Things they didn’t teach me in Photography School #1

What follows is a list of things that I’ve learned from experience after leaving photography school. The idea to create this list is not mine, but I wanted to start my own, thinking that it may prove useful to some of the people that visit here. If nothing else, it will help fill in the gaps when I have nothing else interesting to talk about. So I’ll make posts from time to time adding new things they didn’t teach me in photography school.

1. Success in professional photography is as much about marketing as it is about photography. When an Art Director or a VP or Marketing finds that they need the services of a professional photographer, they usually reach back into their memory and try to figure out which photographer they should decide to call. They usually do this based on the special needs of the project verses the particular talents the individual photographer. Some projects are very complicated or extremely important and require a very specific style. Other projects are less important; there maybe a smaller budget, or the shots my not require a particular style. Either way, the photography buyer make’s their decision based on all kinds of information. The key point here is the word “information”. If the photography buyer doesn’t have your information, or doesn’t know who you are or what you do well, then the chance of you getting the job is very small.

Marketing is about giving potential buyers information. They need to know what you do, what your style is, what your price range is, what you capabilities are, how difficult you are to work with, how dependable you are, what things you prefer to shoot, what you’ve shot in the past, and a whole lot more. If they don’t have this information, then it’s a whole lot harder for them to make a decision about selecting you for their project, and if they don’t know you at all, then you’re out of luck. They have to know about you to think about hiring you…

Even if you aren’t a great photographer, there are still projects out there that you would be perfect for, but unless the potential client knows about you, you’ll never get the job.