Our tips for aspiring photographers, young or old.
The world of photography is a very competitive field if you ever hope to make a living out of it. Dopamine hits delivered via social-media notifications are giving rise to an army of new photographers and videographers. I have compiled a shortlist of tips that might help you get ahead. Let’s dive in!
Tip #1: Consistency
Consistency is key in establishing yourself as a photographer, and it applies to many different aspects of your journey. Be consistent in the way that you edit your photos. Be consistent in the type of photography that you show to the world, whether that be landscape photography or portrait photography. If you haven’t already established a style or niche interest in photography, be patient. Over time you will find your own unique interests and editing style. Don’t force this. Just keep shooting!
When I first started getting into photography, I thought landscape photography was boring and easy. I wasn’t interested in it, despite being an avid outdoorsman. While the thought of landscape photography being boring might be subjective, I was definitely wrong about it being easy haha. Over time I fell in love with the challenges of landscape photography – chasing light, editing, and so on. You’ll discover your own calling.
Tip #2: Go Niche
Find a niche type of photography that will help you stand out amongst the millions of photographers in the world. When I say niche, I mean dive into a very specific subcategory of photography. For example, instead of being a landscape photographer, you might be someone who specifically focuses on waterfall photography. This specific example proved to be beneficial for local photographer Kevin Adams, who made his career off of chasing waterfalls. Few serious landscape photographers in Western North Carolina haven’t heard of his book “North Carolina Waterfalls”. If this is your first time hearing about it and you like waterfalls, it’s a must-purchase!
Other examples of niche photography might be newborn portraits, brewery product photography, travel destination wedding photographer, real-estate drone photographer, etc. Potential customers want to hire experts in their field. The crew at WNC Photo Tours are experts at knowing the best spots in Western North Carolina for getting great landscape photos which is why it works.
Tip #3: Build a GOOD website!
A good website is critical for any entrepreneur, especially photographers. You can take a stab at building your own website but we don’t recommend it. Unless you already have a background in web design, you should find a professional to take care of this for you. It will save you frustration, time, and many headaches. Professional web designers are aware of best practices such as SEO, usability, readability, and a whole basket of other skills that are needed to create an effective web presence. Instead of trying to build your own website, spend that time making money doing what you do well – taking photos. I know websites are expensive but trust me on this one. If you do decide to take this up on your own, you need to take the time to learn about SEO, at a minimum.
I recommend hiring someone who specializes in building photography websites, such as Linnae Designs. Remember our #2 tip? Niche!! They’ll understand your needs more than a broader design agency.
Tip #4: Gotta use Instagram
Love it or hate it, Instagram is the best avenue for getting your photos out to a large audience. At the time of writing this, Instagram has 1.4 billion active users! That’s a lot of people to get your photos in front of. We have a few tips to help get you ahead on Instagram:
- Use hashtags and tag GENERAL locations. Both of these will help get your posts exposed to a wider audience. Never tag a specific location outdoors. It can cause deterioration and overcrowding. For WNC Photo Tours, we’ll tag wide, general areas such as the Blue Ridge Parkway or Blue Ridge Mountains. When starting out on Instagram, your hashtags should target more specified hashtags and subjects. For example, the hashtag #landscapephotography is already applied to 60 million photos. If you use that hashtag, your photo will just be a drop in the bucket. But let’s say I took a landscape photo of Downtown Asheville and used the tag #downtownasheville, that tag only has 82k posts with that tag, so the photo would be more likely to stand out. And try to find and target other Instagram accounts with large followings that share other people’s photos, like using the tag #blueridgemoments for the account @blueridgemoments. As you gain followers, you should start tagging with more broad hashtags.
- Post often. We recommend once a day if you can, no more than twice a day. You should only be posting your best photos. If your portfolio isn’t that large, this will mean reposting the same photos each year or even more frequently than once a year.
- Consistency!! Post the same subject matter. Don’t mix landscape and wedding photography. People are generally interested in following someone who sticks to a particular type of post, and they will eyeball your grid for consistency before following you.
- Make posts that are helpful. Being of service or providing valuable information will drive more engagement on your posts and trigger the algorithm in your favor.
- Keep your grid sexy. Sticking with themes or color schemes will make your grid more attractive. Archive posts that don’t quite fit in. Refer to the screenshot of our winter grid.
Tip #5: Network with similar photographers.
Don’t look at everyone in your field as competitors, view them as your partners. Your interests probably align with people doing the same type of photography that you do. Doing things like attending local meetups, sharing their photos on your social media accounts (with permission and credit), and working on projects together can be really beneficial for everyone involved. There is more to be gained in a community than flying solo.
I hope you found this article helpful! Be relentless, be patient, and always do your best.
