I had the best part of a decade of professional photography, with some very tough years and some good years in that time. I learned a lot about the craft, the industry, and most of all, how to run a small business. Most of the lessons that have had the most significant impact on my career aren’t around technique, post-production, or even equipment; they talk about running a business.
There have been many articles about how photographers should treat their photography like a business as a matter of priority. Those paths are easy to follow, so I won’t cover it here, but what I mean is that creative professions can be deceiving. You can be fooled into thinking that the most creative people or the people who take the best pictures will get the job. I can assure you that’s not nearly as the case as you think. Some of my most loyal and profitable clients have gone so far as to say that one of the most important reasons for our continued relationship is my unwavering trust.
I have no illusions: I know there are other photographers who can do what I do, and there are certainly some who can do better. However, my reliability, honesty, quickness and the mantra of “under promise, over do” have set me apart on a number of occasions. The point is, all these positives and my mantra are meaningless unless you get a paying customer. After all, a prospect can’t say you’re short on prospects or that you won’t miss your deadline.
Convert customers
When I first started my photography business, having been a photographer for a few years, I was both motivated and overwhelmed. Although the number of possibilities seemed limitless, the wide range made it difficult for me to get my first client. In my first year, I had clients in every field you can think of: I do environmental photography, pet portraits, architecture, portraiture, and some minor retouching work. I got these jobs by constantly knocking on doors and asking if they needed a photographer, along with word of mouth.
At the end of my first year, I was very conflicted. On the one hand, I’ve found a few decent paying clients, some repeat work, and things are slowly improving. On the other hand, the amount of money I earn for the hours I work is completely immeasurable. Most weeks, I pulled a minimum of 80 hours per week, with a triple digit touch. I don’t mind this – I’m naively proud of my hustle – but it’s unsustainable, especially given my low income.
The second year went like the first, and even though I made more money, the balance wasn’t all right. I know I have to aim higher with the client, but the more impressed the customer is, the less impressed I am with them. I’ve narrowed down a niche – an important step in itself – and I’m lobbying for clients, but whether or not I get them is based on my selling skills (or at least my selling skills aren’t the main reason), but in large part luck. However, in the middle of my sophomore year, I had a client that changed everything.
This client is a small brand with some budget behind them and some staff. They gave me an opportunity based on the images I had created for another brand, and I did my best in the first brief. I want to create images that can stop people from scrolling and make people buy. That’s the obvious strategy for a product photographer, but until then, I’ve only created photos that I think look good or show off an element of the product that I like. Not much thought about the purpose of the photos until now.
The first brief went well and I was given more assignments, and it continued in that direction for a while. We have a great relationship and when they kindly informed me, they attributed part of the excellent growth of the brand to my image being so effective on social media and in advertisements. That compliment was lovely to receive, but it also marked a pivotal moment in my career. Like many of us in advertising, I analyzed everything I could and I began to figure out why my relationship with this client was going so well. In the end, I narrowed it down and nothing was the same.
Solve the problems
When you read anything about entrepreneurship, starting a business, or making your way in the world of work, you’re bound to come across a variation of the concept along the lines of “problem solving.” This is the heartbeat of most consulting businesses, but also many successful startups; Find a problem and solve it. If you’re looking to reach customers, in company language, you need to “find their pain points” and then address them. Are they hemorrhaging import tax money? Find them a local supplier. Their website is not getting organic traffic? Their SEO overhaul. Is their office dog adorable? Get a uglier dog.
I am fully aware of the importance of solving customer problems for a successful business, but how does it apply to photography? Photography feels very linear; They need some photos, I made some for them. That’s problem solving, isn’t it? Yes and no – mostly no. If a jeweler asks you to take a picture of their new ring on someone’s hand, lots of photographers can do it for them. The quality of the image plays a role in whether you get another job from that client, but there’s a better way to tell the difference: solving the underline problem.
With a product, the problem is often getting people to buy it. This involves getting the product out to as many people as possible, which could be the purpose for which your image is posted on social media or used as an advertisement. So let’s dig into this. What is the product demographic? Which ad or post has been successful in the product’s niche and why? With my client that changed everything, I inadvertently asked these questions. For example, for Christmas, I made their product look like the perfect gift, and I captured it in a way that looks great on Instagram because that’s the social media platform of choice for the target demographic.
Again, at the time, I wasn’t aware that I was dealing with these issues, I was just trying to create great looking photos for whatever advertising campaign I was assigned; I was given the freedom of creative direction. After contemplating a successful partnership for several years, I realized that it was simply an age-old business cliché about finding problems and solving them. Since that time, I have tried to be aware of the true purpose of every photo I take. Don’t just take a photo because the client needs one, but more than that, find out why the customer needs a photo and research about it — it will set you apart in a way few other actions can.
