I was recently asked by a subscriber of mine on Youtube to tackle the subject of what I would do differently if I started my photography business today, in 2020. He was mostly referring to the particulate climate we’re in (that of a pandemic) - which I do address - but I decided I would use the opportunity to also address what I would do differently with the knowledge that comes with over 10 years in business.
The First Thing I Would Do Differently: Not Resist
As much as I want to view myself as a beautiful and unique snowflake, in the end of the day, I’m you’re typical artist: I’m idealistic; fiercely independent; despise selling myself or putting myself out there; and perhaps worst of all: I do not naturally enjoy the business side of running a photography business. Eventually I overcame much of this, but I am still dealing with the consequences of my early resistance to this day.
When I started my photography business journey, I held onto certain ideals such as word of mouth being all I needed to succeed. And to tell you the truth, for many years it really was. Early on all of my work came from referrals, but not all of them were exactly “organic.” You see, I recognized the power of a then emerging platform, Yelp. True, Yelp is just another form of referrals in a sense, but what this falsely reinforced was that in the end referrals were all I needed. The truth is that most of my early success was due to getting on Yelp early and recognizing its value before most other photographers. At a time when the average photographer in Los Angeles seemed to have 6-9 five star reviews, I had over 100. Since then, competition has increased, Yelp now filters out most of my reviews with their algorithms, and they have (but will not admit) taken punitive actions against me for refusing to participate in their paid services. Eventually work from Yelp completely dried up because of this. That and my full boar pivot into exclusively shooting events meant that outside of referrals, I had no significant source of work.
So while I was smart enough to recognize the power of an emerging platform, I was not smart enough to get out of my own way and follow the same formula with other emerging platforms.
What Are the Lessons I Learned From This?
First, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Second, get in early! The more mature a platform, the harder it is going to be to succeed on it. I am not saying there is no value in them, just that it will be a tougher road getting traction.
What I Do Differently Today
I now have a no stone unturned policy. I try to at least have an account on all major platforms, but that has less to do with being active on every platform and more to do with my overall SEO strategy- which of course includes generating backlinks to my website. I also especially try to get in early on new aps and services.
I’ve learned a lot, but I still make mistakes. I knew Tik Tok would be huge the week it came out. I didn’t want to make the same mistake of not getting on it early, but in the end I didn’t feel the platform was quite right for me. That is because short content is king on Tik Tok- quite the opposite of the long and thoughtful content I try to produce. But perhaps I should have further explored the platform before concluding it wasn’t a good fit. But at the same time - and this is important - you do not need to be on every single platform there is: choosing the platforms that work for you, while being sure you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket, is probably the best general advice I can give.
The Second Thing I Would do Differently if I Were Starting My Photography Business Today
When I first started my career as a professional photographer, I shot weddings. Not because I especially love weddings or because I wanted to be a “wedding photographer” per se. I started off shooting weddings because it was simply easy to get into. I never really thought hard on the photography I pursued. I just engaged in the hustle and figured it out. Now that’s not entirely a bad thing. I think through exposure to different types of photography, you can better figure out what it is you’re really interested in. Since I don’t think I fully knew what I wanted to shoot, I just got into whatever I could. Personally for me, I have more mental clarity that way. I’m not a fan of overthinking, so perhaps I needed to go through the process of trying different types of photography out before settling on one.
Ultimately you may need to do the same. But there is a lesson I can impart upon you and that is to think about what you want to pursue in a holistic manner. I encourage you to consider not just your interest in the type of photography you like, but the industry involved in that genre of photography and how it fits into your personality type and lifestyle. If, for example, you love fashion, but don’t like posing people, then perhaps fashion photography is not for you. Wedding photographers work much more intimately and in a more personal manner with their clients than corporate event photographers do.
You get the idea.
What I found is that for me, event photography was what I was most suited to because:
I really enjoy the process of being there to document. And while I do not mind interacting with and posing people I prefer the level of presence I achieve when solely documenting what’s in front of me (not to say that there are not posed group shots sprinkled into my event work).
I don’t like editing and event photography requires less of it.
Events require less back and forth between me and my client and tend to be more straight forward than a lot of other genres of photography.
Starting a Photography Business During a Pandemic
If you are just starting out, there is a lot you can do to work on your business without actually getting paid to shoot anything. You do not need to be a bonafide and hired event photographer to shoot events. A lot of things you do in your life are technically events: going to shows, birthday parties, street performances, and more can all be treated as an event. For more on this, I recommend taking a look at the following videos:
Building an Event Photography Portfolio
Running a Photography Business During a Pandemic
The last bit of advice I have is that you work harder than ever. While many photographers may be looking to jump ship and give up, my advice is for you to work harder than ever. That way you will be in a stronger position than before when the dust settles. Personally, I work harder when I’m shooting less than when I’m shooting often.
If you’d like some additional help or just want to support the free resources I create for photographers, please consider checking out my Patreon page. Your support makes a difference to me!
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