WHO IS EVA AND WHY DID SHE START THIS ACADEMY?
My name is Eva Glasbeek and I am a 27 year old photo-/videographer based in Amsterdam. When I was 8 years old I got my first little digital camera. I started documenting basically everything around me from family holidays to friends who I forced to put on awful make-up and dresses for my “fashion magazine covers”. I still feel sorry for them till this day… Anyway, I couldn’t get enough of it and everytime I had a minute I would try out different things. I wasn’t necessarily great at the technical part of the camera but I sure had a vision.
"If no one knows who you are, you won't get booked"
Where it all started
I started fantasizing about what it would be like to actually become a photo-/videographer in the real world but in 2015 I chose the “safe” option by starting a study called “communication systems, Multimedia & Design”, I am not even going to mention where I did this because it was an excuse of a study and I was completely underwhelmed by the lack of actual, up to date and real information about the creative industry. Since I had plenty of empty hours in my week I started creating my own work, building a network and basically selling myself anywhere I could to get photo/video jobs.
When I was about 18 I dedicated hours and hours watching tutorials, trying different techniques, learning about marketing and finding clients. Even when I started getting my first paid jobs (read: €50,- for an entire video) I often felt like I would never figure out how I could make this “hobby” my full-time job.
The moment I realized I had figured it out…
I wish I had a mentor at the time that would show me the exact steps to take when starting a creative business, especially since it was so hard to learn about the actual current creative-industry rather than old fashioned methods. After constantly asking myself questions to figure out what I wanted and how I wanted to achieve this: I had created a strategy. And trust me, I didn’t realize this at the time but looking back now I know that this strategy got me exactly where I am today.
See, being a photo-/videographer is so much more than just knowing how to work a camera. 65% of being a successful creative comes down to how you handle the business side of things.
In 2019 I had finally created a bunch of portfolio-work and grown more confident. I finally knew what to do due to years of trial and error. I had changed my mindset, my technical skills and my outlook on the creative industry and it felt like everything finally clicked.
I started working with well known social media influencers which led to being found by brands such as: Loavies, Hunkemoller, Láncome, Buffalo shoes, Warner Studio’s and many more. In 2020 I wrote and directed my first short film and above all: I was (and still am) making a living as a full time visual creative while traveling to the most beautiful places to shoot campaigns.
“I’M determined to teach you exactly how I made it happen”
I shared a lot of this journey online and I started to receive daily questions from like minded people such as: how did you find these clients? How much do you charge and how do you negotiate your prices?
I remember how lost I felt when I was starting out, how frustrating it was to know what I wanted but not knowing what steps I had to take to actually achieve my dreams of making a living off of my camera.
Now, in 2023 I have created an online platform & course that focuses on helping visual creatives like you start or up their game as a profitable and successful photo-/videographer in the current creative industry. It’s my mission to be that mentor that helps you grow as a person and as a photo-/videographer. I am going to guide you in finding your voice, vision and talent to then translate this into the real world through your camera with hands-on techniques . Honestly, I am so grateful you are here, investing in yourself and your dreams, look at you go!
