6 Ways To Get Your First Paid Food Videography Gig!

[the_ad id=”20″]Now, we are seeing so many people reaching out each month asking about how they are able to get their very first paid gig in any videography niche so we are going to go over some points to try and help you in the niche that we feel is the easiest niche to get your first paid gig in, food videography.

Now, as we are expecting the majority of people reading this to be entry-level videographers, we are just wanting to be clear. We are not talking about you landing the videography job for the next M&S food advertisement but smaller food videography gigs based in your local area, usually restaurants, some that your potential clients won’t even know they should be having done. This lets you use this to your advantage and if you get a little creative, helps you make your pitch as easy as possible.

Another point that we want to make before we get into this article is that we expect that you understand the basics of videography and have the expected entry-level equipment to provide any paying client with decent video footage. We also want to stress the importance of building up a solid portfolio as soon as possible as it really does help with the conversions when it comes to making your pitches.

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Get In The Kitchen

As we mentioned above, building up a portfolio of the type of video footage you are able to provide your a potential paying client is going to help you when it comes to the conversions. We have seen various articles online that estimate that the difference in conversions can be as much as 300-700% depending on the price you are asking!

If you are an entry-level videographer then chances are, you are going to have to put a fair bit of work in when it comes to creating your portfolio. On the flip side of this though, food is something that you will be involved in every single day so seize the opportunity to capture some footage!

Now, we have lost count of the number of times we suggest this and end up getting something along the lines of “but I only eat boring food and no one wants to see that” as a response but you are totally missing the point. If you are able to make something as basic as your breakfast cereal look epic in your initial portfolio video, you are showing off your skills.

On top of this, you can also play on this in your pitch by saying something along the lines of “if I can make my boring cereal look this good, imagine what I can do with your beautiful meals”. A little bit of flattery never hurt anyone and it helps you play the fact your portfolio has basic food in it to your advantage.

Check The Social Media Accounts Of Local Restaurants

The main reason that there has been an uptake in local restaurants hiring videographers is due to the amount of competition there is amongst restaurants on social media. Being able to upload videos of the meals that they offer can really help them get people through their door rather than through the door of one of their competitors.

The best thing about social media is that you are able to sit at home, one your phone, and check out the social media pages of the local restaurants in your area. It shouldn’t take long before you have a shortlist of the restaurants that actually have a solid social media strategy and are working to build their following.

This allows you to check if they are working with a videographer for the footage of their food, if they are just recording it on a smartphone, or if they are even uploading videos of the meals they offer at all. This allows you to filter out the places who already use a videographer and make your pitch to the restaurants that don’t even better.

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Team Up With Social Media Managers

More and more restaurants are starting to employ social media managers to actually look after their social accounts and grow them while the restaurant focuses on providing the best possible meals to their customers. Look for the local social media managers in your area and offer them a commission on any videography work they are able to push your way.

They are in a great position to help you as they are usually responsible for uploading all of your potential clients content so they can tell you if they already have a video strategy or not. As they already have a relationship with the senior staff in the restaurant they also have a better chance of convincing them to give you a chance, even if it is initially only on a trial basis or to do a few sessions for free.

Offer The First One Free

Although it is pretty commonplace, offering to record a dish or two of the local restaurants can help to convert them into a paying client. Additionally, if you do some work for free, be sure the specify that you will be using it as a part of your food videography portfolio. This is an excellent way to build your portfolio up with professional meals that can help increase your conversion rate in the future.

If you do any free work for a restaurant, remember to chase up a week or so later! Restaurant managers are busy people and it is common for them to have so much on that they forget about you or lose your card so cant contact you. Even if they say they don’t want to move forward with paid work, be sure to ask them if they uploaded the footage to their social media accounts and what the response way.

If you keep an eye on the social media account of the restaurant you did the work for you can usually use this to your advantage prior to asking the question by asking as many of your friends and family to like and share the footage to increase its engagement levels above what the restaurant would usually get for a post.

When the restaurant tells you how it did on social media you can then counter by asking if that is better than what they usually get and start to try get the conversion by pitching the higher reach and interaction of the video footage.

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Shadow An Established Food Videographer

This is another method that is pretty common in this day and age and you basically offer your services for free to an established videographer in your local area. This can help with networking while also getting you more experience as well as get some great portfolio footage too.

On top of that, this type of work can commonly lead to paid gigs when the videographer you are working with has too much on for them to handle alone. If you do a few jobs with them for free and they see you are reliable and actually capture good footage then you could be the person that they come to when they need an extra pair of hands.

Team Up With An Established Photographer

Similar to the suggestion above, there are a fair few established photographers who offer no video services. Try and team up with a local photographer and do the video side of the job with them. You may have to offer it for free or at a reduced rate but its all experience and footage that you can use to build your portfolio.

Wrapping It Up

That brings our article on how you are able to increase the chances of getting your first paid videography gig to a close. We hope that you have found it helpful and that you are able to land your first paid job soon!