Beginner My Quest To Become A Freelance Photographer

[Tah]

Morning Everyone

I might be posting this in the wrong section. Hopefully I'm not. If I am, apologies in advance.

I thought I would just give you a brief about myself. I currently work full-time at a local council at present. Outside of work (sometimes during) I have a strong passion for photography where I like to just roam the streets of London and take pictures of building, graffiti or people which capture my eye.

At the minute, most of my shots actually go on Instagram while the rest remain on my laptop for me to admire.

I want to better myself in the photographs I take and just be a bit more imaginative with what I can achieve using a DSLR camera. At the same time, it is a dream of mine to be a freelance photographer and be in control of what I currently love doing; not for the money but purely for its love.

I would put up some photo's to be critiqued however unsure of the process.

Could anyone also be grateful in providing advice to take the best steps in becoming your own freelance photographer.

Thank you in advance

ODB Photography

 

[UaeExile]

Morning Everyone

I might be posting this in the wrong section. Hopefully I'm not. If I am, apologies in advance.

I thought I would just give you a brief about myself. I currently work full-time at a local council at present. Outside of work (sometimes during) I have a strong passion for photography where I like to just roam the streets of London and take pictures of building, graffiti or people which capture my eye.

At the minute, most of my shots actually go on Instagram while the rest remain on my laptop for me to admire.

I want to better myself in the photographs I take and just be a bit more imaginative with what I can achieve using a DSLR camera. At the same time, it is a dream of mine to be a freelance photographer and be in control of what I currently love doing; not for the money but purely for its love.

I would put up some photo's to be critiqued however unsure of the process.

Could anyone also be grateful in providing advice to take the best steps in becoming your own freelance photographer.

Thank you in advance

ODB Photography

What do you want to shoot?

 

[Phil V]

1, for critique use the photo sharing sections here.

2, it's easy - find a market, develop a business to fulfill that market.

I don't wish to sound trite, but you should be aware that being a small business owner has little to do with photography. You have the same dream as thousands of other people, for the vast majority of them, that dream has no chance of being a reality.

 

[Tah]

@UaeExile I want to shoot London. I have a love for street photography currently and love capturing the essence of what London stands for; be it through a multi-cultural standpoint to its architectural beauty as well as pockets of London overseen by the public.

@Phil V I understand what you're saying. I don't wish for it to remain a dream however. I want photography a part of my life. I'll head to the photo sharing section now.

 

[Phil V]

With the greatest of respect, you appear to have failed to understand what I was saying.

It's great you have a love for street photography in London, but who will buy it?

Photography is one thing, running a business is a different thing. Enjoying doing one is no help with the other. A business involves a product and a market, it's admirable to love your product, but without a market there's no business.

 

[Tah]

Ohhhh ok. I understand you now.

To be honest, its that point where I am re: how I market myself as a photographer. I'll continue to keep practicing but it is just moving it to the next stage

 

[UaeExile]

Ohhhh ok. I understand you now.

To be honest, its that point where I am re: how I market myself as a photographer. I'll continue to keep practicing but it is just moving it to the next stage

Tah you've missed the point again mate.

Who is going to pay you to take pictures? You can't market yourself if you don't know the answer to this question.

Trust me, I started freelancing a month ago after having a nice extended break and it's bloody, bloody tough.

 

[Glyn Carnell]

Tah... What Phil is saying is: Will there be anyone who is willing to pay ypou money for such images? ie: Market? OR do you shoot what interest's you for your own love of the subject and then, take other photos of 'salable' images that someone WILL pay money for?

In any business we are all the same, we have to supply an item the customer wants.... not nesseseraly what WE want to do for a living though!

 

[snerkler]

I echo the comments above, who will buy the pics? From the trends I've seen the sales of photographs has been steadily declining, probably because of the fact that everybody and their dog takes photos these days, mostly on their phones etc. Whilst many of these photos will be severely lacking in technical merit the majority of folk don't give two hoots. They bang them up on instagram and the like, and maybe even send off for the odd one to be printed and for a lot of people this is much better than the most perfectly taken landscape or something.

