You Are A Successful Photographer, You Only Lack This
You don’t have a technical problem. You are great at photography and post-processing, yet you wonder why you’re not making enough money from doing photography.
There are a lot of things I can do. I run a podcast, and a YouTube channel (where I’m less active). I also publish books on Amazon, and I am a photographer. I came to the realization some months back that there are people who do just one or two of these and are tremendously successful.
No, it’s not a matter of lacking focus. I know how to run my stuff. And you probably know how to run your stuff. I think my problem was not knowing about marketing.
I didn’t know how to market. Now, I’m still learning and it’s getting better. I’m not going to say I’m a guru when it comes to this, but what I’ve learned so far is working for me.
What is the photographer’s biggest mistake?
It is this; that he focuses too much on passion and never treats photography as a business.
I think you need to learn how to switch it up. You started with a tremendous amount of interest. And that is great, but your desire to do photography is not what puts food on the plate. This is a hard truth and not many will want to hear it.
Knowing when to start treating your work as a business is very necessary.
Your question is probably when? When can I start charging for my work? When should I treat it as a business?
The moment you’re able, is when you should start treating it as a business.
Many delay. Set a price, stick to it, and keep increasing from there.
The thing here is that most photographers are great at photography. In other words, they are successful at photography (in technical terms) but when it comes to their finances; they are quite bad at it. I mean this in the sense of marketing, branding, etc. I mean this in the sense of making more money, fetching more clients or gigs. You’re not successful because you lack great photo skills.
I’ve seen photographers all over the internet, especially on social media and if I’ve noticed anything, I’ve found out a lot are quite great at what they do. They just do not know how to get the next client.
The people who know how to do this and know how to set their prices right will always win. And you’re reading this today because you want to be a winner. Channel your focus. Set your mind on the things that will cause you to grow.
If you cannot seem to understand marketing, you’ll have to try. Do not makeup excuses like, “I’m a one-person business.” Most photographers run a solo business all by themselves and guess what, they’re not robots. They’re just like you.
Yes, I get that some might have had some advantages before picking up the camera which you never got, but that shouldn’t discourage you. When you work it out, you’re going to figure it out. It’s always been that way and you know the truth.
This is why I do not like to advise anyone, because they know what to do but refuse to do it. You know what to do, take your time, if possible take courses if you can afford it, and if not, there’s always YouTube University. Enrol there and learn for free.
Thank you for checking out this article. If this brought you value, get my book on beginner photography: The Photographer’s Companion: Picture Perfect, A Beginner’s Guide to Photography.
