How A Prize-Winning Photographer Who’s Also a Full-Time Student Does Money

Shirley Yu Has Her Own Business, A Financial Planner, and an IRA. She’s 21.

Photographer and Rutgers student Shirley Yu sent me an email about balancing the beginnings of a serious career with being a full-time student:

“I’ve been shooting professionally for ~2 years, (or one, if you start counting from when I registered my business as a sole proprietorship), and spent the years prior (between 2010–2013) practicing and portfolio building.

Having gone to a state university, and having generous parents who work in computer science, I have the privilege to get through school without any loans. But to fuel the work, build an emergency savings, and contribute to my Roth IRA, there had to be a mix of paid internships, part-time photo editor positions and a TON of side gigs.”

We chatted last night to get into more detail about how she makes all this work.

Hello! So glad we can connect. I was intrigued by your email, which detailed some of the effort you’ve put into hustling over the past couple of years. Can you sum it up a bit for us now to give readers an idea of who you are and what you’ve been up to?

Sure! I’m twenty one years old, and a freelance photographer based in New York City. I’ve been shooting professionally for roughly two years, and I spent a couple years before that building my portfolio. I’ve been balancing my creative career with being a full-time student at Rutgers University, which has been pretty difficult, but I’m making it through!

Right now, a lot of people get into photography, but in my view, there’s not enough information available about the business or financial aspect of starting out as a freelancer. I know that I didn’t have much of an idea when I started, or when I was practicing and dreaming about doing photography professionally. I had a lot of mentors and learned from real world experience.

What’s been most surprising to you?

I think that there’s this notion of a “big break” where you build up your portfolio, right away you’ll get signed to a big agency and have a ton of clients. It’s an easy thought when you’re looking ahead and dreaming of setting out on your own: doing what you love. But it takes a lot in the first few years, financing your personal projects, investing in your craft, while having to hold yourself over in the meantime, when the clients aren’t knocking at your door or emailing you, right when you begin.

Many agents have said to me that they’ll take a photographer on when they have too many clients to handle by themselves, and that it’s about the billing. It’s quite rare that they’ll take someone on and get them work when they’ve just started or are still working on their portfolios, unless they’ve won a lot of awards or produced critically-acclaimed personal work. It’s surprising because the artists that we know, or have followed, don’t show the path to success. The glamour of being successful, in an instantaneous fashion that looks like a big break, [makes it seem] like we don’t have to put in a lot of work or experience hardship at all, but from experience, I think most people should know that they do.

You mentioned in your email that all of your earnings from the past couple of years, for example, were eaten up by the costs of launching a business, though you anticipate actually being able to make a profit in Year 3. Why did you decide to launch the business while at college instead of waiting until you were done?

Yes, so, as a full time student, I’ve been able to allocate nights, weekends, summers and winters to my freelance work. My first year I worked at the collegiate newspaper as a photo editor and made enough to buy some lighting equipment at the end of the year. I took in about $8,000 of photography/photo-related income, but unfortunately I spent ~125% of that on the initial costs of running a business: camera accessories, renting studio space, transportation, non-reimbursed production costs, and a myriad of other costs.

My second year, I spent a lot of time networking, did a lot of personal work that lead to a little editorial work, and as a result, my prospects grew. I was able to take in ~$20,000 a year from editorial assignments and royalties, but unfortunately, my business expenses were nearly 100% of what I made. I had a couple clients who didn’t pay, and I learned from that by making contracts / following up a lot.

Back then I wanted to plant the seeds of my career. I wanted to make the investment in myself, early on. I didn’t think that I was going to become a full-time photographer overnight and I knew that my time in college was going to be one of the only times in my life where I wasn’t saddled with the many costs of living, like health insurance, rent in New York City (I rent in New Brunswick, near Rutgers, and commute to NY), children, etc. I wanted to produce work to be shown to editors / agents, introduce myself, and update them every once in awhile, so that even if I was a nobody right away, they would remember me two or three years in the future, because they’ve been exposed to my work. I thought that, maybe if I put in some work, got a few brands as clients and got published a few times, when I set out to be full-time upon graduation, I’ll have more to show, rather than if I showed up and expected to become a full-time photographer overnight. I didn’t want to disappoint myself.

I wanted to make the investment in myself early on.

Now that college is almost over, do you have any regrets about spending so much of your time there acting like a grown up rather than a kid? Because it sounds like you’ve been exceptionally responsible: setting up an IRA, building up savings, and so on.

I don’t have any regrets, but childish-ness, lighthearted-ness, curiosity and imagination, are all big themes in my work. I like to channel the fun and the spirit, I think because I had to take life very seriously, and sometimes, I thought photography felt like an escape. It’s how I discovered my creative side, because of the way it made me feel.

My family needed me to think about my future very early on in my life, and from an early age, I feel as if there was a part of me that had to worry about very serious things.

When the World Trade Center collapsed (my parents worked in South Tower, as computer programmers in the financial industry, on 9/11 [no worries, they got out safe]), it took a big toll on my family, and then again, when Lehman Brothers collapsed, the financial disaster took its toll. I grew up in a recession, and I knew how risky it was to become a creative, and yet, I needed to do it.

