Making Time : Satu Palander

Do you have a day job? What is it?

Currently I'm freelancing, mostly working as a photographer but I have also been doing some portfolio websites and occasionally some random jobs for couple of days/weeks at a time.

Do the people you work with know you are a photographer?

Obviously yes if I have photo shoots but otherwise usually not. If I mention about it it's almost always about my personal work.

Does the work you do during the day affect your personal work?

Of course it leaves you less time to focus on your own projects. Past few years I have done most of my personal work in Korea. It has been great to have a chance to spend 2-3 months of the year in a country that inspires me endlessly and where I can focus on photographing.

Even though I enjoy freelancing, to be honest my dream has never been to work as a photographer full time. I wish in the future my day job will be photography related but not necessarily photographing from day to another. It can easily wear you out and make you forget your own projects and why you loved photography in the first place.



If you could rearrange your time, what would be the ideal balance between your personal and professional work?

At the moment my monthly income varies a lot. The ideal right now would be having a part time job which would leave me time to do some freelancing/own projects. Or the other option would be to work a lot for 9 months and then stay in Korea or travel for 3 months yearly and that way have more time to focus on my personal work.

Images: Satu Palander, from 82 Days (2009)

See also: Wow San