Cytherial

Cytherial is a creative content producer and lifestyle blog. I'm a Los Angeles based photographer specializing in fashion and lifestyle photography.

Feel free to follow me on my journey in this industry, the more the merrier!

05/04/2022

A jawline moment with

12/23/2021

Beauty photography with a beauty⁠
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12/22/2021

Test Shoots with

12/21/2021

The year is wrapping up and I've been reflecting, as most of us do this time of year, on how much I've grown and what accomplishments I've been most proud of. ⁠
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Aside from any professional achievements, I'm proudest for learning how to prioritize my freedom and happiness. ⁠
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For many years, I've stayed in situations I've far outgrown and overstayed my welcome in spaces that no longer served me or my goals. ⁠
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Leaving a stable job I've had through most of the pandemic to go back to freelancing was easily one of the most difficult situations I've ever had to make. The timing never felt right, I always needed to save up just a little more money in my emergency fund, and I didn't want to leave my friends. ⁠
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But the universe rewards boldness and I've gone further and faster than I could possibly have dreamed. ⁠
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I'm so excited to see what 2022 has in store for me. After all, 22 is my lucky number ;)⁠
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12/20/2021

5 Things I Wish Knew As A Baby Freelancer 5/5⁠
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"Give back, show gratitude, and be free with your knowledge.⁠"⁠
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Oftentimes I hear that the photography industry is an exclusionary and secretive industry. With photographers often gatekeeping their knowledge of the industry or their journeys because they feel like people will just copy them. But with the internet becoming a fountain of information, gatekeeping your own knowledge feels so...Anish Kapoor. ⁠
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Mentor people, offer up paid courses, host workshops, share your experience and inspire others to do the same. The field shouldnt be a place where only a few are able to succeed. We all have enough to eat, clients can be found everywhere and money is plentiful. My career would be a waste if at the end of it all I wasnt able to inspire someone or help someone avoid the mistakes that I've made along my own journey. ⁠
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12/17/2021

5 Things I Wish Knew As A Baby Freelancer 4/5⁠
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"Maintain a schedule for yourself and implement morning and night routines to create stability in an otherwise unstable lifestyle"⁠
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When I first started freelancing, I was all over the place. For the first time since...ever I was able to do what I wanted, when I wanted. I truly felt like a kid on summer vacation with NO parental oversight and I went wild. Some days waking up just to go to a shoot, come home, and sleep some more. Of course, this lifestyle got really unsustainable really fast and everything went downhill pretty quickly. ⁠
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I started learning more about morning and evening routines and how they can help freelancers like myself create structure from a job that is more flexible than any I've had before. For a long time I experimented to find out whats right for me and although I still switch up my routines to keep life a little spicy, having a routine schedule is incredibly beneficial not only to my business, but also my mental and physical health.⁠
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Whenever I start deviating from said schedule, I can feel myself slipping back into that unregulated lifestyle and know that I need to get back on track ASAP. ⁠
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12/16/2021

5 Things I Wish Knew As A Baby Freelancer 3/5⁠
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"Surround yourself with a supportive community of both creatives of many disciplines AND non creatives.⁠"⁠
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It’s easy to get caught up in a bubble when your social circle revolves only around those who are in your industry or niche. ⁠
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Its great to surround yourself with likeminded individuals but its easy to get stuck in an echo chamber of creative ideas if all of your friends basically shoot the same type of content. ⁠
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Outside of my photography friends, I've learned different ways of viewing my art from my other visual artist friends, I learned how to create systems for my business from friends in the corporate world, and I've gotten inspiration from the natural world from my STEM friends. ⁠
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This diverse biome of multidisciplinary talent is what helped me grow and see my own art from multiple perspectives. ⁠
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It feels like traveling the world and bringing back souvenirs of your travels to decorate your home with!⁠
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11/10/2021

5 Things I Wish Knew As A Baby Freelancer 2/5⁠
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"Save 10% for equipment"⁠
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I don't advocate for photographers, especially baby photographers to jump on the equipment train and upgrade to every latest model lens you can get your hands on. ⁠
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But there will be a time when you'll need to upgrade a camera body or lens, replace an outdated computer, or purchase lighting equipment and those are not cheap. ⁠
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Much like my post about emergency funds yesterday, its much more managable to set aside a percentage of your income to a separate savings account for larger purchases. ⁠
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Not only will this keep you from spending that money, but it will also help you separate your "sinking funds" from your other accounts. ⁠
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A good baseline is 10% but you can always stash away any extra money as well! ⁠
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I used this strategy to save up for my new macbook pro that I've been desperately needing to replace for over a year now. ⁠
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Its a little hard at first because you need to adjust your spending to account for the 10% thats taken out, but I found after a month of doing this as soon as I get paid, I dont really miss the money anymore.⁠
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11/05/2021

5 Things I Wish Knew As A Baby Freelancer 1/5⁠
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"Save 20% for emergencies and investing"⁠
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This may sound dry as hell to a lot of us creatives but an emergency fund can literally mean the difference between weathering a dry spell and bankrupcy. ⁠
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Before I became more financially literate, I never knew how much I had to save. Most months, I would just throw an arbritrary amount into a savings account from whatever money was left over after paying off all of my bills. ⁠
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It felt almost impossible to save up any real amount of money.⁠
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However, after learning to split my income up by percentages, saving became much easier. ⁠
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I take 20% of very piece of income I earn and immediately toss it into the emergency savings account. So no matter if I make $50 or $500, my savings is always relative to how much I make. ⁠
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If you dont have an emergency savings and feel overwhelmed by the 3-6 months most financial gurus advise you should have saved, I would start with small increments: ⁠
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$100, then $500, then your first $1000, then 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, etc. ⁠
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Setting small goals will make this task a lot more managable. I know you can do it!⁠
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If you guys want me to talk a little more about my personal finance growth as a freelancer, please let me know in the comments and I'll make some more posts about this topic!⁠
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11/04/2021

I've been freelancing for about 4 years now and here are 5 tips I wish I knew sooner.⁠
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1. Save 20% of your income for investing and emergency savings. ⁠
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2. Save 10% for large equipment purchases like laptops and camera gear.⁠
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3. Surround yourself with a supportive community of both creatives of many disciplines AND non creatives.⁠
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4. Maintain a schedule for yourself and implement morning and night time routines to create a semblance of stability in an otherwise unstable lifestyle.⁠
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5. Give back, show gratitude, and be free with your knowledge.⁠
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Over the next few days, I'll be talking more about each of these in depth so stay tuned for my future posts!⁠
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Los Angeles, CA

Website

http://www.cytherial.com/

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