Advice from the pros: how to land your first commission

1. Grab the opportunity

"When I first picked up a camera, I had just graduated and was living in South Africa under the tyranny of the apartheid system," says Jillian. "I was spending a lot of time in the townships, and I tried to get an exhibition and get into the art world. But it didn't happen, so instead I accompanied my father on one of his sales trips to the countryside. I would photograph people as he was trying to sell furniture. On one trip, a neighbour at the place we were staying told us that there had been a helicopter crash in the mountains. I asked if I could go with him to photograph the crash and the indigenous people living nearby. That's how I got my first front page picture and how I temporarily became a press photographer.

"Looking back, I think what I would have done differently would have been to brand myself better. It has become important in garnering attention and I don't think I was attuned to it back then. Once you're down a certain track, it is very difficult to change direction. There are people who say, 'Oh you just do portrait, editorial photography,' but I consider myself as wearing a number of different hats."

2. Always behave like a pro

"My first paid orders were in 1984, shooting the packaging shots for a can of motor oil for Ford and a can of peas for Aldi. One of the first lessons I learnt back then, just as now, is that it's vital to position yourself professionally from day one. Professionalism is, and has always been, in demand in paid photography, so the work needs to be done with great seriousness, from creating the first idea right through to the presentation of the pictures. A doctor would not operate quickly, and a photographer should not capture an image quickly. Customers pay good fees for great professionalism, and I was lucky to have recognised this very early on," says Eberhard.

"When you're starting out you have nothing to show: nothing published, no campaigns. It is therefore important to show your personal projects with a seriousness and demonstrate the professional intention behind them. My advice is to prepare a topic, show how you represent different perspectives, take pictures with a specific target group in mind – just as if it were a large, professional order.

"Looking back, one of the things I would have done differently is to specialise sooner, in order to work directly in an area served only by professionals."

3. Develop your online presence

"I kind of grew up on the internet. I was always posting on some kind of blogging website and when I went over to Instagram in 2013, a lot of my visitors followed me there. Being tagged and featured helped things get started for me, and when magazines published those images I got paid," explains Amaal.

"I think a lot of people my age can rely on being found online. I have a website on the side, but so much of my work comes from Instagram – that's how people contact me with commissions – so it's important to develop an online presence. One issue I've had to overcome, however, with having my work on social media, is judging whether an image is good or bad based on the amount of likes it gets. In the beginning I attached my own self-worth to the level of engagement [an image received], which was really dangerous for my mental health. You have to learn to critically assess your own work, rather than let it be judged by an audience who are scrolling past.

"I didn't go to university to study photography, and I didn't have any formal training. I dealt with so much terror and fear before every single shoot – I think it's this weird 'imposter syndrome', where I doubt myself. So I do a lot of reading and studying, and watch other people, and that helps when I think about doing the job, and doing it well."

4. Make sure you're ready

"When I was young I went to many races with my camera. Before long I was shooting the practice sessions on Saturday, working all night to develop the prints and then selling them to the drivers on the Sunday morning before the race. Journalists walking around the paddocks saw my pictures and helped me to get work in the media. More importantly, they got me shooting on the other side of the fence," says Frits.

"In my genre, just as with the sport I shoot, you don't get second chances. Many aspiring photographers are too eager to make money. You need to take the time to develop your craft and hone your style before you even start to think about approaching clients. I bought magazines and books, looked at the pictures of the best at that time, and tried to learn from them. Copying photographers that already have clients is not the way to go, though – make sure that the client wants you for your creativity, and not someone else's.

"Clients expect a certain standard, which you have to be able to deliver. You cannot make excuses. You have to deliver on your promises and, where possible, try to go beyond the client's expectations. If you aren't there yet, then you risk losing clients before you're truly ready for them."

5. Offer to help your boss

"I was studying filmmaking when I got accepted on an internship programme for Paramount Pictures, because Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was shooting in my town in Dubai," says Hasan. "At the end of every day, when I'd finished my work, I'd go to the camera department to try to help out. When the movie was done, the crew had seen how interested I was and asked if I'd like a job working in the camera department, and that's how I started as a second assistant camera.

"My advice for getting more work is to make your supervisor's job easier. That was how I started climbing the ladder. My mentality was: 'What can I do to make whoever is supervising me have a better day?' This way, the supervisor has more time to teach me some stuff and, if they are tired of some of their tasks, they may ask me to do them. The more opportunities they give you, the stronger the relationship can become. If you have a good relationship with the people that you work with on a personal level, that will keep the gigs flowing."