Time and time again, the most consistent comment I get about my photography is my ability to capture the moment that tells a story.
The second thing that started to help define my work was my ability to use light to improve moments.
My photos defined what I could do for clients.
I was photographing things like lasers that you cannot see with the naked eye.
I continued to grow and explore new technologies to help clients connect with their audiences. For example, I added 360º panoramic interactive elements for clients to add to their websites.
I then started to add just audio to slide shows that were easy to host on almost any website and more economical to produce than traditional video.
I added a video and mixed it with still images to help the audience connect with the subject and feel the story.
Am I just a “photographer” anymore? I am a problem solver. I am at the core of what I do: an expert at understanding an audience and the subject, and at crafting creative storytelling to connect the two.
When potential clients get to see what I do, they hire me. The trick is to lead with visual examples. I want to be “Remarkable,” and to do this, I must spread ideas. To understand what that means, watch this TED Talk by Seth Godin.
Maybe I need to tell people I am a “Communications Handyman” here to solve your problems. I can’t just come in and diagnose your communications crisis and understand the pain; I can also fix it.
The downside to “Communications Handyman” is that it sounds like you will fix your problems the cheapest way.
Maybe I could use “Special Forces Communications Operative,” but you may think I do war photography.
While I have picked for now “Visual Storyteller,” people want to jump and then say, ” So you are a photographer.
Maybe I take a risk, target an audience, and find a title that works for that audience. Maybe with my seminary degree, I will go after the religious market and call myself a “Visual Evangelist” or “The Visual Preacher.”
Successful Communication has four components.
- Audience
- Communicator [photographer]
- Medium
- Subject
Addressing all of these is necessary for success. Unfortunately, too many photographers often forget one or more of these. They can get caught up in the medium [gearhead] or, usually, emotionally wrapped up in the subject, taking up all their time. Your purpose is to connect the audience and the subject and get yourself out of the way. Now use this same model to address your marketing to an audience. Again, you are the subject, and the audience is your potential customers. Now, let’s go back to those four elements again. So often, a photographer is wrapped up in the subject and forgets about the audience.
So you are shooting a picture for publications geared to women in their 40s and 50s, and you end up shooting a Punk Rock Band. How you cover it shows whether you understand your audience or not.
The photo above shows my emphasis on subject and medium. Using lights to create an excellent image.
Here is another example: I have taken a fantastic photo of it.
I am showing how popular they are, but am I connecting with my audience? For example, why would middle-aged women be interested in the bands?
But then I took this photo and now have my hook for the audience. My wife loved this photo so much that she used it as her Facebook profile photo. The story for the publication audience is how these bands, who can look scary and make you wonder if your child should be near them, appeal to your children. This is of interest to the audience. I would lead with this photo before the excellent photos, because it connects with the audience.
You the Subject
If the professional team were to work with you to help you be more successful, you would become the subject. But who is your audience? Too many photographers again fall in love with the medium. I like taking pictures.
Two Approaches to Being a Big Fish in a Small Pond
Move. Let’s say you are a wedding photographer in Atlanta, Georgia. It would be easier for you to find another city to move to. Atlanta may have as many as 1,000 wedding photographers. Maybe you’re looking for a place where the number of photographers per capita is lower.
Specialize. It is better to find a subject where few, if any, photographers are providing services. Mark Johnson, the head of the photojournalism program at the University of Georgia, told me about one of his students who double majored in photojournalism and horticulture. They went to a horticulture company and explained why they needed to bring them on board as their communication specialist. Now that the company has a better website that shows its product to its audience.
The formula for success is simple. First, you have a subject and an audience in mind. It would help if you had ideas worth spreading in this arena. So go out there and be remarkable.