How to Become a Successful Photographer... Slowly

Being busy doesn't mean being profitable. Working on all kinds of projects doesn't lead to a successful photography career. This article is not the usual "Five quick steps to become a wealthy photographer." To be honest, it's a slow process, but if you understand its principles it will guide you on the journey to success.

Fast-Paced World

We live in a world where we are used to having things today and now. We see a demand for easy formulas for professional pictures, quick easy steps for successful businesses, easy money (a.k.a. debt). While there are indeed easy to achieve results, such as how to make homemade cookies, there will never be an easy and quick way to become a successful craftsman or a business person. That's bad news for the lazy folk and good news for all the industrious ones. It takes patience and work to become good at anything. The lazy ones are scared to take this direction. In the world we live in they are outnumbering the hard working people. This means if you take the journey of patience you won't have many to compete with after some time.

But Photography is so Accessible Today, They Say

Although tools and resources for photography and video are so available today the number of great artists is not that great. What is the reason for that? It's patience, wisdom, and hard work. Patience, wisdom, and hard work are not more available today than in the past. They are here all the time waiting to be utilized. The tools don't make the skilled artists. Tools are tools. They are useless in the poor craftsman's hands, while they are performing great in the hands of a skilled professional.

Being Good in Many Areas

Let's say you want to be good at many areas of photography. If you want it you will need more time. You can't work this around. Yes, don't get caught in the "exposure triangle" or "composition" boundaries. Photography is much beyond that. Do you know that in food photography you may have to understand the properties of different foods and dishes, how they degrade over time? Do you know where is more likely to find birds for wildlife photography? Do you know that when shooting commercial portraits you may not have all the time in the world with your subjects? Do you know that you need great personality if you want to keep those clients coming back? Learning the technique of photography is far from enough. Learning the details of each area of photography takes time. It's the hidden details that matter, not the general information.

If you are in a search of a food photographer and you find two websites: one of them shows a professional that shoots only food and products; the other shows a good photographer who shoots seniors, weddings, products, fashion, editorial, corporate headshots, landscapes, street, and pets. Which one would seem best for the job? The answer is: the one with more experience in the craft. The first one may be a young photographer with little experience, while the second one could be one with more than 40 years behind the lens. But in general, we, as clients, assume that those who show greater results in fewer areas are more experienced than those who are all over the place.

If you think this is the common client mentality, you should pursue such an image for your business: someone in the craft who is very good only at specific areas. After all, you don't have all the time in the world to be very good at everything.

Let's say you want to be very good at commercial portraiture. No magazine would give you the opportunity straight away to shoot their cover as you are nobody. How to keep your business up and running if you don't profit from that? You have two basic options: to shoot anything that earns you money or to shoot projects close to the area you'd like to specialize in.

Shooting Any Kind of Project

I admit this is not the best option for you. The reasons are several: each project eats from the time you need to pursue your desired area of development. If you want to be profitable you have to do every job diligently. This takes time. You could start getting more references for jobs of the same kind that are not of your speciality, and the cycle repeats. You could either redirect your efforts or try to be more selective. If you publish the results of every job you will become the image of the photographer who shoots all kinds of genres with no particular focus.

Shooting Projects Focused In a Certain Area

That's the right approach if you want to specialize in a certain area. In order to maintain your business you may have to take projects that are close enough to your journey road without going too far. Remember to work on personal projects that are in the direction you want to go. They attract clients of your kind. Occasionally there could be jobs that you don't usually do, but it's OK if they'd help you invest in your main purpose.

Services vs. Products

In the past the majority of people were into the production area. A minority worked in the services. Today it's quite the opposite. Working as a service leaves you all in the mercy of the clients as you don't have anything to show unless you are hired to do so. The services, hence the name, serve the client by listening to every caprice of theirs. The client is an absolute king in this case. If you don't have clients or the market is saturated with mediocre needs you will be an unsuccessful or mediocre service. You will complain from the clients, from the market, from the business ideas you have to execute. You will complain you have to compete always on a price level as there will be lots of other services waiting to be exploited for the lowest price. What's the difference between one service to another? Usually it's only the price as they all do what the client wants. Competing at price level will always lead to a failure at certain market conditions. This is the reason for the existence of many "nobody" services.

That's why photographers have to market themselves as products, not as services. Being a product, rather than a service, means you are unique in terms of style, vision, personality. When you are good at your craft, you present work that has your fingerprints. You won't be considered good for the job because of your price (whether it's high or low). Pricing is a whole other area that I've covered in a previous article about commercial and non-commercial photography rates. However becoming a product, a brand, is all about focusing on a specific area and maintaining consistent high quality work. You are not a large corporation that can work in many areas at once. You are a small boutique business. Don't pretend to be a corporation. Stay small, be of high quality, be consistent.

Conclusion

My advice is not to think big. Be realistic and patient. Study the biography of photographers you admire. See how long it took them to reach to a certain level. I did that. Almost all the time it's in a period of years. If it was that easy success would be accessible by those who don't deserve it. That's why it's hard, that's why it takes time, because only those who are patient enough and smart will reach to the final goal. I find justice in that. Remind yourself these words when you don't see the results immediately. Study the life of the honest and successful people. You'll see this pattern repeating over and over again regardless of technology and fashion.