6 Places Where Freelancers Can Work Comfortably At

Freelancing is now becoming popular as a source of income for many people. There are a lot of reasons why many are attracted to this kind of work. One reason that I find very attractive is I can work anywhere I want! The way you work affects the quality of  your output, and your workplace affects how you work. Therefore, you should choose a good place to work from. You need to find a place that will give you comfort while working and where you won’t easily get distracted. In this article, I will be giving you  a list of places where you can work comfortably. Have fun reading!

Rent an Office

A great place where you can focus solely on your work is at an office. The ambiance makes you want to work, and you can really focus on completing tasks. Renting an office may be an option for freelancers who have a steady source of income. Since you need to pay the rent, the electric and internet bills, you may ask your friends who also work as freelancers to share the space and cost with you. Having someone around when you’re working also gives you a chance to socialize.
Advantages:

• Office is a great place where your focus will only be on your work.
• There are fewer distractions and more productive hours for you.
• Working in an office teaches you to be disciplined to get up early, stay on schedule and go at work.

Disadvantages:

• You are required to pay the bills like the rent and utilities.
• You need to buy things for your office set-up such as cabinets, tables and chairs.
• You need to travel from your home to the office.

Image by: Geneva Sound

At Home

Many freelancers work at home. One thing I like about working at home is that I feel at home. There are a lot of locations in a house where you can do your work.

Bedroom

I work in my bedroom. What I like about working in my room is that I can do everything I want without disturbing my family and I can lock myself in the room so I won’t get disturbed. Any time that I need time to think for a certain task, I can just walk around my room while thinking.
Advantages:

• You can focus yourself on what you do. In my case, I lock the door so I’m not disturbed.
• You feel free to work since you are in your own comfort zone.
• Every tool you need such as your printer, storage devices, notebooks and pens, etc. are handy.
• There’s no need for you to travel.
• When you want to eat, you can just go to your kitchen. Unlike in an office, where you may be inclined to eat out more frequently instead of packing a lunch.

Disadvantages:

• Sometimes, seeing a bed makes you want to lie down and just ‘catch a quick nap.’
• If there’s a TV in your room, it can be a major distraction as you may be tempted to watch your favorite TV show.

Image by: Rebekah Pavlovic

Living Room

When I feel that my room feels stale or stuffy and I need a bit more space, I work in our living room. So, what are the advantages and downsides of working in a living room?
Advantages:

• When you get bored, your family members can help you feel energized.
• When you see your family, you’ll be inspired and motivated to work hard.
• Sitting on a couch with your laptop is actually pretty comfortable.

Disadvantages:

• Your family may be a big distraction. They may feel like chatting with you or asking for your help around the house
• TV and other entertainment can be a distraction.

Image by: Neil Goodman

Dining Room

Do you eat while working? You may just want to work in your dining room then. When I feel my body craves for food, I just use a laptop and place it on our dining table.
Advantages:

• It’s easy for you to set up your workspace there.
• Eating while working is good, but do not eat too much.
• Family members usually only stay at the table long enough for a quick bite to eat.

Disadvantages:

• If you tend to be careless, you can spill your food or drink all over your computer.
• When you are in a dining room, you tend to eat a lot. When your body feels heavy, you will also feel sleepy.
• There can be distractions such as smells from the kitchen or other external factors.

Image by: Bookishly Fab

Library

When we were in college, we used to stay in our school’s library. The ambiance is good and most importantly, it’s very quiet.
Advantages:

• The surrounding is peaceful and silent. You can work on your tasks properly.
• If you cannot find a reference on the web, there are a lot of books that you can use there.
• You do not need to pay to get inside and use their facilities.

Disadvantages:

• If you yell at your monitor when upset, you risk getting kicked out.
• Most libraries forbid people from bringing food inside to maintain the cleanliness of the place.
• Sometimes you feel bored because of the silence that fills the place.

Image by: Paul Burdick

In many places, public libraries have wi-fi. So, all you need to bring is your laptop and other personal belongings. Also, do not forget to bring an ID. Most libraries require people to surrender their IDs for identification purposes.

Coffee Shops

I remember from another freelancing job, my friends and I used to work at least twice a month in a coffee shop. This gives us different ambiance and since we love frappes and lattes, we enjoy working there.
Advantages:

• I enjoy working in a coffee shop, because of the energizing ambiance it brings.
• You can socialize with other people and you might meet other freelancers.
• The different people, and the art that most coffee shops display can be inspiring.

Disadvantages:

• You need to spend money, coffee shops won’t let you sit in their coffee shop all day with the same cup of coffee.
• There are times that their wi-fi connection is down.
• It can get noisy and distracting during different periods of the day. You may need to bring headphones to help block out the noises.

Image by: Iris

Factors To Consider When Choosing a Workplace

In choosing a place to work, you should consider the following factors:
Setup

• The setup of your workplace should give you the motivation to work and be productive each day.
• Make sure that your choice of workplace has all the tools you need to work, especially the internet connection.
• Cleanliness. Be sure to work in a place that’s clean.If you’re working at home, clean up before starting work.
• You should feel relaxed and comfortable where you at. If you’re comfortable, you’re likely to not get distracted as easily.

Distractions

Say no to distractions. A distraction can be the weather, a noise, a person or an emotion. There are many suggested ways to avoid distractions, but for me there are only two things necessary to avoid distractions: focus and discipline.

• Think of your goals each day and focus on them.
• Think of your inspiration and be motivated by it.
• Aim to be better today than yesterday.

