Remember Marketing Is Key

The tough part of making a living in photography is selling yourself and your work. The problem with that is most people feel they have to sell themselves through their work exclusively. This however is why that way of thinking does not work. No matter how great one’s images are, the average layman can’t tell your work from the next persons. If I held up ten shots, by ten different photographers, the layman can’t tell them apart. Furthermore the average Joe does not know what a technically good yet alone acceptable picture is. Of course pros can and do, the problem therein lies that the average client, including those in the publication business can’t. This is where marketing is absolutely essential

One could be an absolute novice who couldn’t separate a technically good picture from an image that they like full of flaws. Of course this is the mentality of the average consumer as well. They are unable to distinguish a good photo from a photo they like. However the average client will remember the photographer by how big or much gear they have, a client list, or even a marketing slogan. Just think about it, corporations spend millions to design logos, mottos and even jingles so the average consumer will distinguish them from the competition. So to the aspiring photographer, remember while your images may lock in a deal, you need to sell yourself, by standing out from the competition, and that may mean methods other than those in your portfolio. 

Good luck, it’s a jungle out here. 

This entry was posted on 14. January 2008 at 04:28 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.