How Do You Launch A Creative Side Hustle…Without Going Bankrupt?

If you’ve yet to classify “snake rental” as a tax write-off, photographer Rachel Stern has some news for you: Go for it.

“I make large, constructed studio photographs,” she says. “And I like big budgets.” But as a working artist with a more traditional daytime gig as a school teacher, Stern’s annual financials often add up to a chaotic salad of expenses: notebooks and art supplies for her students, alongside camera equipment, props, and most recently, one very large snake named Bumble Bee. “I’m all about making found materials into these very elaborate, kitschy, over the top set-ups,” she says. “So my photos are very expensive if you break down every item I use.”

For a single self-portrait like the above, receipts may include everything from tapered wax candles ($286.21) and draped gowns ($410.86), to camera equipment ($1,776) and hired help ($1,000). Which is to say, as the old proverb goes, a picture is worth thousands (and thousands, and thousands) of dollars. And fronting costs like that is rarely easy for any independent contractor.

Fortunately, thanks to digital, freelance-friendly services like H&R Block, and Stern’s ruthless knack for tracking expenses, she can still afford to let her side hustle take center stage when she’s feeling inspired. And in this installment of VICE’s Side Hustles, she exemplifies just that — in the form of a self-portrait project, featuring none other than Bumble Bee. “I often try to put things in front of my camera that freak me out,” she says.

Sure, we can’t all write off tapered candles — but for every functional side gig, there are specific allowances to consider. So whether or not you’ve got a burgeoning alt-hustle of your own to consider, catch the video below for more in-depth intel on how Stern conquered her snake and tax phobias, alike.