Why Every Creative Needs Spec Work for Portfolio & Client Growth

The further along into their business that a creative finds themself, the more likely they are to prioritize the value of their skillset and craft and try to make the best financial use of their time possible.

While it’s very common, if not expected, for a creative who’s brand new to their relative industry to work for heavily reduced rates compared to the rest of their contemporaries, many creatives will, understandably, increase their rates over time as both their skillset and their perceived value of their time and craft improve.

However, many creatives, including myself, become guilty of boxing themselves into the mentality that if a project doesn’t provide any financial incentive, it’s not worth their time and skillset.

After all, why would you commit your time and resources into a project that doesn’t provide any financial return when you can just as easily spend the same effort either working or trying to obtain work with a client that will pay you?

Well, what if I told you that I not only selectively invest my time and resources into unpaid projects but that those same unpaid projects are the sole reasons why I have been able to work with some of my highest-paid clients to date in the long run?

The reason for this is simple: intentionally curated spec work.

What is Spec Work?

Spec work, short for speculative work, with an emphasis on the speculation that your time and creative investment into a project will be returned in the long run.

Many creatives hear the word “unpaid” and, understandably, get turned off.

Why would you work for free?

Doesn’t this undermine your value and those of others in your niche?

Well, the key here is the intention behind the project.

For example, I’m an Apparel and lifestyle Photographer.

If Oscar Meyer reached out to me and asked me to photograph some pork products as a gift collaboration, then this would be a useless transaction for me (unless I just really, really love bacon) because it would provide zero benefit to my portfolio and would not help me obtain any future work with other clients in my desired niche.

When crafting a spec project, the most essential consideration is curating a result that best appeals to your dream clientele.

To be completely transparent, I would love to work with two dream clients in the future: Hollister and Zara.

Therefore, I’ll occasionally plan spec work with either of these two brands in mind by purchasing some of their apparel and recreating photoshoots that I feel best emulate work that I frequently see in their marketing, with a firm intention behind every aspect, from the framing, to the color grading, to the model, and so on.

If you’re curious, you can see some of my most recent spec work with Hollister and Zara here and here, respectively.

Clientele Perspective

One big, uncomfortable truth that many freelance creatives don’t like hearing is that you can’t rely on your artistic skills alone to get clients.

While some people have powerful artistic abilities, they lack the knowledge and experience to adapt to a business mindset and market themselves directly.

Suppose you think about this from the perspective of a client that you’d love to work with.

Why would they invest their time and money into a creative that doesn’t showcase any previous work in their portfolio that shows they can deliver results with strong ROI?

I can tell right now that if I were in charge of a marketing and content management team for a brand such as Banana Republic, I wouldn’t even consider hiring a photographer or videographer who didn’t showcase any previous experience with travel and safari-inspired apparel.

The ‘Entry-Level, Experience-Required’ Paradox

This mindset initially creates a conundrum, which is easily viewed in today’s job market on platforms such as LinkedIn.

Jobs will list themselves as entry-level yet require previous experience, leading to many frustrated applicants wondering how they’re supposed to get any job requiring experience if every job requires experience.

In the same sense that an unpaid or low-paying internship provides job hunters with the necessary tools and achievements to be more desirable for the positions they seek, so does spec work provide this same utility for freelance creatives.

I strongly recommend that every creative freelancer struggling to obtain clientele in their desired niche consider spec work.

As long as you’re intentional with your time and vision, and curate work that closely resembles creative assets that you already see in your desired clientele’s marketing material, I can guarantee that your investment will return to you tenfold in the long run.

If you're an apparel or lifestyle brand ready to invest in powerful imagery that drives sales and defines your identity, let's connect. I create strategic photo assets designed to bring your vision to life.