A former regional daily photographer has celebrated 12 months since going freelance, claiming that taking redundancy from the newspaper had “set him free.”
Mike Sewell decided to launch his own business after taking voluntary redundancy from the Leicester Mercury following a restructure last April.
Despite what he described as “dark times, Mike has since built up his client base from an initial one – the Mercury itself – to around 10 regular customers.
In a blog marking 12 months since the switch, Mike recalled being “pretty scared” at the time and considered whether to change careers altogether.
He wrote: “Photography, I thought, was what I knew. It’s what I had done for nearly twenty years and something I loved. It was also, crucially, something I was really good at. And with huge support from my wife, friends and family, I decided to launch my photography business – with one client.
“That one client, ironically, was the Leicester Mercury. Having released four staff photographers they were given a freelance budget by the Trinity Mirror group and I started freelancing the next week. These shifts were just what I needed to get going as I began my plan attract more newspaper and commercial clients.
“Over the years working in Leicester I had made a lot of contacts and the lovely messages I received from friends and colleagues made me confident of finding work. But it didn’t really take off as I’d thought it might. What happened at the Leicester Mercury was not a one off.
“The growing trend for newspapers to jettison their picture people meant there were very many photographers in my position, all looking for the same work. And I came to realise that if you are a business or agency that already uses a photographer, and you’re happy with what they do, why would you drop them for me? Being good doesn’t always guarantee success.”
He added: “I am sure there will be tough times ahead but right now, I’m happy. Happy that I am working with great people, happy that I still love taking pictures and happy that I can spend more time with my family, take little Darcey to school and well, play a bit more golf.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me get to this happy place and that includes the Trinity Mirror newspaper group. You didn’t make me redundant, you set me free.”
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Congratulations to Mike, he like so many ex top quality ex colleagues I know who’ve been in the laughable ‘ consultancy ‘ process, have found there is a very good life outside of the daily grind of working for a company in decline, where stress levels are high, morale is low and most people would jump if they had chance or courage to do so.
The main obstacle to so many staff, advertising as well as editorial, is fear of the unknown, the ‘better the devil you know’ mentality which the bosses encourage just to keep hold of the best staff.
Mikes example shows yet again there is plenty of work out there for those with belief in their abilities and prepared to go grab it.
If you need reassurance just look at some of the best people you used to work with and see how they’re doing,majority are in well paid jobs with a better quality of life and working in direct competition for independent publishers.
Well done mike and well done HTFP on highlighting this anniversary, be good to share more examples too
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Bit of a mixed view on this one
Whilst it’s good to see Mike has made a success of an independent career post redundancy, it’s ironic that his first client was the publisher which made him redundant in the first place.
Not only is this a bit of a slap in the face if they didn’t value him enough to keep him on as a staffer, it also gives them the thumbs up to dump photographers knowing they’ll be greatful for any work given back to them in the future.
Good wishes to Mike and the many others who’ve found themselves in this position yet who are showing there really is a good quality of life to be had out there in the real world
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Self-employment is the way forward for so many of us who leave the newspaper business.
Though it brings its own challenges, it t really can ‘set you free’.
Well done Mike and good luck with the next stage, which is consolidating and expanding your business further.
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Well done! Dont put all your eggs in one basket, the crumbs off the table won’t last long for these papers, I was having to deal with a PA Journo trying to snatch a defendant with his Iphone this week, a regular offender and traitor to his fellow colleagues . If he gets my way ever I’ll flatten him.
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‘Greatful’, Jazzie? Oh dear!
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Good to hear of yet another ex regional presser making a good living and enjoying a better quality of life after being cast aside by one of the many publishers who see photographers as luxuries they can no longer afford.
It’s also very encouraging news for those either in consultation currently or who’ll receive the all too common ‘ your job may be at risk’ letter in the future.
but fear not, when quality and pride in a job well done is no longer valued by an employer and when any old guff will do as long as it’s quick and free you know it’s a business with no future so you’ve nothing to lose
All good wishes to Mike and the many like him making a success of their new found freedom away from the internal politics and stresses of life in the regionals
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What a pity that the suits at tge big newspaper companies can’t see tge value of staff photographers. They make them redundant and then cut freelance budgets too. Any wonder that circulations are falling. Didn’t anyone tell the suits that ‘FACES SELL PAPERS’. Also why would the public pay good money for a low rent product full of smartphone ‘photos’. They think they’re being clever but all tgey are actually doing is lowering the quality of their product to a level that the public will not accept. Digital isn’t working as a business model so they will eventually have to go back to print. Will they re-hire their former staff photographers?
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Yeah, Hotel900, you’ve got to hate people making a living and trying to stay in work by doing what their employers ask them to do. Traitors.
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I hope Mike does well, from my own experience you only realise how stifling an environment it is- and mired in internal politics working for the big newspaper groups can be is when you actually leave them. It is a cliche but it is a feeling of freedom. There’s very little in the way of innovation or ideas in the Newspaper industry any more. My own experience was probably similar to Mike in that when you stay with a group so long and go through several redundancy consultations, changes of ownership and policy and regular outsourcing- with no consistency at all – apart from the regular shedding of the workforce, then your glad when it’s all finally done.
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I don’t think there’s any big problem with the ex-employer being the first client, that kind of stuff happens all the time! In fact, for any freelancer, their existing network of clients, friends and associates is often as rich a source of leads as any.
I like that stores like these encourage people to break free from “working for the man.”
I interviewed someone else who has set up as a self employed photographer just the other day:
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As a ex snapper who was made redundant by Newsquest a number of years ago, it is great to hear that other Togs managing to earn a living out of their photography skills.
Yes the shifts are slowly drying up,so the only way to go is to branch out into whatever you see fit.
When I was a lad many moons ago, I used to shoot weddings for the local wedding photographer, so when I was made redundant the mix of newspaper work and weddings suited me just fine, it still does,but as stated by others, the shifts are drying up.
The best thing is the freedom, no stress, and having your work appreciated by my clients.
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He wrote on a blog, for potential customers to read, so he’s going to paint a rosy picture. Just hope its going as well as he says.
A bit of advice I had a while ago was to start a blog, bumps up your website in the google searches.
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Mike is a talented snapper and a great guy. Always good to hear positive stories from the “outside”.
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Hello! Thank you for sharing this information! I definitely agree – going freelance is the best thing that’s happened in my life.
I’ve come across the freelance job board XPlace by accident, and ended in making money online as a freelance senior executive there. Now I recommend this marketplace to anyone in need of a well-paying remote job: there are lots of various offers, higher hourly rates than on other such platforms, and no commission fee.
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