Photographers often tie their self-worth to the prestige of their client list. This mindset can lead to unhealthy comparisons and undue stress. It's crucial to recognize your value beyond the logos on your portfolio and the big names you've worked with.
Coming to you from Justin Mott, this insightful video explores the pitfalls of linking your identity too closely with your clients. Mott shares personal experiences, revealing how clients who once seemed crucial can disappoint and undermine your worth. He emphasizes that your skill, professionalism, and integrity define you, not the brands you associate with.
Mott recounts working with prestigious publications and commercial clients, only to be let down during challenging times. His story of risking his life for an assignment, only to receive no support from the publication, underscores the importance of not overvaluing clients. Another instance involved a long-term hotel client who disrespected his team, leading Mott to stand up for his team at the risk of losing the client. These anecdotes highlight that even significant clients can fail you, stressing the need to maintain self-worth independent of them.
The video also touches on the tendency among photographers to rank themselves based on who they've shot for. Mott admits to falling into this trap, acknowledging the pressure to compare oneself to peers with prestigious clients. However, he urges you to focus on your growth and craft instead of external rankings. Your value isn't diminished if you haven't worked with certain brands. Your work, technique, and professionalism remain intact regardless of your client list.
Mott encourages a shift in perspective, advising you to judge yourself by your standards. Client relationships may change, but your skills and integrity are your constants. By focusing on personal growth and resilience, you can navigate the industry's ups and downs without losing sight of your worth. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Mott.
I shoot what I want to shoot, and then license the rights to use the images after the fact, so what I do is a bit different than what is discussed in the synopsis above, where photographers are being hired to go shoot photos. But the client thing is still relevant to what I do.
Ironically, the images that have sold the most and to the most well-known clients are not at all the best work that I have made.
Entities who have used my images include National Geographic, Audubon, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, the United States State Department, Realtree, Cabelas, etc. But it is my basic, average images that they tend to choose for their advertisements, articles, promotions, etc. The special stuff that is actually artistic and creative, they have little or no interest in. So if the clients aren't even using my better work, then it wouldn't make any sense to judge me, or anyone else, on who their clients are, or on what work is "out there" in publication.
I guess there are multiple ways of looking at this. I don't need clients in any process to redefine my photography. It's not based upon what others think, and I do photography for myself.
With the underlying premise that a professional’s photography is a business which pays the mortgage and puts food on the table, your client list does indeed define you. With a business relationship, the client defines our work schedule, it defines our priorities, it defines the equipment we purchase or upgrade, it defines our employees and payroll. When Nike or whoever the big client is calls, we jump into action. Naturally there are emotional bonds with every account, especially so with the big ones, but therein lies the trap.
I understand the concern that Justin expresses over wrapping our identity up in our client list. I understand that we often tie our self-worth to our work; even maybe so far as a single customer, and there are emotional consequences. Bragging about the name of those high-profile prestigious clients at a party or to other photographers may not be worth anything more than feeding our ego, but the fact that those large clients probably make up a significant part of our income can’t be ignored.
The important thing to consider with the loss of an account, big or small, is how we respond going forward. If there’s something that you did which caused the breakup, you do the best you can to remedy the problems going forward. If it was outside your control, you do the best you can to forget it and go on. Beating a dead horse accomplishes nothing. A sound business plan should always be forward thinking, and that’s the important thing to remember because our photography is a business. What will customers need in the future? How will technology impact their needs and my ability to meet them? How will I be able to finance my business? What sort of prospective clients do I have in the pipeline? A successful professional manages the structure and identity of his business with the client’s needs in mind. Where there’s a good fit, the professional makes money and the customer gets what they want. Where there’s not a good fit, we both look elsewhere.