To those on the outside, us photographers live a wonderful life full of exotic locations and beautiful models and you know what, I’m absolutely fine with that perception. What’s not fine is that some of those just getting in to this business think that’s what it’s all about too, which is only going to lead to a large dose of dream crushing disappointment.
When making the decision to become a full time photographer, it is important to understand that the business of photography is ten-percent taking pictures and ninety-percent hustling your ass off to land that next gig.
Now before I go any further, I’m not saying that to scare anybody off, quite the opposite in fact. I LOVE what I do and the ten-percent shooting is worth the 90-percent hustle twenty times over. But it’s a trap I’ve seen many University graduates and enthusiast-turned-pros fall in to, thinking that by having a website full of great images and the word ‘Photography‘ or ‘Media‘ after your name on Facebook is going to jettison you to photography stardom.
Following these three simple tips however, will get you on your way:
1) Shoot great photographs
2) Get your work seen by the people who matter
3) Don’t be a d*ck.
I don’t profess that my methods are the only way or the right way to get hired. But by sharing some of the power moves which work for me, hopefully it’ll help those of you who are new to the game or those looking to add new weapons to your marketing arsenal.
1) SHOOT GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS
Simple enough right?
Find your niche, make sure your photos are bad-ass and work towards a quality level that fits with your dream clients. Look at adverts by the brands you wish you were shooting for and see if your photographs could replace the ones they’re currently using. It’s always good to get honest advice from your peers too, so rather than just asking Mum or Auntie Joyce if they like your photos, speak to other photographers (think Forums, Twitter, Facebook groups) and pressure test your work.
(Sidenote: Learn to take criticism on the chin and move forward from it, you’ll hear the word “No” a lot in your life as a photographer, don’t get disheartened).
Once you feel like you can step in the ring with the big boys, work even harder to develop your style and quality of your work. Never be satisfied with where you’re at, learn new techniques and push your creative boundaries. Be hungry.
2) GET YOUR WORK SEEN BY THE PEOPLE WHO MATTER
Now that you’ve got a kick ass portfolio, you need to start pushing it under the noses of those who matter. Who you approach depends on what work you’re looking to get, so if you want to shoot for magazines get in touch with the Editor and Picture Editor. If it’s advertising work you’re after, you’ll need to schmooze the art directors, creative directors and art buyers at the ad agencies.
I shoot both editorial and advertising work, but mainly focus my efforts on pursuing advertising jobs. This is where things become both beautifully simple and seemingly impossible all at the same time.
The basic premise behind landing your dream job is simple:
1) Show your work to the Creatives at an advertising agency.
2) They like your work and ask you to pitch for a job.
3) You submit your estimate and relevant creative input on the brief.
4) The Creatives like your ideas.
5) The Suits like your estimate.
6) You land dream job (woohoo!).
But consider the reality – you’re competing with hundreds of other photographers, a lot of which will have photographs just as great as yours. So how do you get yourself noticed in an environment so saturated with photographers?
There’s many creative ways to get yourself seen (including and not limited to making a lego version of yourself ), but for the purpose of this discussion I’m going to talk about the ‘ice breaker’ stage.
There are a LOT of advertising agencies and publishing houses with work to offer, but hunting down the ones relative to your niche can be like finding a needle in a haystack. But with enough time and dedication you can find out the details of the people you need to contact. Search Google for adverts from brands you like and add “+ agency” to the end to find out which agency was behind them. Then use that as a starting point for building a list of people to contact with your work.
If you have budget to spare then I would suggest subscribing to a list of art buyers such as BikiniLists (speak to Craig and tell him I sent you). They give you access to a database of thousands of Creatives contact details, which you can filter and drill down to find the ones most relevant to you. They also allow you send mass mailshots using their software which can track who has opened and clicked links in your email, which is invaluable information when arranging meetings (more on that in a minute).
You can also use a free service like MailChimp which allows you to build your own lists, send out mass mailshots and track the clicks and opens.
Once you’ve worked out who you should send your work to, it’s a matter of keeping your email short and snappy:
“Hi Steve, I’m an advertising photographer based in London. Here’s one of my favourite pictures from a recent shoot I did for Nike [hyper-linked to your website]. I’d love to show you more of my work some time, perhaps we can meet for a coffee (I’ll bring donuts). All the best, Bob.”
Attach one of your show stopper images and hit send.
This is where a lot of people fall short as after that initial email, they’ll sit back and wait for the phone to ring. I’m yet to have somebody call me back as a result of a single, ‘cold-call’ email – your work has only just begun.
At this stage, having a service that allows you to track your emails is vital, as it lets you know who has opened your email and most importantly who has clicked the link to see more of your work.Those clicks are the fish that have taken the bait, now you’ve gotta reel them in.
I’ll usually wait three or four days after I know they’ve clicked through to my website before I make contact. If I have time I always try to call in person, I prefer speaking to somebody over the phone than through email. But if I can’t get through I’ll send a very brief follow up email asking them again if we can arrange a meeting.
As I said earlier, you’ve gotta have a thick skin in this biz because you’ll often get no response or flat rejected – these are busy people and you aren’t the first (nor the last) photographer they will hear from wanting to arrange a meeting. All is not lost though, ask them if you can keep sending your work and build up the relationship that way via the internets.
When you do land one, hook, line and sinker and get yourself a meeting booked, proceed to step three…
3) DON’T BE A D*CK
No matter how good your work, nobody is going to want to work with you if you’re a d*ck.
More often than not, you’ll be spending twelve or sixteen hours on set with these people, in high pressure situations potentially for days at a time. They are not going to want to hire somebody they can’t stand the sight of. So as well as showing off your best work in that first meeting, you’ve also got to show that you’re not only going to get the job done knock it out of the park, but that you’re gonna be a great person to spend time with while you’re at it. Show them you’re going to inspire the team, pull everyone together and be fun to have a beer with at the end of the day.
After your meeting, it’s a matter of nurturing your new relationship and keeping them up to date with your latest work. It’s a fine balance between keeping yourself in the forefront of their mind and pissing them off, so don’t spam them with every new photograph you take. Sending out a little something every 4-6 weeks is considered good practice and will keep you on their radar and out of their spam filter.
And that’s it, wash, rinse and repeat.
Keep building and nuturing that network and keeping people up to date with your work and if you’re right for a project you’ll get a call asking you to pitch for the job. If you are using a subscription service, take the details of those Creatives who you’ve had a conversation with and add them to your MailChimp list. That way you wont waste valuable credits emailing them again with your next ‘cold call’ mailshot.
If you’ve had success with other methods of marketing yourself, I’d love to hear them in the comments below and if you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email via the contact page above.