TEN WAYS TO STAND OUT IN THE CROWDED FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Everyone tells you the same things… here are a few different approaches.

There are more photographers than ever before. And while I do not believe that is necessarily bad, it does create a lot of marketing “noise”. Our mission is to raise ourselves up above that noise so that we become more of a solo instrument with the din of the ‘others’ serving as our backup band.

We get slammed with information and instructions to “put more out there”, share more images on Instagram, start a TikTok account, post more… more more more more.

And once in a while make a photograph if you are not too exhausted from 24–7 marketing endeavors.

And I say bullshit to that. There are more ways to make yourself known than posting shots of your lunch on Instagram.

Lots more.

Let’s look at these ten ideas that you can begin today to help jumpstart more attention on your work.

1. Print more images. I am such a huge believer in printing our work that I stand by my comment that if it is not printed, it is not really a photograph — it is a digital representation of a photograph. You may disagree, and that is certainly fine. But a print says permanent, a print says commitment. A print says “I’m in it for the long haul.” By printing your work, and letting others know about it, you can gain some vital interest among that part of the community that is a cut above professionally, and looking for photographers with commitment and drive.

2. Make Books. Lots of books. Make books of photographs for the year, or the quarter, or the month. Make a book from your vacation images. Make books only for yourself or as gifts to friends. Make books to sell. Make short-run, exclusive books to sell to collectors. Books in the 24–32 image range can sell for well over a hundred dollars when they are numbered, signed, and exclusive. Add an 8×10 print, and get even more people interested. A print and a book may wholesale for $24, and you can sell it for $100 in a short run of 100 books for a profit of $75 each. Books are becoming the collectible art for those who cannot afford to purchase prints from the ‘big names’. I have Joni Sternbach’s book Surf Site Tin Type but I only wish I could afford a print.

3. Show your work. Austin Kleon’s wonderful book by the same name explains why showing people what you do is one of the best marketing things to do for visual media. It helps get you the feedback we all need, and at the same time introduces your work to the world. Every way you can is the best advice you can get. Just know that showing without following up may be slower and take longer. And, yeah sure he talks about Instagram and such, but there is a difference in showing your work and obsessing over stats. You know the difference. Don’t obsess over stats — just do the work.

4. Do Pro Bono work. Everywhere you go there are people who could benefit from money coming in. From soup kitchens to homeless shelters for kids, these vital programs need help. Help them any way you can. From working with their PR agency, or a non-profit company helping raise awareness to even a print sale with all the proceeds going to the charity there are so many ways to others while also benefitting from the publicity and visibility the work can bring. But remember that doing the Pro Bono won’t help you if you do not learn to take advantage of the PR opportunities when they are most needed.

YES: Learn how to do press releases.
Then do them. As often as you do something cool.

This big boy is out standing in his field… sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.

5. Blog. Yes… BLOG. Stop depending on Facebook or Instagram for your traffic. OWN your own little plot of the digital world. Giving up your autonomy and fixating instead on some walled garden owned by a billionaire oligarch who doesn’t give a squatter’s damn about you will never work out well. One post per week, with good SEO will result in more organic traffic than a post on Facebook where they throttle your engagement by up to 80%. Do you have to write a big blog article every week? NOPE… just put up a few images and say a little something about them. Austin Kleon weighs in.

6. Personal Projects. I can not express how important it is to do personal projects. It is vital to keep active. It is beyond vital to have new work to share on your blog, on your sharing site, with your potential customers, and with your current customers. New work makes you engaged in the process. It gives others a sense of your commitment to making images, and that gives you even more credibility. You never know who you may meet out there when you are doing a personal project. Out and about with a camera gives you opportunities you will never have sitting in your pajamas arguing with some photographer somewhere about whether ISO is important or not. A personal project is like therapy for the creative mind.

7. Speak. Whether Toastmasters, SBA, Chamber of Commerce… whatever you do, speak. Hold speaking events at the public library. Bring some work and share it live with an audience. Be involved in presenting your work. Make a video of the presentation, and put it on your blog. This sort of thing gives clients great insight into what it may be to work with you. If you are a member of ASMP find out what topics they may be wishing to be presented that you could present. Venues are looking for speakers. And remember… PR PR PR.

8. Teach a workshop. People everywhere want to know how to make better photographs. Hold a workshop for beginners,, and open their eyes to the possibilities of great photography. You aren’t training your competition, you are helping amateurs become better at something they love. That is a wonderful and very satisfactory endeavor. Video the workshop and post it to your blog. Use it as a way to get people to sign up for your newsletter. You DO have a newsletter, don’t you? Oh my… another topic for another day.

10. Journal. I know, I know… everyone says to do it. But — wait, there may be something to it when you realize that so many incredibly talented people are telling you the same thing. And a journal for us photographers should be filled with images. Even if you print them out on regular non-photo paper and paste or tape them in, your journal can become a centerpiece of your creative spirit and your creative output. Whether you share the journal with anyone or not, it will help you focus on what is important, what is fun, and ideas abounding for doing what you need to do to keep the above ideas going on. Juggling in your head is never going to replace the fun and beauty of a paper journal. And for those of you who are simply NOT interested in paper, then journal online. There are lots of great tools to help you. From Mem to Evernote.

There are other things you can do from having a very powerful personal brand to going old school on your marketing. My mentees will be doing that for the month of May. Old school all the way. Direct mail, cover letters… the whole shebang. When everyone is zigging one must zag to stand out.