Nico Schaerer

Freelance landscape, travel and commercial photographer Nico Schaerer has an impressive range of talents. A globetrotter who has worked in countries all over the world, Nico's list of clients includes Porsche, Red Bull, National Geographic Traveller and Audi.

Born in the countryside near Zurich, Switzerland, Nico's love for photography comes from his father. "He had a darkroom, so as a kid I joined him and learnt the whole process of taking a photo and developing the film," Nico says.

The freelance life isn't always straightforward or easy. "I'd been away for 10 years, so when I got back to Switzerland, nobody was waiting for me; I had no network," says Nico. "My camera broke on my trip and my laptop wasn't working properly so I couldn't even tell people I was a photographer because I was a builder without a hammer."

Even though his portfolio was packed with beautiful photographs of Indian landscapes and portraits, everyone told Nico to come back when he had references. "I knew someone who worked at a big advertising agency," he recalls. "They invited me there and we built a connection. They asked me to be part of a huge European campaign for Coca Cola."

While Nico describes it as "a little gamble", he trusted his instincts and went with it, and that helped open more doors for him, enabling him to get back on his feet. "It wasn't easy but nothing ever is," he says.

Nico's photography mantra is simple: "it's about composition and storytelling". He believes that people always want to put photographers in a box according to their genres, but he likes to keep things varied. "I think it's just a little boring to do the same thing every day," he explains. "I really enjoy that one day I'm hanging from a helicopter in the Swiss Alps and the next day I'm shooting with a Michelin Star chef in a cactus field in Mexico."

Today, Nico tries to focus more on the creative side of photography. "My personal projects are where I have space to experiment with creativity," he says. "My business partner, who's a travel writer, and I have a website where we sell fine art prints, and that's a space I want to grow for myself, to go back to my roots, and just be an artist."

How has learning to shoot on analogue impacted your workflow today?

Even today, it's still an important process to me – to focus on what you're taking pictures of. With digital cameras, you just click, click, click. But when you have film inside, it's only 36 images. You have to be really aware and ask yourself, "Do I really need this shot or not?", whereas now, you just click and end up with thousands of images, wondering which one you like best. It's given me more perspective.

You travel a lot. Does it get exhausting?

When I started travelling, I wasn't under time pressure, but some days were still tiring. But in general, it was really nice to meet new people and just go with the flow. I was working a lot as a photographer back then and my workflow would go on to set the basis of the values I live with even today.

What are the biggest challenges in being freelance?

Time management. You could get an email from a client saying, "We need 30 images by tomorrow afternoon," but it's already 5pm, and you have a shoot planned for the next day, so when are you going to do it? I travel a lot and have two kids, so it can be a big task to keep it together and not lose the quality you want to deliver. Another challenge is finding clients who share your values and vision because some clients might think that anyone can take a photo. You need to find someone who shares your ideas and views.

What advice would you give to someone looking to go freelance?

Be patient. Be brave. It's not going to be an easy path. You have to be really committed. Don't think, "I'll travel the world and it'll be easy." You need to be a businessperson and a photographer at the same time, but don't give up. Some photographers try it for a year and give up, but that's not how it works. This path is only for the ones who really, really want it.

"I've never focused on getting awards and things like that. What makes me happy is that every day, I can earn money with my camera in my hands and have a beautiful day in beautiful parts of the world. What other people think of me is not that important. It's more what I feel when I do it. Quality is not a stamp that someone gives you; it's more about the reaction your images evoke in others."

Instagram: @nicoschaerer

Website: www.nicoschaerer.com / www.nuvu.ch