 

[snooks]

Hi mate
First thing I know nothing about the photography business. I do have my own ground maintenance/gardening business though. Gardening is a hobby of my just like photography, but the gardening as a hobby and as a business are worlds apart. I like street photography as well as you, shooting what I like but I could never make a business out of it. Don't take this the wrong way but are your photography skills up to it,if your not sure have a look at some of the websites of the pro photographers on here and see what your up against . If you want to be a photographer then go for it but make sure you do your homework first. I get asked all the time about setting up gardening business (especially when the suns shining) because people think being self employed is easy.
First rule of being self employed is NO WORK NO PAY.

 

[snerkler]

Hi mate
First thing I know nothing about the photography business. I do have my own ground maintenance/gardening business though. Gardening is a hobby of my just like photography, but the gardening as a hobby and as a business are worlds apart. I like street photography as well as you, shooting what I like but I could never make a business out of it. Don't take this the wrong way but are your photography skills up to it,if your not sure have a look at some of the websites of the pro photographers on here and see what your up against . If you want to be a photographer then go for it but make sure you do your homework first. I get asked all the time about setting up gardening business (especially when the suns shining) because people think being self employed is easy.
First rule of being self employed is NO WORK NO PAY.

What do you think?
https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/photograph-feedback.608189/

Tah, please don't take this the wrong way as I'm trying to be constructive but based on those images that you posted I think you need to work on technique and composition before you start thinking of starting a business. Don't get me wrong, the pics are decent but there's nothing particularly special about them and technique could be better on a couple of them. To make a business from it you really need to stand out from the crowd. Decide on what you want to capture/portray and work out a way to achieve this. Think about what's in the frame to capture a viewers attention/imagination.

 

[Tah]

Guys you know what? I am glad each of you have been in a position to give an opinion

I never thought I was the best photographer on the planet but I didn't think I was too bad. The comments provided show that there is still so much to learn. Definitely happy to do so.

@Glyn Carnell @UaeExile Thank you. I do understand you guys point now @UaeExile if you had an ext break before coming back to freelancing, photography must prove quite fruitful for yourself?

@snerkler I'm more than glad for the comments. No offence taken. If I learnt anything today its that I have a lot to study. I always knew this but needed to know where I honestly stood amongst others who do photography for a living at the highest level

@snooks Thank you for the comments. It has really opened my eyes...for the better though

 

[UaeExile]

Guys you know what? I am glad each of you have been in a position to give an opinion

I never thought I was the best photographer on the planet but I didn't think I was too bad. The comments provided show that there is still so much to learn. Definitely happy to do so.

@Glyn Carnell @UaeExile Thank you. I do understand you guys point now @UaeExile if you had an ext break before coming back to freelancing, photography must prove quite fruitful for yourself?

@snerkler I'm more than glad for the comments. No offence taken. If I learnt anything today its that I have a lot to study. I always knew this but needed to know where I honestly stood amongst others who do photography for a living at the highest level

@snooks Thank you for the comments. It has really opened my eyes...for the better though

No not really

I'm in a very fortunate position where I left my previous employer they gave me six months pay as a gratuity. So I'm not pressured into making it work, yet!

When I decided I wanted to be a photographer and make a living from doing it, I didn't have a clue what kind of photography I wanted to do. I'd done some events/conference photography before and thought I'd start with that; Unfortunately I kind of feel undervalued because of it. When you're there solely do document the day all the client cares about is "did you get a photo of Joe Bloggs making his speech"... particularly in this part of the world, they don't really care what it looks like or any of that, as long as they have it.

Deep down I'm a creative and I want that to be evident in the images I make. I'm changing direction towards portraits and weddings. Luckily that's much easier to build up a portfolio because I can use friends and family and that's what I plan to do when I'm home this Christmas.

Good luck with it Tah. Don't let the current standard of your images put you off because we all start somewhere and we're all just trying to make it work.

 

[Pookeyhead]

What do you think?
https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/photograph-feedback.608189/

Tah, please don't take this the wrong way as I'm trying to be constructive but based on those images that you posted I think you need to work on technique and composition before you start thinking of starting a business.

