How I landed my first paid videography gig

In this post, Joseph Sloan, a creative videographer and YouTuber from Calgary, Canada shares how he landed his first paid video gig.

Hi, I’m Joseph and I have worked as a cook on and off for about 18 years. About two years ago I decided to focus more on creative outlets, such as videography and music, and quit my full time cooking job. Here’s how I landed my first ever video gig.

Follow your passion

And I’ve been passionate about video ever since I was 18! I wanted to be on movie sets, telling stories through video and I was really excited about it.

I got to work on movie sets as an extra and I got to be an actor in student films.

This led me to producing my own music videos using my own music, and later on producing, directing and writing short films.

All this helped me to get the experience in the industry and to build the foundation for being able to do paid videography gigs.

My first paid video gig

My first client was Sharad Khare, who owns a video production company Khare Communications. The company focuses on entrepreneurs and business people who are looking for either more exposure or want to tell their story in a unique way.

I met Sharad through an acting class. We were doing a live show and he was there to see his wife who also was part of the performance. We had a chat after the show and became friends on Facebook.

A couple of months later I saw that Sharad was looking for a videographer on Facebook. I contacted him and we went out for lunch.

Looking back, I’m surprised I even got the job! I didn’t have a portfolio to show him or anything like that. I didn’t even have a camera, I used his camera for the documentary shoot. I pretty much got the job because I was super passionate about video!

That was a great experience! I learned so much working with Sharad and it solidified to me that I can make money in this field.

That was 2.5 years ago and recently I was able quit my full-time cooking job and focus almost all my time and energy on videography.

My advice to beginner videographers

My advice for people who are looking to get paid in videography, is to make lots of videos!

Look up your favorite filmmaker or videographer on YouTube and storyboard out their videos and then shoot it scene for scene. Pay attention to what your potential clients are looking for and willing to pay for.

Then look at the videography courses that you can do to fill the gaps in your skill set.

Look for video related Facebook groups in your community and interact with other professionals. Network with them or even call up a production company in your area and then sit down and have a conversation with someone who works there and can give you some advice.

That’s what I did when I moved to Calgary. I contacted a local production company here and we went out for coffee. I asked lots of questions about what kind of work they do and what are they looking for in terms of help.

Networking and actually talking to people in the field was essential for me to get my business off the ground and start working in the videography industry.

Hope this helps!

How I Landed My First Video Gig

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