Have you had a peer review of your work? Peer as in working professional photographers....? Finding out if your skills are on par with what is needed in each genre of photography is essential. You can't compete with the top tier income earning photographers until your work is good. ( no judgement on whether your work is good or not, as I've not seen your work. I'm laying out info only here. ;-)
Our friends and family love us, they are essential for our sanity and ego. They are not qualified to judge our art and work because they love us too much to be truly honest, and they do not have the knowledge and skills to describe what needs improvement like a pro can. Online review groups and forums ( ugh Flickr and the like) are just as bad for this. Enter a competition or 200, ask a photographer you know about their opinion. We can't think that we're ready to open a business just because our friends and family love us, cause that will burn us out and crack our dreams.
So, That's your first step to discovering why you are not getting hired.
Next: Do you offer something unique in your geographic area?
Do you know your gear? ( ie: shoot on manual mode with consistent results and make the light work for you)
Do you know each of your target industries? ( can you name and identify the top photographers in that genre of photography? Do you know what worked and didn't work for them?)
Can you identify the pricing structure - it's different for every genre, wedding, babies, families, boudoir, commercial, editorial etc).
Do you know your target market like they are your best friend? Do you know where they shop, eat, socialize, play and connect?
Do you have gear that allows you to compete in the kind of market that is willing to pay for photography?
Do you have a consistent and identifiable style with your work?
Have you published, won an award, gone to school, or done something distinctive that you can use to market yourself as different than everyone else with a camera?
Do you know your competition?
Have you met, had coffee, and networked with your competition, offered to assist or sought mentoring from them?
Do you have a website, logo and brand comparable to the top photographers in your area? ( Facebook doesn't count. Your eventual target market doesn't use Facebook)
Have you partnered with another company to increase your market share?
Have you created a business card, price structure, bought insurance and registered your business?
Have you actively marketed your work with fliers, print ads, expos, second shooting, and other networking opportunities?
A "no" to any of those could be a reason for not having more clients. I can answer yes to every one of those, and I still have to work my ass off to bring in clients. They never just come to you, even when your name is Anne Geddes :-)
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How to figure out why you're not getting hired
Date: 2012-02-13 03:53 am (UTC)Our friends and family love us, they are essential for our sanity and ego. They are not qualified to judge our art and work because they love us too much to be truly honest, and they do not have the knowledge and skills to describe what needs improvement like a pro can. Online review groups and forums ( ugh Flickr and the like) are just as bad for this. Enter a competition or 200, ask a photographer you know about their opinion. We can't think that we're ready to open a business just because our friends and family love us, cause that will burn us out and crack our dreams.
So, That's your first step to discovering why you are not getting hired.
Next:
Do you offer something unique in your geographic area?
Do you know your gear? ( ie: shoot on manual mode with consistent results and make the light work for you)
Do you know each of your target industries? ( can you name and identify the top photographers in that genre of photography? Do you know what worked and didn't work for them?)
Can you identify the pricing structure - it's different for every genre, wedding, babies, families, boudoir, commercial, editorial etc).
Do you know your target market like they are your best friend? Do you know where they shop, eat, socialize, play and connect?
Do you have gear that allows you to compete in the kind of market that is willing to pay for photography?
Do you have a consistent and identifiable style with your work?
Have you published, won an award, gone to school, or done something distinctive that you can use to market yourself as different than everyone else with a camera?
Do you know your competition?
Have you met, had coffee, and networked with your competition, offered to assist or sought mentoring from them?
Do you have a website, logo and brand comparable to the top photographers in your area? ( Facebook doesn't count. Your eventual target market doesn't use Facebook)
Have you partnered with another company to increase your market share?
Have you created a business card, price structure, bought insurance and registered your business?
Have you actively marketed your work with fliers, print ads, expos, second shooting, and other networking opportunities?
A "no" to any of those could be a reason for not having more clients. I can answer yes to every one of those, and I still have to work my ass off to bring in clients. They never just come to you, even when your name is Anne Geddes :-)