We’re excited to share our 4-part interview with Todd Bigelow, professional photographer, business of photography instructor, and a respected expert in the business of photography. Todd has years of experience running workshops across North America, helping photographers navigate the industry. He’s also the author of a must-read book on the business of photography, available here. Don’t miss this insightful edited conversation!
Text below transcribed from a portion of an interview conducted by Betty of Cradoc fotoSoftware in February 2025. To view this and other interviews, please go to our Cradoc fotoSoftware YouTube Channel.
The Business of Photography Tips
There’s an old saying that I bring up in my workshop, that says, “As you evolve, you should take what is useful from others.” So when you’re learning and you’re growing, you take what is useful from them. You discard what might not be useful to you, and then you add your own. And that’s how you evolve as an individual photographer. And of all people, it was actually Bruce Lee that said that as he was developing, in the sixties and seventies, an art known as Jeet Kune Do. And it literally was, it should never stay the same. When I first discovered that, I took it as it was more about photography than anything else because, of course as a photographer you live that existence through everything. You know, your whole lens of life is seen almost through photography. So as you evolve, starting out early in the newspapers and shooting in film and so forth as a staff photographer, you have a skill set, technically, that actually evolved from film into digital. Quite different, as many would know, especially when you’re shooting film like I was for the magazines with slide film. Very, very, very, technically precise.
You have to be in fast moving situations, so that was an evolutionary process. Then moving from staff to a freelancer was an evolutionary process. And then moving from a freelancer shooting primary primarily stills into incorporating video work was an evolutionary process. So I think that the answer to the question is you just have to be flexible, be more like bamboo than an oak tree. I have oak trees by my house, and I love them because they’re so beautiful to look at, but they’re very rigid.
You have to kind of keep evolving. And as cliché as that sounds, it’s what has kept me going, and moving into different things, which I’m always open to. I love to shoot travel, I love to shoot street photography, I love to shoot portraits, I love to shoot everything. You have to be, I think in order to make it a career, you have to be willing to accept new endeavors.
What would you like to add about the business of photography
This is an important topic. I mean, fotoQuote, fotoBiz, which is what I use because fotoQuote comes with fotoBiz. keyword harvester. I don’t say this lightly. I get quite a few people that want to ask, that do ask, if I can mention in my workshop these products and so forth.
And I don’t. The only ones I mention are the ones that I use and I always use, the software, where my archive is based, which is PhotoShelter, and I talk about why. So I’m not pushing anything that I don’t believe in.
So I want to thank you and Cradoc for developing a software that is so useful. And then also just implore freelancers to take their business seriously, to value themselves, to try to do everything they can to retain the rights to the work so that they can develop an archive, to learn how to leverage that archive.
Be flexible. Always be interested in learning more. Jump on webinars, attend workshops, conferences. I’ve done so many myself. One of the great things about sometimes being asked to speak at a conference is you speak for, like, two hours, and then you get to immediately go and sit in on many other topics. And I always do that. It’s really, really beneficial. Just keep learning, continue learning.
Business of Photography: Understanding Pricing Strategies
Frustrated on how to price your work as a photographer? Take a look at a past blog on the topic. Also check out PhotoShelter’s take on the topic.
About Todd Bigelow
A contributing photographer with Contact Press Images, Todd Bigelow produces still photos and multimedia content for leading publications, nonprofits, foundations, and corporations worldwide. Their work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, TIME, The New York Times Magazine, ESPN, Smithsonian, Der Spiegel, and others. Projects developed independently and through Contact Press Images have been licensed by major outlets such as Vox, Politico, NBC News, and The New York Times Magazine.
With a proven ability to research, develop, and pitch compelling visual stories, Todd has successfully collaborated with a wide range of national publications and platforms, including Time, Politico, NBC News, LA Times, and Public Radio International. They also work closely with nonprofits and foundations—including the Southern Poverty Law Center, AARP, and the Irvine Foundation—to create strong visual narratives that support mission-driven work.
Todd is also the author of The Freelance Photographer’s Guide to Success: Business Essentials (Focal Press/Routledge, 2021), offering practical advice for navigating the freelance photography world. In addition to teaching portraiture and photojournalism at California State University, Northridge, they developed and continue to lead “The Business of Photography Workshop,” a course taught at universities, conferences, and professional organizations nationwide.
Website: Todd Bigelow Photography
Instagram: @tbfreelance
Facebook: Todd Bigelow
LinkedIn: Todd Bigelow
Twitter (X): @ToddBigPhoto
Book: The Freelance Photographer’s Guide to Success
Business of Photography Workshop
See other great interview transcripts:
- Todd Bigelow
- Jonathan Kingston
- Julie Bidwell
- Steve Whittaker
- Scott Dworkin