It has nothing to do with composition and all that camera club stuff. It's about what the images DO.. SAY.. what USE would anyone have for them? Who would buy these, and why? London is one of the most photographed cities in the world, and there's a glut of royalty free and creative commons licensed images of London out there already... just waiting to be used - and some of them utterly superb. Why would anyone buy them from you?

@Tah

I need to destroy this myth right away: Because people LIKE your images elsewhere (Facebook, Flickr whatever) doesn't mean anyone will pay for them. Can you actually identify a USE for the images you've posted? Is there an editorial use, or commercial use? If not (and I suggest there isn't) then you're flogging a dead horse and on a fast road to nowhere.

Develop a commercial practice (weddings, portrait, commercial product, pet photography, sports, events... whatever people will actually pay for) and use that to earn money, and then you have the funds and freedom to develop your own work, and embark upon the slow, hard process of getting work recognised for its merit. Your personal work will not earn you much money, if any at all, but that's not the point. Your personal work gets you recognition and your name known. Once you have that, you can diversify your commercial practice on the back of the success your personal work generates.


There's far too much "You're work is really great.. you should be a photographer" these days. The photography industry has changed over the past 20 years. Everyone can take nice images these days... it's easy. SO easy in fact that no one is prepared to pay for it unless it's actually something they can not do themselves. You can't shoot your own wedding; you can't shoot your own football match, or racetrack day, or your own graduation... you get someone in to do it. For everything else, people don't care any longer, as any schmuck with a camera can polish a turd in processing and make eye candy. It's ten a penny.

The advice above about going on a small business course is sounds advice too, as that will make you realise what is involved. It will be roughly 80% business, 20% photography.... if you're lucky.


You need to be real here. I have a pretty good turn of phrase, and when not quickly bashing words into an internet forum, can write really well, but I'm not stupid enough to think that means I can be a best selling author. There's more to writing a novel than writing well... you need a fantastic story, and you know what? So do your images. They need something that people will pay for... as it stands.. I can do this....

https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=London

...and find a million images of London that are A) Better than yours (some are a great deal worse too though), and B) Free to use under CC licensing.


Sorry to be the voice of doom... but shooting what you're currently shooting has no commercial application that would do anything other than earn you pin money occasionally.


That doesn't mean you can't develop a niche though.

however.... developing a niche brand for yourself and your work is not as easy as it sounds, otherwise everyone would be doing it. HONY is basically pretty crappy street photography but he's tapped into an emotional narrative that works well with social media. However, you've missed that boat to some extent now.

Develop something unique if you want recognition, otherwise develop a pretty straightforward commercial practice, and use the money to just do what you want with your personal work.

 

[snerkler]

It has nothing to do with composition and all that camera club stuff. It's about what the images DO.. SAY.. what USE would anyone have for them?
.

So you don't think you need to get composition and technique right first?

In my opinion this is the starting place and as I said once these are right you can start looking into how you can make your images look unique, stand out from the crowd, think about what's in the image to gain someone's interest in order for them to want to buy it. You say it's about what the images do/say, but in order to portray this you need to consider technique and composition don't you? Surely you don't go around randomly shooting images and then say "I wonder what this image says"? Granted with people it can be a spur of the moment capture, and often these are the best, but for city scenes etc a lot of thought has to be put into them in regards to technique and composition in order to portray a picture, a story, a thought

 

[chris malcolm]

I've been an enthusiastic photographer on & off for about 60 years. Used to develop & print my own last century. About 40 years ago all I had was an excellent quality fixed lens compact camera, a tripod, and a pretty versatile off camera flash. I couldn't afford the gear I wanted so I started selling photographs to get the money to buy better gear. I'm still doing that, but I've never managed to pay for more than half of it.

I've made a number of successful attempts to ramp up my profile and get more work in order to make at least a small profit from my photography. They've all failed for the same basic reason. I love photography and like to spend time getting the best images I can. Nobody wants to pay me for that kind of perfectionism. Mostly what they want are simply a pile of acceptable photographs which for technical reasons they don't understand are beyond the capability of their friend with the expensive smartphone. I end up bored with the photography, uninterested in what they want me to photograph, and feeling embarrassed at clanking around with a pile of gear doing s*** photography for money.

