mile.”

Inside Shoot. To better understand Shoot. photographic and production agency, it is beneficial to consider the internal structure of the company which is as follows:

Shoot. Finance As Shoot. is fairly integral to Page’s current business, it is necessary to examine the companies financial stability to understand whether Page has secure a future with the agency. In order to research the financial background of Shoot. we went to Companies House and ordered ‘Shoot Production Limited Abbreviated Balance Sheets’ of the tax year ending 30th April 2011, the most recent accounts available at this time.

Companies House Data According to Companies House the worth of the tangible fixed assets, of which they have 2, have risen nearly £1000 in the past year, from £7725 to £8875. The companies current overall assets have risen from £129,749 to £152,983. The net current liabilities have fallen from £17,204 in 2010 to £4725 in April 2011. Having researched these figures it is important to take into account that this information is not recent enough to include the joining of Caplowe and her associated photographers and therefore may not fully reflect the current financial situation of the business. However it is a positive position for the company to be in and the joining of Caplowe, Page and the other most recent photographers, could further increase the financial stability.

Shoot. in Professional Context

After examining Pageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business individually and in the context with other photographers in the industry as well as her involvement in the agency, it is important to consider the Shoot. agency in context with other similar photographic agencies to get a more insightful view into its potential competition and position within the professional photographic community.

Playground Photographic Playground Photographic is a young, dynamic and vibrant agency dedicated to producing distinctive and creative photography for the advertising, fashion and music industries. This agency represents eight photographers, who range from still life to fashion photographers. Alongside representing these professionals, the company offers a full production service which can include: *Total budget management * Location Sourcing * Sourcing the creative team * Prop Sourcing * Logistics (flights hotels etc) * Model sourcing and securing * Casting * Catering As the list above suggests, this agency is similar to Shoot, in that it offers a wide range of services, not limiting itself purely to photography. It seems common place within the agency industry, to provide a production service alongside photographic services.

One Photographic One Photographic is similar to Shoot. in that it is run by four women and is also based in London. However they represent a slightly larger list of photographers with 13 in total. All of who specialise in either fashion or interior photography, with the exclusion of Julia Bostock (profiled earlier) who focuses on children and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion. One Photographic differs from Shoot. in that its photographers are not as diverse in there specialities as those from Shoot. However their client list is still varied and includes John Lewis, Debenhams, Elle and Royal Doulton. Some of these clients may be the target of Pageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children photography.

Horton Stephens Horton Stephens has been a leading photographers agent in London for the past 20 years. In accordance to the two previous agencies examined as well as Shoot., this agency represents a similar number of photographers, with under 20 on their list. This seems common practice within photography agencies, to deal with a relatively small number of photographers. Similarly to Shoot. Horton Stephens targets a diverse collection of clients and therefore has a number in common, including: 02, beer companies and many people from the music industry. As suggested by the research, it seems natural for photography agencies to deal with a small number of photographers at a time, whilst attempting to provide a diverse range of specialities in order to appeal to as much of the market as possible. This research along with the previously discussed financial details, places Shoot. well within the norm of the industry but does not make it stand out from the competition.

Evaluation Having looked closely at Page’s freelance business, we have established that there are many strengths and weaknesses that she faces within this industry. One of Page’s key strengths that helped to set her apart from her competition, especially in music related photography, is the personal and family connections she has with the industry. This has allowed her to network with considerable ease and provided a large number of photographic opportunities that has enhanced her business. This early success, by her own admittance, has helped maintain the work flow in her later career. As mentioned before, a weakness of this type of work is the unpredictability and instability of the income. Page has experienced this at times throughout her career, including when she took out time for maternity leave and did not gain any income. The future of Page’s business holds a number of opportunities for her in terms of expanding her client base, which in turn creates the chance for her to increase her work load. The change in the music industry, as well as her own decisions, has caused a fluctuation in the amount of work that she receives allowing her to experiment and explore a new genre. By entering into a side of freelance photography that she is not accustomed to, Page is opening herself up to a number of threats, including unknown competitors and not having as strong a portfolio in children’s photography as she does in music photography which could lead to a deterioration in work, however she does not plan on stopping music photography completely, providing her business with a safety net. As another precaution, Page is currently archiving her film images into digital files in order for them to be easily syndicated and reproduced which will provide her with another source of income.

Conclusion This case study has shown that freelance photography is mainly down to an individuals preferences, whether this is through being a sole-trader or a registered company. Another choice is whether to be self represented or involved with an agency. All of these have positive and negative aspects to consider as discussed throughout the case study. Page has successfully created a career that has allowed her to develop skills and techniques as well as improving her reputation and her business, in turn creating a strong client base. She has also managed to balance the unpredictable nature of the financial aspect of a freelance photographer, by being represented by a trusted agency, in this case Shoot. Through this she benefits with a more stable income and regular work as well as enabling her the time to explore different genres of interest. We have also discovered that self promotion and networking extensively and repeatedly is a vital part to succeeding in this industry. Despite the excess of competition, which has been increased by the digital revolution, each successful photographer must have a unique style in order to find their own gap in the market which Page has clearly managed effectively.