5 Things I wish I knew…

Before Starting a New Project

By Original Magazine Editor, Michael Morgan

  • With any project, it is always pivotal to do your research before diving straight into the practical element, in my case, documenting amateur football across the UK. Once your research starts to become clear to you, you will hopefully in a position to depict the narrative or concept you are trying to achieve through your art. However, it is important to note that your research should not stop there. Once your project starts to take shape, I find it useful to refer back to your initial findings and then look to strengthen your theoretical work during the process.

    Your research can also extend further and does not need to stop once you feel like you have got to the end of your project. Remember that you need to research different elements of your project. Allow yourself mentally to step away and come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes. This may encourage you to explore and view your work in a different way. Research and plan your trips, how much is it going to cost for materials and resources for example.

  • Now, how long do we have for this. Funding is always difficult to come by as an artist. It can also come in different formats. You may want to explore arts grants and/or crowdfunding to support your project. Some useful platforms to start with would be the Princes Trust, Arts Council, Kickstarter and Gofundme. Alternatively, you could look for a sponsor or approach a company and/or organisation that shares the same ethos, where both parties have alignment in their projects to fund your project.

    However, for many of us, we are not so lucky in our approach and can take years to be given a chance at securing any funding/grants. There are also opportunities for freelancers across various publications where grants are available via open call submissions; you can access a lot of these through social media research. 

So, how do you fund your own project without any of this? Well, you guest it, it comes from your own back pocket and no matter how much you research (if you have done the first part that is) it will almost always cost you more to fund your project than original planned.

    Strategy is key when you are funding your own project. It is important to note that due to funding you may not always be able to travel, shoot or create the work you want during this time, but this does not mean you cannot be productive. Working part/full-time is not an ideal situation for any freelancer artist, especially if it is within an industry that you have no desire to be in, however, even if you work part-time, this will offer you the time and finances to invest into your work. Like anything in life, investing into your own work is incredibly important for your growth.

  • With a project of longevity, you will encounter a period where you feel like you can no longer create, A bit like writers block. Perhaps, you are creating but you have no idea what the purpose or direction, your project is going. In these moments, do not be afraid to step away and allow yourself some time mentally and physically. You may hear advice for others suggestions to power through it, because in some circumstances this can be done, especially for certain individuals. But it my case, and speaking with a lot of our followers, students and community here at O.M, a lot of people will become consumed by the idea of ploughing through these difficult moments and will start to have a negative impact on your overall output.

    When I suggest to step away, I would still encourage you to be proactive as a creative but perhaps start a smaller somewhat mini project where you can creative freely with less need of conceptualising. One aspect of University I do not miss, is having to justify every piece of work or every movement you have created and having to annotate each piece of research. so don’t justify, go off and create.

  • Another key principal is knowing your audience. ensuring you market your work to the right people within the industry and your audience’s interests. You could be creating the next best thing, but without sharing this with the right people; it is worthless. Your work needs to be seen. For example; as I document amateur football across the UK it would not make sense for me to submit this to solely fashion related magazines, editors and or writers. There is a lot of crossover within the industry but make sure when you are approaching galleries, publications etc that they are relevant.

    Start to analyse your socials and website analytics; get to know your main demographic and start to understand what this audience is engaging with, what they’re viewing and their own interests, especially through social media. See if you can tailor your content to meet these requirements.

    I am not suggesting you start to create new work here, but say your main audience demographic engages more with moving image across IG reels/Tiktoks, start to create more content that aligns with these findings. Lastly, start to expand your network within the industry by attending more industry workshops, talks and speaker programmes. You must start to insert yourself within these events, especially where other leading industry professionals are. Make sure you are prepared to talk to these people (a little pet talk before going can always help) introduce yourself and your work.

  • Finally, it is important not to exploit your subjects, talent, and creative team that you collaborate with. This happens all too much within the industry right from the very top and feeds right throughout. We have seen it over the years within the fashion industry and this is why I started with research because it feeds down and through the different stages of your project. For me, working with varied communities as part of my project and those willing to be involved, I take the time to understand my subjects and develop working relationships with those that are so willing to be part of my documentation. After all, without these incredible people, my project would simply not have progressed in the direction it did. When documenting anything in life, from my perspective you need to earn the respect and the understand those that you are working with long before you start to get people, organisations and communities involved. This is just my opinion and how I feel as a photographer we should approach these situations; especially when first starting out. 



    Exploitation is a topic I could write a dissertation on, not very well, but it is a subject that I am really conscious of myself and a topic that everyone needs to be aware of before, during and after your project. The exploitation of your subject can start right at the beginning of your project, so make sure you are conscious and aware of your research, the way your approach your project and keep in mind the outcomes too.