When I deliver the photographs I get one of two reactions. I think the photographs are crap and when the client is delighted and tells me they're amazingly good I wonder if they're stupid enough to think that or whether they're just trying to jolly me along so they can get another cheap job out of me. The other reaction is that the client criticises the photographs for totally ridiculous reasons, which often seems to be just a ploy to get me to do some extra work for nothing on the excuse of remedying these supposed deficiencies.

I realise what the problem is. I like photography too much to put up with doing crap for assholes for money. I have no talent for business. I hate the business side of being self employed and do it badly. So I've decided I'll just bump along accidentally picking up the odd interesting contract which helps to offset the costs of my gear.

On the other hand I've known a few enthusiastic vivacious self-advertisers who were good enough at the marketing and business side to make a living from photography for a few years. After a few exciting years and never having managed to master the bafflingly obscure relationship between shutter, aperture, and ISO they decided photography was a bit too technical for them and moved onto something else. Their photographs were only good snaps, but they were very good at playacting the expert photographer and selling the impression that the client was getting a real bargain.

My point is that if you enjoy photography, making a living from photography doesn't necessarily mean you get to spend more time enjoying yourself. It means you'll have to spend a lot of time doing unenjoyable photography. And that's only the small photographic part of making a living from photography.

 

[snerkler]

I've been an enthusiastic photographer on & off for about 60 years. Used to develop & print my own last century. About 40 years ago all I had was an excellent quality fixed lens compact camera, a tripod, and a pretty versatile off camera flash. I couldn't afford the gear I wanted so I started selling photographs to get the money to buy better gear. I'm still doing that, but I've never managed to pay for more than half of it.

I've made a number of successful attempts to ramp up my profile and get more work in order to make at least a small profit from my photography. They've all failed for the same basic reason. I love photography and like to spend time getting the best images I can. Nobody wants to pay me for that kind of perfectionism. Mostly what they want are simply a pile of acceptable photographs which for technical reasons they don't understand are beyond the capability of their friend with the expensive smartphone. I end up bored with the photography, uninterested in what they want me to photograph, and feeling embarrassed at clanking around with a pile of gear doing s*** photography for money.

When I deliver the photographs I get one of two reactions. I think the photographs are crap and when the client is delighted and tells me they're amazingly good I wonder if they're stupid enough to think that or whether they're just trying to jolly me along so they can get another cheap job out of me. The other reaction is that the client criticises the photographs for totally ridiculous reasons, which often seems to be just a ploy to get me to do some extra work for nothing on the excuse of remedying these supposed deficiencies.

I realise what the problem is. I like photography too much to put up with doing crap for assholes for money. I have no talent for business. I hate the business side of being self employed and do it badly. So I've decided I'll just bump along accidentally picking up the odd interesting contract which helps to offset the costs of my gear.

On the other hand I've known a few enthusiastic vivacious self-advertisers who were good enough at the marketing and business side to make a living from photography for a few years. After a few exciting years and never having managed to master the bafflingly obscure relationship between shutter, aperture, and ISO they decided photography was a bit too technical for them and moved onto something else. Their photographs were only good snaps, but they were very good at playacting the expert photographer and selling the impression that the client was getting a real bargain.

My point is that if you enjoy photography, making a living from photography doesn't necessarily mean you get to spend more time enjoying yourself. It means you'll have to spend a lot of time doing unenjoyable photography. And that's only the small photographic part of making a living from photography.

I must admit I've turned down some opportunities for this reason, they just want you to churn out any old pic as long as you get the shot. However, this wasn't scenic/architectural photography. For this to sell to the average Joe IMO it has to have something of real interest, and have good technique/composition for someone to even take a second look.

Tah, if you are serious about this and you really want to gauge your photography it may be worth getting a portfolio together and going to local art shops etc and asking if they want to sell your pics. You'll soon find out whether they're up to scratch and/or marketable images.

 

[viewfromthenorth]

At the same time, it is a dream of mine to be a freelance photographer and be in control of what I currently love doing; not for the money but purely for its love.