My parents got me thinking it was going to be good for my creative career to have an emergency savings account, and an IRA at a young age, due to the growth and safety. I knew I probably needed to spend, in order to create, for personal projects, equipment, studio time, etc. So if I wasn’t financially fearless, or rather, if I was financially clueless, I might have been an artist that burnt out or quit to find a more “stable” profession, especially because the work is so “feast or famine.”

Oh wow. I’m so glad they made it out, and I understand how something like that — and the aftermath — can leave a real impression on you.

So you’ve been balancing your practical side and your creative side for years now. Did you major or minor in anything creative at school?

Haha! Actually, no. When I was 17, I didn’t know if photography was going to work out and, I decided to go to my state university to study Computer Science, like my parents did. My rationale was: If photography doesn’t work out, falling back on working at Google or Instagram wouldn’t be too shabby!

But it took me by surprise that my photography came as far as it did. I was assisting, interning and learning as much as I could, while picking up small gigs, during my first years of college. When I was halfway done with school, I won two Photo District News’ photography contests, and it gave my photography a lot of exposure within the industry. I got a lot of meetings that I wouldn’t have, if I didn’t have those as talking points. I’ve shot for Time, People, New York Magazine’s The Cut, and more, ever since. I’m considering a Master’s in Fashion Photography from SVA, but still, I’m a huge advocate for those who are self-taught.

How often / how much have you raised your rates since winning the contests and getting more attention from these big publications? Where are you now compared to where you started?

Before I was like, wow I could make hundreds?! And at that turning point, I started going, Whoa, I could make thousands?!

So there was a significant jump in the rates that I was up for. But of course, the frequency of the work is unpredictable, living expenses don’t stop when the work isn’t there, and different projects for different clients command different rates.

What are your financial goals for the coming year?

I’m trying to pay off the remainder of my credit card debt, furnish an emergency fund of 3–6 months New York living expenses, save a few grand for the move to an apartment in New York (first, last, security, maybe broker’s fee), and turn a profit for Shirley Yu Photography. According to Quickbooks, I’m in the black right now! It’s a great feeling!

Yes, totally — congratulations! Are your friends turning to you for financial advice even more now that you’re all about to be set loose on the working world? And what are you telling them?

Absolutely! I have a lot of friends where finance is not their strong suit, who have grown up thinking it’s easier to ignore financial issues, rather than learning how to tackle them head-on. I understand the sentiment, because it’s been a tough economy for us millennials. Money is a taboo. A lot of young people reach adulthood not knowing how to deal with loans.

I feel empowered if I know my creative career won’t get set back by my resources, or by finances. I think they should teach personal finance in high schools, because finances can be scary. It can make any of us worried or afraid.

Mainly, I’m telling friends to negotiate with their banks, get their credit card companies to lower their interest rates, take advantage of tax credits / deductions, get an emergency fund going, track their budgets, invest if they have anything extra, and pick up side gigs if they can. I think I can get a little annoying, always suggesting new apps that make their lives easier and whatnot.

My boyfriend and I have a financial planner, together, but I used to give him pointers too.

Oh yes, before we quit, tell us about some of the side gigs!

Oh man, I wasn’t great at anticipating slow seasons in my first two years. I sold a ton of stuff on Amazon, and hosted on Airbnb, in between jobs. I was a staff photographer at my collegiate newspaper, worked as a photography assistant, and on-and-off, worked part-time at magazines too. I’m lucky and incredibly privileged to have my parents’ support on undergraduate tuition, but for photography, and for living, I’d say I’m self-sufficient.

Now, I deposit all of my freelance income into a business account and use it to pay myself a modest, weekly stipend, and for any bills or expenses related to photography. If I slowly disperse it to myself, it’ll be enough in there to cover rent, living costs, etc in a slow season. I’m still on the side hustle though, even if I’m doing better! It’s always good to bring in extra, for goals and priorities 🙂

What does that mean, that you sold a ton of stuff on Amazon?

Oh like, clothes, textbooks, novels, DVDs, my starter lenses / photography equipment, anything I had that I thought someone would want, and it brought in less than a half grand, but it held me over in a slow season, along with Airbnb hosting, for utilities, food, bills, etc.

Got it. OK. Any last thoughts? Are you nervous about transitioning to working in photography in NYC full-time, for example, or do you feel well-prepared?

I’m nervous, but I think I’m prepared, and that I’ve prepared well. There’s a long way to go. I have another 7–10 months before going for it.

My last thoughts are: I wouldn’t go into photography for the money or glamour, I would go into it for self-expression and personal fulfillment. Because it’s not as easy or sustainable as it looks. There’s a saying that 80% of being a photographer is running the business and staying afloat, and 20% of it is making fantastic photography. In my view, it’s rarely possible to become a photographer without making fantastic photography, and virtually impossible to stay a photographer without being smart about your own finances.

I’d second that. Thanks for chatting with us, and best of luck as you finish out senior year!

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