Doug Irvine
Free Lace Cameraman
August 8, 2007 | by noah | Permalink
Doug Irving, freelance producer, director and cinematographer extraordinaire, has been working in the world of video for the last decade. What advice has he gleaned from ten years?
“Live life and enjoy it,” Doug says, “But always be ready for the next chapter.”
And Doug knows something about turning a new chapter. After six years in a staff position, as director of photography for a Seattle television station, Doug left the security of biweekly paychecks, and struck out on his own. He has spent the last four years freelancing, and in the process has learned that when working alone, he is a business owner and a photographer simultaneously.
“Be in touch with your money,” says Doug, when asked for advice to help others hoping to get into a freelance job.
He notes that boring words, like 401(k), really do offer advantages if they are used efficiently. Married with two children, Doug happily accepts the challenges of his independent life, offering mentoring advice to others hoping to follow his path.
“Ask questions,” Doug says, “People love to give information, but you need to be willing to acknowledge what you don’t know.”
A Side Note: Doug was a cameraman during our appearance on Seattle’s hit TV Show, Northwest Afternoon. After the show, with our RV parked right under the Space Needle, we decided to do impromptu interviews. Doug had proclaimed his passion for the camera earlier, so we interviewed him for ten minutes in the RV. It was our first interview that we conducted without prescheduling something. The success of this interview prompted us to schedule whole days of on the spot interviews for the second leg of the tour.
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kelly G Says:
August 9th, 2007
Fun idea to do impromptu interviews. So many interesting people out there! I agree with Doug, that life is full of chapters! As we turn the pages, we never quite know what we will find. When I pick up a book, I often start reading from back to front. Good thing this isn’t possible with our life chapters. It would certainly take the adventure out of it!
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