Lindsey Swedick
Commercial Photographer
New York, NY
www.lindseyswedick.com
instagram @lindseyswedick
instagram @lindseyloou
Q What do you do?
“After pursuing spending many years as an in-house photographer doing e-comm, editorial, and still life work for brands like West Elm, I made the proverbial ‘leap’ into the freelance life in early 2020.”
I specialize in bright, eye-catching photography and stop motion animations for brands ranging from small start-ups to large national brands. I have experience working in both digital and print media and I love a good creative visual challenge.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
At the risk of sounding cliche, I am truly the wearer of many hats when it comes to creativity and doing my job. I started my creative career in what can be sort of described as stumbling my way through the dark and finding my way slowly but surely, meeting the right people, making the right mistakes, learning from them, and coming out of all of it with a wide range of skills that ultimately helped me to start my own photography business and be able to intimately understand the aspects that go into commercial photography production.
I would be nothing without a team and I feel so lucky to live in a city where I can network and meet so many amazing creative minds and collaborate on really exciting things together!
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I stand out in my field mostly because of my range of skills when it comes to creating content. Many photoshoots tend to get very siloed with everyone having a strict role on set, which absolutely has its place and there is a value in that, but I also believe in the power of being flexible and able to understand and facilitate other aspects of the shoot. Smaller teams with multi-talented people are really where I thrive.
In other words, I am not the kinds of photographer that wants to sit behind the camera all day and press a button. I love to be involved in the creative aspects, learning from others, and being open to new things. Being on set should be fun, flexible, and super creative!
Q What are you working on right now?
So many things! Reach out and let's talk about em’
Q What’s your style?
I would describe my style as modern, crisp, and clean.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
As someone that struggles with divvying up work and would rather overwhelm myself than seek assistance (working on it..), this is a great question. I would probably have someone handle the more logistical side of owning/operating a business, ie bookkeeping, spreadsheets, expenses, income, etc.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I wish I could have told myself years ago, and even a few months ago to be honest, that you are valuable and your work deserves fair compensation. My whole life I’ve been admittedly pretty terrible at negotiating salaries, wading through and trying to make sense of the corporate politics that goes into getting promoted, knowing how much I should be paid in a job, knowing how to justify it, etc.
Going freelance, I had a whole new obstacle which was figuring out what is fair for my work, justifying it, and finding clients who are willing to meet you there. Negotiation is power! There are always clients out there that will pay you and value your work to the level that you think you deserve and you just have to find them. Accepting too-low pay hurts not only yourself, but all of us in the freelance world at the end of the day.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would love to have expert help when it comes to any and all things legal. The IRS, contracts, licensing, insurance, LLCs, oh my! It all stresses me out and I would honestly rather just not deal, but I know that knowledge is power and would like to understand these things more concretely.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I am looking for all kinds of projects relating to product photography! I am in a really open-minded place in my business right now and am looking to expand my network and do a ton of different kinds of projects to see what I like doing and meet new people.
I am looking for both one-off projects for a campaign, as well as longer-term ongoing relationships with brands.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My ideal client is one that is passionate about and sees the value in high-quality creative visuals but also is willing to take some risks and allow me to step in and make creative judgment calls, trusting that the final product will be amazing.
A client that likes to have fun and has a sense of humor is always a plus!
Q: What is your rate?
Depends on so many variables including shot count and usage, shoot complexity, crew, etc. Reach out with some specifics and I'm always happy to put together a tailored estimate based on your needs.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Email is best! Hit me up at hello@lindseyswedick.com.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Julie Dumas-Rose, stylist and fashion expert extraordinaire!
This member profile was originally published in July 2020, Updated in April 2022.