It’s now a little over 12 months since I decided to embark on this journey and take my photography a lot further. That must make it time to pause and reflect on the progress I’ve made and consider the next step in the journey ahead of me.
So, where was I a year ago?
I was riding high on the back of my first studio shoot, had just bought myself a set of Elinchrom D-Lite4’s and booked myself onto an Advanced Lighting Course with Adam Duckworth, courtesy of theFlashCentre.com. I was frantically scurrying around with little thought to where I wanted to end up or the direction I was heading. I was investing every spare moment of my time absorbing all things photographic whether it be equipment, techniques, post processing. One thing was for certain though – I seriously didn’t want to end up with egg on my face when on the course. I needed to know how to sound like I knew what I was talking about, how to communicate with a model but most of all, how to fit in.
Above all else, I was driven forwards by the excitement of something new. Something that I really wanted to make a success of.
I was scared too. I didn’t know if this was for me. I didn’t know if I’d be any good. I didn’t know how on earth to go about it either.
I’m glad I did though and this is the first chapter…
Looking back
That day, that one day I spent in Birmingham on that course was life changing. I hadn’t had so much fun for a very long time and I realised then and there that this was not only something I wanted to do but something that I could do. I look back now on that one day as a turning point: I had the desire, the confidence, the ability and the drive to make a success of my photography. It was now down to me to make it happen.
Then came the first hurdle: I had absolutely no idea how to go about this. How was I to make this happen? How long would it take? It was time for me to work out a strategy. And quickly too!
Here is what I came up with
Skills
I needed to build my skills up. Yes, I’d managed to get some fantastic images on the lighting course but that was under classroom conditions. I needed to be able to get equivalent images by myself when I was leading the shoot. After all, that is what a client would be paying me for and I would be expected to deliver.
I researched a lot of material. The internet is a fantastic resource for that. There is a huge number of very good blogs out there being run by some very talented people. The same goes for podcasts too. A great resource that I could tap into during my daily commute. Whilst everyone else was listening to the latest hits, there was me, listening to the likes of the ProPhotoShow by Gavin Seim, Lightsource, the Candid Frame and many other too. I found them very inspirational, very motivating and packed full of information. I’ve blogged about some of the podcasts I listen to in my Favourite Podcasts posts. The beauty of most of this material is that it is free and constantly being updated.
Books. I spent a lot of money on books. Some better than others but there isn’t one where I failed to learn something from it or regretted buying it. The titles I bought have taught me a lot but photography is a craft and to get better you need to actually do it, not read about it.
Clients
I wasn’t going anywhere without clients. Marketing was never something I had ever even thought about before, much less tried my hand at. It didn’t matter how good I was as a photographer, if I couldn’t get the clients to book me I was going to fail. Marketing was a skill I had to learn and learn fast.
I needed to start advertising to get the clients in, but to advertise, first one needs an advert. An advert requires a portfolio.
Portfolio
Apart from the images I’d taken on the course and a few family snaps I didn’t have a portfolio. Most of my recent photography had been things, stock and wildlife. I’d captured some great images that I was really proud of and was even fortunate enough to be selling some through the stock libraries I’m with. The return wasn’t fantastic though even if the numbers sounded impressive (must write a future post about this). I enjoyed shooting wildlife and managed to bag a few killer shots of birds of prey, squirrels and the like. This was all good, but not one bit of use to me as a portrait, editorial or commercial photographer. Nope. I needed images of people and lots of them too. I needed to find subjects willing to work with me as I developed my craft. Preferably for free.
New website
My current website http://qtimages.co.uk wasn’t working for me. I’d put together an e-Commerce site using the features provided by my hosting company but it wasn’t great. I needed something a lot better and much more flexible. It needed to be relatively free of maintenance too. I was intending to become a professional photographer, not a web designer.
I needed a new domain too – I could have used QTImages but I wanted that as a vehicle to sell wall art and fine art and I specifically didn’t want to pollute it with my portraiture work. The two wouldn’t fit together nicely and it would only serve to confuse the prospective client. Luckily I had registered http://qtportraits.com and http://qtweddings.co.uk so it was time to put them to work.
I also decided I needed a blog too. I’d had an attempt at producing one on a sub-domain of QTImages but I really wanted something quite separate. Rather than use the “QT” tag that everything else had I settled on this site, https://theLightMatters.com. theLightMatters is a vehicle intended to capture my thoughts and progress throughout this journey. It enables me to write down my ideas and plans in much more of a formal way than carrying them around in my head could ever achieve. As such I wanted something completely isolated from the rest of my sites. Their role is to promote and front the business side of my photography whilst theLightMatters promotes the growth of me as a photographer. The two are kindred spirits but separated to avoid confusion.
Suppliers
I also realised early on I needed to sort out my suppliers. It would be of no use booking a photo-session with a client only to realise I couldn’t actually fulfill the order in the time-frame they were expecting or it was going to cost me a lot more than I’d anticipated.
Back Office
Anyone who believes that running a photography business is simply a case of turning up, snapping the client and providing the images is very sadly misguided. The photography is only a small per centage of the overall job. I knew this before I even embarked on this journey and realised very early on that I needed to sort out the paperwork I needed and processes to follow fast.
I’m glad I did too – a couple of days ago a client contacted me about a shoot I did about 9 months ago. Without laying down the foundations at the time I would never have been able to locate the images and missed out on a potential sale.
