The 6 Worst Mindsets a Creative Photographer Can Have Regarding Their Art and Business

Creativity and business might seem worlds apart for many photographers. After all, the pure artistic expression of photography is often thought to be free from the constraints of business.

But if you’re looking to sustain a career in photography, balancing both worlds is crucial.

While there are several positive mindsets that can propel your success, it’s equally important to be wary of the insidiously bad ones.

Here are the six worst mindsets a photographer can adopt regarding their art and business:

“My Work Speaks for Itself”
Sure it does, Bucky, but see, no one cares.

Why it’s detrimental: While confidence in your work is essential, this mindset assumes that just because you produce photos, clients will automatically come knocking. In reality, even the most talented photographers need to market themselves, network, and actively communicate the value they bring.

Shift to: “I’m proud of my work, and I’ll show it to anyone who has a pulse.”

“I Should Lower My Rates to Attract More Clients”
Yep, that’s a fast track to fry cook in a fast food chain owned by a clown.

Why it’s detrimental: Undercharging not only undervalues your skillset but also sets a precedent that can be tough to break out of. When you price too low, you might attract clients who don’t appreciate the true value of your work, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction.

You can’t make enough money to move ahead while slipping farther and farther into the swamp of the cheapass photographer abyss. And wait till you decide you have had enough and try to raise those stupid low rates. Your “clients” will run screaming away, calling you a rip-off con-man-girl-person.

(I know, I know… lose money on every sale but make it up in volume.)

Do you even hear yourself?

Shift to: “My rates reflect my quality, my professionalism, and my expertise. I bring it all to every job I do and I’ll focus on clients who understand and value that.”

“I Don’t Need to Learn Business; I’m an Artist”
Yes, I’ve been hearing that a lot from photographers who have lots of time to make art since they aren’t, you know, working.

Why it’s detrimental: Dismissing the importance of business knowledge means missing out on opportunities to grow and sustain your creative endeavor. You might be an amazing photographer, but without understanding finances, marketing, or client relations, your business might suffer. And you’ll end up in one of those forums on FB or Quora whining about how everybody else gets a break but you, and it is, oh my god, so unfair. I mean… I never!

Shift to: “I’m creative to my very core, but I’ll master the business side to fuel my passion.” You could add, “I’m not stupid…”, — no, don’t do that. Just whisper it a little when it’s dark.

“Every Opportunity is a Good Opportunity”
Sure it is. Remember Bitcoin, and that snazzy NFT thing you bought from that big-name Internet photographer for $10K that is now worth absolutely nothing? What a great opportunity that was. You can also sniff glue.

Why it’s detrimental: This is the ‘say yes to everything’ approach. While it’s tempting, especially when starting, not all opportunities align with your brand or long-term goals. Overcommitting can lead to exhaustion and might even detract from pursuing more fitting, lucrative ventures.

And in full disclosure, I recommend a starting photographer say yes to everything… everything that won’t hurt them, or another photographer, or have them taken advantage of. You still have to do your research, there’s no one-size-fits-all for anything. Except for steering wheel covers, I am told.

Shift to: “I’ll carefully evaluate every opportunity to ensure it aligns with my values, both personal and business.”

“Feedback and Criticism Are Personal Attacks”
Not usually, my thin-skinned weenie with slight narcissistic leanings. Most of the time, it is about the work.

Why it’s detrimental: Art is personal, and it’s natural to be protective of your work. However, seeing every piece of feedback or criticism as an attack can stifle your growth. It can make you weak, and steal your confidence. Constructive criticism is absolutely vital for improvement, and negative feedback can offer insights if viewed objectively. Without your penchant for everything being a personal attack, you may actually learn something valuable. Life-changing even. (It happened to me at a critique in San Francisco… I can still remember the moment.)

Shift to: “I welcome heartfelt and much-needed feedback as an avenue for growth and differentiation.” You don’t have to follow anyone’s guidance, but it is great when someone goes out of their way to try and help.

Evolving your mindset is just as crucial as honing your photographic skills.

By recognizing and addressing these detrimental mindsets, you’ll be better positioned to explore the intersection of art and business with resilience and success.

And now for the big-daddy of all bad mindsets for photographers:

“I charge by the hour, and materials, for the work I do.”
Awesome. If you are a good shooter, I’ll just hire you to come shoot jobs I bid on — I can keep what’s left over and make sure you get your hourly rate.

Why it’s detrimental: Because it doesn’t make sense in a value-driven business like photography and art, and misses the entire point of why we do what we do. We don’t sell a commodity like canned tuna, or those meat stick things hanging on the rack by the checkout stand looking kinda gross and greasy, and, damn, I hate those… Sorry. Got a little off track there.

We charge by the value of the gig. The needs and desires of the client give a photograph an intrinsic value. If we start viewing it as if it were simply a byproduct of our hourly effort and 32MB of storage space on a card, then we have lost the plot, Sherlock.

A photograph that will bring in a 4% increase in sales for a microchip company may equal millions and millions of dollars. That photograph is worth more than 3 hours, an SD card, and a basket of fish and chips for lunch.

Now, for sure, many photographers don’t think they are charging by the hour, but it is rare for me to be discussing their pricing and not have it come up in some sort of way. Day rate. Project rate. Per shot.

There’s nothing wrong with those as a framework, but ONLY as a framework. The value of the image must be calculated into the total somehow.

Of course, there are workaday shots like catalog stuff and cute kitty pattern oven mitts that must be shot on white for Amazon, but those are what they are. And yeah, maybe that shot of the cute oven mitt goes viral and the company sells 3.7 billion of them.

Then you are reminded once again about that great NFT of the photographer making coffee in an ‘awesome’ animated GIF that you spent 10 large on. And the irony will make you laugh.

And the world will be back to normal.