Great Escape Publishing

Posted February 26th, 2013 by Niels Johansen & filed under Travel Photography.

I should feel guilty… but I don’t. Or, if I do, it only lasts a minute. I am very fortunate to live and make my living in a world of photography, videography, music, and all sorts of creative fields. Besides shooting lifestyle images for corporate clients and model portfolios, I specialize in photographing for architects, interior designers, developers, and real estate professionals. Video commercials, music videos, and short films are also on my list. Some people call it work; I don’t. It’s my lifestyle and I make a comfortable living at it. Every gig is like playtime for me and allows me to do other things that normally would be considered “off limits” during working hours. For example, over the last two days, I spent my time building a contraption for time lapse photography. The week before I spent hours on the internet researching a special video effect. And in between I was shopping for new cameras — a behavior for which I most likely would have been yelled at by my boss (if I had one). And to top it off, most of this takes place in a famous frost- and snow-free zone… Miami. One of my most favorite things to get paid for is real estate photography. Here’s why… I recently photographed some condominiums in South Beach for a real estate client. This particular client usually lists insanely expensive properties. One was a four-story penthouse (Tom Cruise stayed there during the filming of Rock of Ages) in Continuum in South Beach (list price $39 million). Continuum is located on the most southern tip of South Beach and has the most incredible views of the ocean, beach, and downtown Miami. A book using my pictures was later published. Another favorite gig was a multimillion-dollar condo located right on the sand in South Beach. This one once belonged to a famous Miami restaurateur. Listed at $18.5 million, this property was featured in an article in The Wall Street Journal using my images. These magnificent properties and locations are so amazing to visit and photograph that you forget it’s “work.” I always look forward to shooting these types of properties, so when the phone rings and it’s another booking, I can’t wait to pack the gear, check the batteries and memory cards, and make sure my liability insurance is current. These photos are quick to shoot, and the income is great. Here’s a little tip: To “upsell” and make more revenue from these jobs, I assemble a slideshow of the pictures I take. This is a great way to make an extra $150 for doing something that takes me less than half an hour to do.