Why concern yourself with doing it professionally? I love my photography but I could never make a living shooting what I enjoy doing. And the commercial avenues for photography don't interest me. So I shoot what pleases me, I've had work in magazines, competitions and had a few solo exhibitions. I've made some money out of it. But the money has been a rewarding by-product, not an objective.

Maybe shoot a project on theme, based on the things you enjoy shooting. How about focussing on just one borough of London? Set up a blog or website, post on social media and build up your profile and reputation. Take a few chances and a few risks - look for opportunities, put your brave hat on and go and ask to photograph people and places, ask for an exhibition, etc. Then maybe off the back of this (and it will take some time, trust me), you could then start to explore options for making money.

Hope it all goes well, whichever option you choose to pursue!

 

[MartynK]

When I deliver the photographs I get one of two reactions. I think the photographs are crap and when the client is delighted and tells me they're amazingly good I wonder if they're stupid enough to think that or whether they're just trying to jolly me along so they can get another cheap job out of me. The other reaction is that the client criticises the photographs for totally ridiculous reasons, which often seems to be just a ploy to get me to do some extra work for nothing on the excuse of remedying these supposed deficiencies.

I realise what the problem is. I like photography too much to put up with doing crap for assholes for money. I have no talent for business. I hate the business side of being self employed and do it badly. So I've decided I'll just bump along accidentally picking up the odd interesting contract which helps to offset the costs of my gear.

Whatever. It's usually said that the key to success is business skills - particularly marketing and sales - rather than any exceptional photographic abilities. Once you start selling your services and relying on the income, the client becomes the focus. Deliver what he wants/expects, invoice and get paid. Move on to the next client and repeat the process, reserving the right to say 'no' if necessary.

There are always going to be people who are right at the top of their game and reach a level where their reputation allows them to be selective. They can choose the clients and type of work they're prepared to do, and still generate the income they require.

I work in a different field and I'm self employed. This was quite a hard lesson to learn, and I found myself over delivering in the early years. The clients didn't mind but I was spending too much of my own time, which I couldn't bill because it would take me over budget, on projects. That's not good business sense.

You seem to be content with where you are. Having a regular job and a salary, or some other source of income, allows you to do the sort of photography you're interested in with no selling, deadlines or clients to please, and the opportunity to pick up some paid work now and again as a bonus. That's a pretty good place to be.

 

[Pookeyhead]

So you don't think you need to get composition and technique right first?

That's a given whether you want to be a "professional" or not. It's got nothing to do with what I was saying, and it's not a deciding factor, no... plenty of people are pretty crap technically and it doesn't stop them earning money with a camera.

You say it's about what the images do/say, but in order to portray this you need to consider technique and composition don't you?

Not necessarily, no. Good composition can be important for any photograph, but it's not a pre-requisite for an image having a use, no.

Surely you don't go around randomly shooting images and then say "I wonder what this image says"?

No.. but you don't make it "say" anything through composition. That is down to what you point the camera at, and why.

but for city scenes etc a lot of thought has to be put into them in regards to technique and composition in order to portray a picture, a story, a thought

Care to illustrate what you mean? I've seen exquisitely composed city scenes that say precisely bugger all

Composition and technique don't add a story.

You're missing my point though. None of this has really got anything to do with being a freelance photographer shooting the kind of stuff the OP posted.

What the amateur or camera club thinks is good, is not necessarily what picture editors want. The general public may love a photo... but the general public are rarely inclined to pay for photography unless it's a photo of their brats or pets.

 

[snerkler]

That's a given whether you want to be a "professional" or not. It's got nothing to do with what I was saying, and it's not a deciding factor, no... plenty of people are pretty crap technically and it doesn't stop them earning money with a camera.

Good composition can be important for any photograph, but it's not a pre-requisite for an image having a use, no.

I've been specifically discussing the OP's photography in regards to becoming a professional, and for the type of shots he takes I still maintain that composition and technique, as well as a good eye of course are vital. Yes, if you're the type of photographer who is commissioned to take an awards ceremony, or a sporting event most of the time all the 'employer' is interested in is that you capture the person collecting the award, or running across the finish line and couldn't give a monkey's about composition, lighting, DOF etc etc. As long as you haven't chopped their heads off then all's good. And I've seen some "professional" pics in this genre that are technically shocking.

