Photographer Xavier Buendia
Meet Xavier Buendia and his journey from Mexico to England, and more importantly from the world of hospitality as a sommelier to a career as a successful freelance photographer. Covering 10 years of freelancing. A lot has changed. From building a business via Twitter to COVID & Brexit decimating the restaurant industry he’s was shooting for. A lot of food for thought.
Episode 334 of the Being Freelance podcast, hosted by Xavier Buendia, Steve Folland, titled "Photographer Xavier Buendia" was published on January 27, 2025 and runs 41 minutes.
January 27, 2025 ·41m · Being Freelance
Summary
Meet Xavier Buendia and his journey from Mexico to England, and more importantly from the world of hospitality as a sommelier to a career as a successful freelance photographer. Covering 10 years of freelancing. A lot has changed. From building a business via Twitter to COVID & Brexit decimating the restaurant industry he’s was shooting for. A lot of food for thought.
Episode Description
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ABOUT THIS PODCAST EPISODE
In this episode, Xavier Buendia shares his journey from Mexico City to Brighton, and more importantly from the world of hospitality as a sommelier to a career as a successful freelance photographer.
Xavi discusses the importance of people skills, marketing consistency, self-confidence, and believing in yourself.
He highlights both the financial benefits and creative downsides of having routine retainer clients; his pivot when COVID and Brexit hit the food industry he’d relied upon. And his recent experiments with hiring a very human PR and using AI – both to help his business in different ways.
00:00 Introduction to Xavi Buendia
02:04 Xavi's Freelance Journey Begins
03:16 Moving to England
04:04 Discovering Photography
04:38 First Photography Gigs
06:57 Building a Photography Business
07:24 Using Social Media for Business
08:19 Learning Business Skills
09:08 Expanding the Business
12:11 The Role of Customer Service
17:01 Challenges of Freelancing
18:11 Managing Work and Life
19:28 Embracing Food Photography
20:20 Lockdown and New Opportunities
21:13 Impact of Brexit on the Food Industry
23:18 Networking and Diversification
28:14 Managing Retainers and Routine Challenges
37:01 Working with a PR
39:18 Advice for Freelancers and Relocation Insights
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Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.
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