Expenses

Expenses should also be considered. Working in a coffee shop or in a restaurant everyday is too expensive. Be practical. If you are earning good money, you can just rent an office and share it with other freelancers. If you think you can just work at home, do that. There’s no better place to stay than at your own home. Before I end this article, I have collected pictures of the workplaces of some of the people behind 1stwebdesigner. Take a look below.

My workplace:

This is my workplace which is located inside my room. I have my PC, my notebook and my planner, a glass of water and a juice drink. I did the setup on where I find myself comfortable moving and working.

Rean’s workplace:

This is Rean’s workplace, he is a writer and editor at 1stwebdesigner. You will see his moleskine, his favorite pen, his laptop, a coffee and the BunnyPeople of Intel atop his books. Very clean and everything that he needs is readily on his table. (Rean’s note: pink walls help me concentrate, swear!)

Saad’s workplace:

This is Saad’s workplace, he is our main editor. In his workplace, you will see two monitors, a book, and a router behind the monitor. It’s very clean! One thing you need to make sure is your workplace is clean. Whenever I find my workplace messy, I ended up cleaning it and the rest of my room instead of working. So before doing your tasks, make sure your surroundings are clean and organized. This applies mostly to freelancers who work at home.

Dainis’ workplace:

This is the office of our CEO. You will find here a Mac book, computers, a calendar, moleskine and other things he and his co-workers need. Your workplace must have a good lighting like this, it gives a comfortable working atmosphere. This kind of office setup where people are near each other is also good. This way, they can communicate well with each other.

How about you? Where do you work most of the time? What made you decide to work there? Share your insights! You can also show us a picture of your workplace

5 Crucial Photoshop Tools For All Photographers

Photography is a technical and practiced form of art. It’s not an easy form of fascination, since several aspects are at play in a photograph: lighting, focus, composition, subject and more.

Post processing is just as important as the photo shoot. No matter how good a photographer is, everyone needs to tweak a few flaws and emphasize details. Glamour, landscape, events, micro and portrait photographers need a handy photo editing software to improve their photos. Adobe Photoshop is a must have program for designers, artists, art students and now photographers as well.

After the birth of digital photography, photo processing is no longer done in a lab, but in a computer. As a photographer, you don’t need to learn Photoshop inside and out; you just need to know a few Photoshop tools that will help greatly in your picture taking hobby or profession.

Cropping

Cropping is an essential Photoshop tool for all digital photographers. You can improve your picture by leaving out unnecessary or bothersome elements through cropping.  With the right cropping skills, you can make any ordinary shot into a noteworthy, interesting photograph.

Photo by Rachel Arandilla

Photo by Rachel Arandilla

Cropping can be used to increase focus of the subject. It can improve the composition of the picture. During a shoot, you may not have the right lens, the time or the position that allows you to take photos with perfect framing all the time. Cropping through Photoshop will later save you from that.

Dodge and Burn

Dodge and burn are common techniques used in the traditional film dark room, and now you can manipulate photos by dodging and burning through Photoshop.

The Dodge and Burn tool is found on the Photoshop tool box. The burn tool is used to make an area of the photo darker, while dodge tool blocks the light to make the area of the photo lighter. The Dodge tool can even create the photographers’ favorite ‘Glassy Eyes’ effect in photos.

Photo by Rachel Arandilla

See how different and beautiful it looks when dodging and burning is applied? Dodge and burn is used to improve photos by:

1. Improving the exposure
2. Bringing out details
3. Directing your viewer’s eye movement and
4. Adding drama and impact through the use of highlights and shadows

Clone Stamp

Repairing photos and hiding flaws are now made easier through Photoshop’s Clone Stamp tool. Clone Stamp could remove annoying phone wires, leaves, freckles, people, and other unwanted elements. You can even clone other items to make the photograph more interesting–maybe add books, fill in background with people or add more flowers–these are all possible through the Clone Stamp Tool.

Photo by Rachel Arandilla

As you can see in the picture above, the rock and leaf are removed by cloning the grass into the area.

Blur / Sharpen tool

The Sharpen tool in Photoshop increases contrast in areas you want to emphasize. You can sharpen edges, or pop highlights on shiny objects for effect. It can save a blurred photograph, but don’t use the sharpen tool too much or it will end up overdone.

Blurring can also create creative effects to a photo. It sounds ironic, but too much sharpness can be too much of a good thing. This is true especially if a sharp background distracts viewers from your real, intended subject. When you blur unneccessary details, your subject pops, creating focus. Gaussian blur creates the soft, blurry look while Motion blur creates the impression of movement.

Photo by Rachel Arandilla

Black & White Tool

Black and White provides a dramatic and gritty effect that cannot be found in colored photos.

Photo by Rachel Arandilla

Unlike other editing softwares where they simply desaturate the image and throw away valuable color information, Photoshop provides you full control of how your final output will look like. It separates lightness values per color through the Black & White adjustment. The tools allows you to emphasize and de-emphasize areas of your whim.

Have full control of the black and white tones of your image. Light is separated by color: reds, yellows, greens, cyans, blues and magentas.

If black and white is too extreme for you, you can also try Photoshop’s Photo filter tool and adding color tints. You can see how a tint can change the overall mood and feel of an image: Sepia tones make it look nostalgic, blue tones make it look cold and unwelcome, and so forth.

These are not the only tools for photographs to utilize, but in my opinion, they are the five crucial tools to master – they’re easy to learn and very important. If you feel confident on learning more Photoshop skills to use for your photographs, try to experiment which you can use for your hobby or profession. However, don’t overdo post processing – your main objective is to improve or enhance your photo, and not to digitally alter the whole photograph from scratch.