In my previous post, I posed the question, can you still make a living as a photographer? My answer is absolutely yes!
I said there is one thing that you need to be doing that will greatly increase your chances of success. That is the topic for today’s post.
But first, let’s talk about mindset.
As creatives, we really want to be behind the camera. After all, that’s why we become photographers. It’s not for the marketing, invoicing, and countless minutiae of running a business.
But this is what you have to remember: your photography business is a business. This should always be foremost in your mind. If want to do photography for a living, rather than as a hobby, you will need to remember that you’re a business person first and a photographer second. It’s the only way you’ll make any money and survive.
If you don’t have this mindset already, then you require a shift in your perspective.
There are things you need to do to be successful in business, no matter what kind of enterprise you run. The foundation of all business is relationship. Networking and relationship building is where you need to put your focus. Most of your energy needs to be spent on this.
And when I say networking, I mean in person. If you’re spending all your time on social media, then you’re doing it wrong. You need to get out from behind the computer and go meet people.
I’m not saying social media isn’t important, because it is. It’s not a good idea to be a photographer without an Instagram presence. But unless you already have a massive following, I wouldn’t put ton of my energy there unless you’re using it as a springboard to connect directly with photo buyers and brands. This is a topic for a whole other post.
There are a lot of ways to network. You can go to trade shows and relevant Meet-Up groups, small business association meetings, or even join your local professional photography association.
On the face of it, networking with other photographers doesn’t seem to be an ideal way to get more clients. After all, other photographers are your competition. However, photographers that shoot in other niches can be a valuable source of information and referral. I regularly get worked passed on to me from photographer friends who are already booked when potential clients need something shot, or they’re not interested in the enquiry. When I get requests that I’m not able to take on, I return the favour.
The most important thing you need to be doing, the point of my article, is approaching the people who work for the companies you want to work for directly. It will take some sleuthing on your part to find out who these people are. Quite often it will just take a phone call to the receptionist.
Once you find out who it is you need to speak with, you can send them an introductory email with a PDF of your recent work and ask for a few minutes of their time to ask them what their photographic needs are and their process of hiring photographers.
You want to go in with the approach that you’re trying to find out what their needs are and how you can help.
As a food photographer, you can use this process to contact marketing and PR agencies, advertising agencies, and even restaurants chains or restaurants that are high end enough to have a marketing or media person.
If you’re contacting an agency, ask if you can make an appointment to show them your print portfolio. They might be too busy for this, but you can drop it off. Just make sure you introduce yourself when you bring it by, so they can put a face to a name.
Once they have given you their time, follow up with a small gift, like a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine. The next time they need a photographer, you’ll be the first one that comes to mind.
This might not happen right away. In my experience, it can take several months to net results, but get results you will if you take this approach.
The thing to remember is that you need to be doing this all the time. Networks need to be maintained, or they won’t be there for you when you need them.
This is the biggest mistake I made in my first year of business. I networked with such fantastic results that I got very busy and stopped practicing what I’m preaching. When things slowed down for me, there were few clients to be had and it took time to get the momentum back again.
Whether you’e a blogger or new photographer, there is a market out there for you. The trick is to identify it and then go after it. You can’t rely on your website or hang around on social media, waiting to be discovered. You need to take action. Action is where you meet your destiny.
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