We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Edgar Allen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon Edgar, thanks for joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Throughout my career as a freelance commercial photographer, balancing vacations and weekends with clients’ expectations of my availability has been a challenge. Most of my work requires me to be physically present for shoots, aligning with the project schedules and availability of my clients. There often seems to be an underlying belief that, given the competitive nature of the industry, I should rearrange my schedule to fit every job. However, each shoot involves significant pre- and post-production work, with a single-day project often requiring weeks of preparation and follow-up to ensure the images and project meet deadlines.

Initially, I scheduled holidays during slower periods for my main clients, but I often found myself working or checking emails even while on vacation. This approach was detrimental to my well-being and relationships.

Over time, I realized the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Now, I schedule holidays and inform my clients in advance that I will be unavailable during those times. Although I still find it difficult to set these boundaries, I’ve learned to value my personal time and refrain from prioritizing my clients’ expectations over my own well-being and relationships. This change has greatly improved my health and the quality of my relationships, allowing me to be more present and set a better work-life-balance.

Brandon Edgar, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Brandon Edgar Allen, and I’m a freelance photographer, director, and image maker based in Toronto, Canada. I attended post-secondary school for Fine Arts and graduated with a BFA. Every photographer has a unique path, and it’s hard to know what works for one person will work for another. For me, immediately after graduating, I spent 10 years working in the freelance commercial photography industry as a photographer’s assistant, producer, and retoucher (Photoshop artist). During this time, I learned what it took to produce work for different commercial clients and how to light, manage, and professionally produce creative work.

While gaining experience, I consistently worked on my own personal photoshoots to showcase my new skills and produce work for my portfolio. This allowed me to demonstrate my capabilities to potential clients. After 10 years of working as a team member for different photographers and studios, I had developed a reputation as a hardworking, skilled, and dependable part of a photo team.

At a crossroads, I had to decide whether to continue working for various photographers and studios or to branch out on my own and create my own work for clients. This was a difficult decision. Although I knew it was what I wanted for my career, I had a life and bills to pay, and I was risking my current stability. At first, I tiptoed into it, but eventually, I realized I had to fully commit. With the help of the relationships I had formed in my prior roles, I began to set boundaries and express what I was trying to achieve.

Gradually, a few commercial clients who knew me from past work experiences offered me my own projects. Slowly but steadily, other clients took notice and reached out to me to work on their projects as well.

I specialize in creating compelling visual content for a variety of commercial clients, including advertising, portraits, lifestyle photography, and video content. Many people hear the term “commercial photography” and are not sure what this is. It refers to image work for businesses, whether it’s business-to-business or through an agency. This work includes business portraits, social media content, and brand images. My services include end-to-end project management, from conceptualization and pre-production to shooting, retouching, and final delivery. I solve clients’ problems by delivering high-quality images and videos that effectively communicate their brand message and captivate their target audience.

What sets me apart is my collaborative approach. I work closely with my clients to understand their vision and bring together a team of creative professionals who share the same excitement in tackling challenges and producing beautiful work. I’m proud of the strong relationships I’ve built with my clients and the consistent quality of work I’ve been able to deliver.

The main things I want potential clients to know about me and my brand are my dedication to excellence, my commitment to understanding and fulfilling their needs, and my passion for creating stunning visual content that makes an impact. My goal is to help my clients achieve their marketing and branding objectives through powerful and engaging imagery.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Being a commercial photographer demands a substantial investment in constantly evolving equipment like cameras, lighting gear, computers, and studio essentials. Starting out, there’s often a belief that owning everything is necessary to produce work, but this isn’t feasible. When building my portfolio, I covered expenses for every shoot by leveraging favors, borrowing equipment, shooting during off-hours, and sometimes collaborating with models for creative projects instead of payment.

Entering the commercial space required me to assemble all necessary equipment and resources for each shoot. Balancing this involves careful budgeting—you can’t skimp on rentals or under-hire equipment, yet overspending is easy. Developing a well-thought-out budget that aligns with each job’s requirements became crucial. Initially, this meant taking home less personally to ensure my shoots met the standards of established photographers.

As I honed my budgeting skills, I learned to strategically allocate funds to invest where necessary, understanding that this approach could yield savings later down the road.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

As a freelancer in a project-to-project industry, I understand the uncertainty of not knowing if the work I’m doing this month will be there next month, let alone next year. A key principle for me has always been to prioritize paying my team members promptly, even if I haven’t received full payment from a client yet. They’re freelancers like myself, and I believe it’s essential they’re compensated for their work on time.

There have been times when I’ve paid team members out of my own savings, waiting months or even a year to receive client payments. It’s part of the job, and it reflects how I wanted to be treated when I worked under other photographers. When work slows down, whether for a week or a month, it can be unsettling. I often find myself fearing it’s the end of my career. While this feeling hasn’t completely disappeared, I’ve learned to manage it better over time.

During slower periods, I focus on reducing spending and reconnecting with clients and my audience through social media. It’s a similar sentiment to what actors experience, knowing that eventually, the phone might stop ringing. Despite these challenges, freelancing has taught me resilience and the importance of adapting to fluctuating work cycles.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandonallen.art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonallen/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-edgar-allen-843a27a3/

Image Credits

www.brandonallen.art / Brandon Edgar Allen Photography Inc