Nican Robinson

Freelance photographer and filmmaker Nican Robinson was supposed to work at an accounting firm after graduation, but a candid conversation with one of his mentors at the company led him in another direction.

“[My mentor told me not to] do things that you feel are not going to give you the most out of your abilities, and I really took that to heart, and a couple of days later, reversed directions. And I’m not going to say I ran the other way, but it was like a jog," he said.

Before graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in American Studies in 2010, Nican was already photographing parties and weddings as part of a budding interest in photography. After several months of using his living room for test shoots, he moved to New York City to pursue freelance photography and filmmaking.

"[Freelancing] is one of the most gratifying experiences that any one young man or woman can have," he said. "You have an abundance of freedom to do what you like to do and create. Obviously, you have ups and downs, but being the creative individual artist that you are, that allows you to do what you need to do because you draw from those experiences."

Highlights

Rejection is a good thing: You can’t take rejection personally. Right now, I believe if you don’t have any sort of experience with rejection, you really cannot progress. If everyone tells you yes, how can you create something out of a no?

Budgeting for freelancers: Saving the money that you do get from the freelance gigs that you have, knowing how much you have, budgeting, so on and so forth, is very important because now I have the freedom to go to a coffee shop and think