However, from what I understand this is not the OP's intent. He wishes to go out and take pictures of scenes and then hope that people will buy them, therefore I maintain that they have to be special and stand out from the crowd. No-one's going to walk past an uninteresting image, or out of focus image and say "wow I'd love that on my wall".

No.. but you don't make it "say" anything through composition. That is down to what you point the camera at, and why.

Yeah, I kind of meant composition to be all encompassing so taking into account the subject etc.

Care to illustrate what you mean? I've seen exquisitely composed city scenes that say precisely bugger all

Composition and technique don't add a story.

I think they can. For example if you're shooting a scene at Camden Market due to your technique and how you compose it you can make it look like a vibrant, dynamic busy scene, or you can make it look quite dull and boring. But no, a perfectly composed scene isn't always interesting.

Not the perfect example of what I"m talking about but I can't be bothered to trawl through flickr But here's two different shots taken from Camden Market, I know which I find more interesting and tells more of a story

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ppfphoto/9526503356/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/btclondon/5317500513/

You're missing my point though. None of this has really got anything to do with being a freelance photographer shooting the kind of stuff the OP posted.

What the amateur or camera club thinks is good, is not necessarily what picture editors want. The general public may love a photo... but the general public are rarely inclined to pay for photography unless it's a photo of their brats or pets.

See my first comment in this post, from how I believe the OP is intending to sell his images then I think these things are vital. But I do agree, his market is very limited as I said in post #9

 

[Pookeyhead]

I've been specifically discussing the OP's photography

So was I....

in regards to becoming a professional, and for the type of shots he takes I still maintain that composition and technique, as well as a good eye of course are vital.

And I still maintain it has nothing do do with it, simply because even if they were expertly composed, they'd still not be a marketable commodity because the market is saturated with perfectly good images of this nature already... all available for free.

However, from what I understand this is not the OP's intent. He wishes to go out and take pictures of scenes and then hope that people will buy them

Exactly. Good luck with that. Stock libraries and the internet are already full of such images.

, therefore I maintain that they have to be special and stand out from the crowd. No-one's going to walk past an uninteresting image, or out of focus image and say "wow I'd love that on my wall".

You think you can earn a living taking cityscapes that people will hang on their wall? You'll sell the occasional print once in a while, but it's a pretty poor basis for becoming a freelance photographer. Again, it's a saturated market. Stock is already full of such images, and there are so many available on flickr where you can download the high resolution file, that if an individual wanted a print making they could get it for free and print it themselves.

Composition is not the OP's problem (although I do accept the work could be improved).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ppfphoto/9526503356/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/btclondon/5317500513/

And no one will buy either unless it's taken as part of a body of work that was commissioned to document or illustrate an editorial article on Camden Market... in which case you'll get around £500 for the whole job from a broadsheet paper or colour sup, and even so, work like this is unlikely these days, as there's so much free stock available. Neither of those images will be bought by anyone else.

See my first comment in this post, from how I believe the OP is intending to sell his images then I think these things are vital. But I do agree, his market is very limited as I said in post #9

You'll not earn a living with such imagery no matter how well composed. No one pays for this kind of stuff any more. As I said further up, even if you were lucky enough to get a commission from a decent newspaper of magazine, you're looking at around 5 to 7 hundred quid tops! You'll maybe, even with extreme marketing skill, get a job like that once in a very rare while. You'll not be giving up your day job for it. A good friend of mine shoots exclusively for broadsheet paper's supplements and editorials, and despite being his full-time job (freelance) he earns regular gigs because he does very interesting human interest stories, not generic scenes of cities. He earns perhaps £2k a month on average. Bear in mind this is someone who is completely expert on being able to sniff out local stories that have a wider human appeal that fits the editorial styles of a wide range of publications, and has an extensive network of picture editors he's cultivated over the past 20 years.