Workflow and Post Processing
I also needed to get better, much better at post processing. Not just in terms of ability but in terms of speed and efficiency too.
Motivation
As with everything in life I knew there were going to be setbacks and upset. I knew I needed to keep myself motivated and positive. One thing that really helped here was that I really enjoyed it and that has to be the biggest motivator by far.
Qualification
I also considered gaining a professional qualification as I felt this would help in getting the business off the ground.
As you’ve no doubt gathered here was a lot to consider. This list is only what I’ve managed to remember since putting this post together and I haven’t gone into any detail either. Nor do I intend to. The truth of it is that there is a lot more to this than one might first appreciate.
Here and Now…
So, where am I now?
My skills have improved immensely in the last 12 months or so, and my portfolio too. In fact with some of the work I’ve been producing recently I have even surprised myself. The knock-on effect is that as my portfolio has strengthened so has my ability to arrange photo shoots. Compared to 12 months ago it is now much easier to find a good model and MUA to work with on a concept. True I still have the odd flaker or the model that wants to discuss concepts and themes all the while but won’t commit to a shooting date but I think that is inevitable.
The down side is that I’m still struggling to find clients willing to pay. I’ve managed to find a few, mainly through personal contacts rather than anything else. I see this as a big area to concentrate on over the summer months and I am expecting things to improve dramatically here.
So, where have I gone wrong in capturing clients?
That is actually relatively simple to answer. I’ve spent so much time concentrating on strengthening my skills and building my portfolio so far that I have seriously neglected to push the business and advertise. That is a failing on my part but it isn’t game over. Mentally I am better prepared for revenue shoots that I was say 12 months ago. Whereas I used to get really nervous in the run up to a shoot that I was physically shaking when I got there, that is no longer true. I’ve done so many shoots now that I really enjoy each one and get a lot more out of them. I’m pretty certain that this has had an effect on my images too. The subject reflects the mood of the photographer. Being really nervous can have an enormous effect on the subject and totally destroy the shoot.
One thing I have learned is that being the photographer it is my responsibility to ensure that the sitter is the very best that he/she can be at the point in time I release the shutter. It is my responsibility to build and maintain the energy levels of the shoot, dispel nerves and create an environment of trust. Ultimately it is my responsibility to perform and deliver on the day.
Ultimately I may not have had the clients in the first year that I would have hoped for but I’ve certainly had a lot of photo shoots. I’ve created some really impressive images, learned a lot about the craft of photography, learned how to coach and direct the subject and most of all, learned how to relax and enjoy it.
I cannot stress enough how incredibly important that last point is. In fact, when I booked my first ever wedding client, when asked, one fo the reasons she said she picked me was because of the energy and the enthusiasm I had shown during the client meeting. And that first booking was for a 4-figure sum too.
To sum up then – I don’t really believe I have gone wrong in failing to capture clients. I’ve had a few revenue shoots and booked some weddings too. Granted I haven’t booked as many as I would have liked but for a first year I’m actually pleased with my achievements. I knew it was going to be tough from the outset and it has been. That makes it all the more worthwhile. I now have clients booked. I’m constantly looking to book more clients. I’m now significantly more confident that I’ll achieve my goal.
Time is of the essence…
This is my biggest hurdle at the moment. I’ve found I simply have no time at the moment. Keeping down a full time job whilst I concentrate on building a business is troublesome. I’m not in the position I can give up on the day job yet so I’ll have to continue as I am for the time being. It really comes down to a matter of time management and prioritisation now. More and more I’m arranging my workload according to when I need things down by. The disadvantage of this is that I have some unbounded tasks such as working for my licentiate that I’m having difficulty in fitting in. For this type of task an artificial deadline is what is required.
Time, or rather a lack of it, is a big issue for me at present.
Qualification
I’m now actively working towards obtaining my licentiate with the SWPP. I have enough material now in my portfolio to attempt a trial submission to see how far away from obtaining this I am. Wish me luck. It’s a lot of work though, despite having the images I need to rework each and every one of them to ensure they are worthy. That’s going to take time and I’ve already mentioned how rare a commodity that is.
The next steps…
My next short-term goals are going to be…
- Capture more clients, whether they be wedding or portrait clients
- Magazine submissions – I’ve already had a few images published but I now want to concentrate on getting more of my work in print and ensure that I get the credit for it
- Licentiate – this is now a short term goal for me. Having joined the SWPP earlier in the year I now want to take the next step and progress further.
- Competition – I’ve been toying with this for a while now but not really done anything about it. Another goal is to submit my work into a competition
And after that…?
That dear reader is the subject of another post 🙂
Summary
This post has already gone on long enough but I feel the need to add a quick summary. Looking back ove r the last 12 months I feel that I have made a huge amount of progress. That isn’t something I appreciated until I actually sat down to write this. Experiencing things on a day-to-day basis and focussing on the future doesn’t always allow one to fully comprehend the distance travelled. I’ actually quite proud of myself.
The other day I saw a squirrel in my back garden. I had my camera to hand so quickly attached the long zoom and composed a shot through the back door. There was one fleeting instance where the squirrel saw me and looked straight at the lens. I didn’t take the shot. It simply didn’t work for me. The composition was off, the scene too complex and the light was totally wrong. I can make up any number of excuses for not shooting that squirrel but in all honesty what I really found was that squirrels just don’t do it for me anymore.
