Sigh…
How many times do people send me sunset photos.
And expect me to revel in the visual beauty that they’ve so easily created.
Or shots of flowers. All taken by merely pointing their camera and clicking.
Someone naively suggested to me that I could take pictures of surfers while in Costa Rica.
I replied…”naw, there’s no money in it. Unless I photograph them just for fun and passion, or to hone my skills for when I need them honed for real money making paid gigs.”
“Oh..” Is all they replied, stymied.
Conversation over. Most folks don’t get it.
Why?Most aren’t in business. I be a bid’ness dude
Photography is my business. And they’re ain’t no money in sunsets, flowers and surfers.
As a matter of fact, anything that has inherent visual beauty won’t have a load of economic muscle….wedding photos aside.
Back when I was in college all of, hmmm, one feeble semester, we had one photography-based project due every Friday. Each with a specific theme.
And we had two rules, break either, instant fail.
“No sunsets, no flowers.”
That was it. If I had to adjust that for modern times, it would be:
“No sunsets, no flowers, no surfers and pretty young girls.”
Pretty young girls are the new sunsets and flowers.
Fairly easy to shoot, and every newbie with a Canon Rebel from Best Buy starts shooting them right away, and even in bad light gets fairly decent results. (so they think)
Ask their facebook friends. And their moms. They’ll tell you how awesome their stuff is.
Problem is, getting feedback, even if in the real world where real, paying clients fork over hard earned moolah, getting feedback from facebook and your mom amounts to nothing less than small hill of beans.
It means nothing. You’re not a photographer.
You’re a dude or dudette with shiny new toy photographing things that are EASY to photograph.
That’s why we couldn’t submit sunsets and flowers.
And why I always warn newbs: “never take business advice from your mom.”
She loves you too much.
I could add never take business advice from your facebook friends either.
Wanna impress me? Show me how you created a business model based on your photographic skills.
Not the sickly “$97.00 session and a thousands files on DVD or jump drive” promotion.
But a real, legit business model where over the span of five years you work your butt off, and start making some serious pesos shooting families, babies, children, business portraits, pets,…even some commercial and editorial stuff.
Not advanced stuff here folks. Just business.
Speaking of legit photographers crushing it in business, Susan Eckert is the real deal.
We had to cancel her webinar last night due to major technical glitches.
No worries, she’s coming back to join us and share some of her success strategies on January 4th, 2018.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
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