Nick Pelios
Freediver, Creator
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Nick Pelios
Freediver, Creator
Being a creative person is definitely one of the best things in life. If you can manage to make a living out of it, then the sky's the limit! How can you achieve that though? Livio Fakeye looks into how you can earn money by being an underwater content creator.
First of all, you need good equipment. It does not mean to buy the most expensive. Do a lot of research before buying anything. Ask yourself, will I take photos or videos? Or both? From that, you can select a few cameras and act within your budget.
Instagram has been very helpful for underwater creators, it’s kind of a portfolio that everyone can access easily. Build it in a way to show your best work in a consistent way. Now TikTok is very popular, so why not create something original there.
A website always looks more professional than only an IG account. I recommend having one, even a simple one so you can direct people towards it to showcase your work. Make a bio of yourself, sell prints if you wish, but most importantly show your work in the best way possible.
It’s always good to have a style so everyone can recognize your work. Be creative, shoot anything you love and people will remember you. At Alchemy we are many creators bringing different styles. The reason? We have a different vision, eye, and we live in different places. Therefore we can’t take the same photos all the time. We are a team that completes each other. Work on yours.
Going to a place where lots of freedivers are, where you can join them as they train or compete. Create relationships that we will lead to work. Once many people know you and like your work and personality, you will get opportunities. Freedivers need photos. Always. They work with social media/website to show their results, sponsorship, and way of life. High-profile athletes want high-quality photos, that’s where you can find work.
Freediving competitions happen all around the world, almost! Once people know and trust you, you might be able to shoot competitions, it’s a great way to connect with people and sell your work.
You can offer your service to a school. When they have students, you go out with them and snap some shots. High are the chances they will want a souvenir of their first course! As well, many people come training to improve. Many times they will be happy to grab some underwater photos. In return, the school can have promotional material for their social media and on the same occasion, you will get a promotion too.
And by a model I mean, non « freedivers ». People that want souvenirs of their holidays, if a wonderful trip with turtles or dolphins, or in a crazy amazing shipwreck, who knows. Or it can be real models that want to expand their own portfolio. Underwater photos are trendy right now, I think the market is opening more and we will have more chances to work with models/brands.
Brands like Alchemy for example use photos and videos every day. They need a creator, so they need you. Find a brand that uses underwater photos/videos to promote themselves and contact them. Offer your service and skills. Not only the underwater brands need us. But many other brands for specific projects.
Marine life is wonderful and aesthetic. You might have photos of sharks, manta, turtles, any kind of fish that could in a magazine for example. Or they could be used for advertising. Showcase them on your social media/website.
Invite people to come and learn with you. Create a workshop, it can take a few hours or even days as you wish. Find a place that you know, where you can take people out in the best conditions. Teach them what you know depending on their levels. Up to you, use your imagination.
Maybe you could create a Youtube channel related to underwater videography and photography. Make tutorials, make creative videos, get paid to include advertising, and so on. It’s a thing to explore if you want to take that path.
Most of us are not full-time underwater creators. Probably 95% are not. The reason is that it’s hard, time-consuming and expensive. Unless you live in the perfect place to shoot all year long, it will be difficult to be sustainable. In my case and many others, we are freediving instructors. So our first work is teaching people freediving. It gives us the chance to be good freedivers, live in a place where we can take photos, meet people, get a bit of money and free time. Maybe you finish a course, then the students want a photo. On the next day (if you don’t work) you can offer them a photoshoot while going exploring the reef for example. In that way, you link both of your passions. In the end, anything is possible. It’s up to you to try or not.