Can you tell me what experience you have in freelance photgraphy, because the advice and opinions you're giving I'm struggling to recognise in any aspects of freelance photography I'm familiar with.

My advice to @Tah is while becoming better technically is vital ( I agree with snerkler on this) the problem is not that - it's your choice of imagery that will cause you issues. You need something that has a definite market easily identifiable and demonstrably worth pursuing. You need a unique selling point as snerkler says.. something to raise you above the crowd. The problem with generic city scenes is that it's something hugely popular with amateurs as it can be achieved easily by just wandering around - you can work alone, and basically indulge your hobby by doing it. Hence, there's literally millions of such images out there. Even if you end up taking the best damned cityscapes in the world, no one will come knocking to give you work as you're a drop in the ocean.

You need to market yourself. Many pretty average photographers become incredibly successful despite having limited talent. What they are good at, is marketing... not photography.

 

[snerkler]

So was I....



And I still maintain it has nothing do do with it, simply because even if they were expertly composed, they'd still not be a marketable commodity because the market is saturated with perfectly good images of this nature already... all available for free.
Exactly. Good luck with that. Stock libraries and the internet are already full of such images.
You think you can earn a living taking cityscapes that people will hang on their wall? You'll sell the occasional print once in a while, but it's a pretty poor basis for becoming a freelance photographer. Again, it's a saturated market. Stock is already full of such images, and there are so many available on flickr where you can download the high resolution file, that if an individual wanted a print making they could get it for free and print it themselves.
Composition is not the OP's problem (although I do accept the work could be improved).
And no one will buy either unless it's taken as part of a body of work that was commissioned to document or illustrate an editorial article on Camden Market... in which case you'll get around £500 for the whole job from a broadsheet paper or colour sup, and even so, work like this is unlikely these days, as there's so much free stock available. Neither of those images will be bought by anyone else.
You'll not earn a living with such imagery no matter how well composed. No one pays for this kind of stuff any more. As I said further up, even if you were lucky enough to get a commission from a decent newspaper of magazine, you're looking at around 5 to 7 hundred quid tops! You'll maybe, even with extreme marketing skill, get a job like that once in a very rare while. You'll not be giving up your day job for it. A good friend of mine shoots exclusively for broadsheet paper's supplements and editorials, and despite being his full-time job (freelance) he earns regular gigs because he does very interesting human interest stories, not generic scenes of cities. He earns perhaps £2k a month on average. Bear in mind this is someone who is completely expert on being able to sniff out local stories that have a wider human appeal that fits the editorial styles of a wide range of publications, and has an extensive network of picture editors he's cultivated over the past 20 years.
Can you tell me what experience you have in freelance photgraphy, because the advice and opinions you're giving I'm struggling to recognise in any aspects of freelance photography I'm familiar with.

My advice to @Tah is while becoming better technically is vital ( I agree with snerkler on this) the problem is not that - it's your choice of imagery that will cause you issues. You need something that has a definite market easily identifiable and demonstrably worth pursuing. You need a unique selling point as snerkler says.. something to raise you above the crowd. The problem with generic city scenes is that it's something hugely popular with amateurs as it can be achieved easily by just wandering around - you can work alone, and basically indulge your hobby by doing it. Hence, there's literally millions of such images out there. Even if you end up taking the best damned cityscapes in the world, no one will come knocking to give you work as you're a drop in the ocean.

You need to market yourself. Many pretty average photographers become incredibly successful despite having limited talent. What they are good at, is marketing... not photography.

The bit in bold is exactly what I've been saying . If you look back at one of my first posts I clearly said that the world is saturated with such images and the chances of being able to sell pictures is very slim. From this I then went on to say if the OP was still intent on doing this then he needs to work on composition and technique and get a unique angle, but I have not once said that this would automatically mean that he would sell images or that he would make a living from it as I still don't. As we've both said, the world is saturated. However, from the photos that I have seen sell or exhibited that are of this genre I personally haven't seen one where I've thought that the composition or technique is poor. As I've also stated earlier, I have in other genres such as ceremonies, weddings etc, but then I believe that the person is 'commissioned' to do the work beforehand and in which case it is all about self promoting and less to do with the final product.