She hops on her tricycle as a toddler, gets the hang of it and enjoys herself for a little while.

When riding the tricycle becomes second nature — maybe even a little boring — she eagerly seeks something more challenging. It’s time for a “real” bike. She leans on training wheels at first, so she won’t fall flat as she struggles to learn the delicate balance she needs in order to keep moving. She’s not ready for hills and curves, but she’s enjoying the wind in her hair and the fresh air in her face. She enjoys herself for a little while more.

For best results, hire a photojournalist instead.

[Hover over images (touch and hold on mobile devices) for notes about the photos, including the photographer's technical and mental requirements that were involved in capturing them. Note the differences between portrait photography and event photography.]

What's the first word that comes to your mind when you think about photographers? More than likely, it probably has something to do with portraits — weddings, family photos for Christmas cards, school photos.

And because this is the common response, it's natural for someone to instinctively reach out to a portrait photographer when she needs someone to photograph an event.

But that's not the best plan.

Last Wednesday, Caleb Matthews was strolling along Ohio Street in downtown Indianapolis when he noticed a small crowd across the street. They were chanting loudly, holding signs and drawing attention to their cause: Protecting people who rely on health insurance and Medicaid from the proposed changes of the American Health Care Act (which was recently renamed the Better Care Reconciliation Act by the Senate).

What seemed on the surface like a simple design project for one of our clients last year turned into quite a production project — and a larger-than-expected invoice for the client. The client wasn’t happy, and we all parted ways a little frustrated with one another. That’s not how we like to do business!

If you’ve ever hired a freelancer or outsourced a project to an agency with a similar result, we would like to share a few tips for avoiding the same situation in the future.

In the last 10 years...

• My husband and I have gone from caring for two little people (ages 4 and 1) and four animals (three cats and a dog), to caring for two animals (one cat, one dog) and three little people (ages 14, 11 and 2).
• I quit my full-time, well-paying job to take a huge risk with my career. My husband, thank God, has been supporting me the entire time—even through those first six months, when I had zero clients and zero income. (He deserves sainthood for that!)
• I have gone from working in a traditional office space with coworkers; to my dining room table, working alone; to my basement home office, first working alone, then with a coworker; then back to a traditional office space, now with two coworkers.