Answer: 50. One to change the bulb and 49 others to stand around and say “I can do that too.”
Before you ask, that isn’t one of my jokes. I heard it at Focus on Imaging during one of the demonstrations. It is to the point though. Not only have I heard myself saying it, I have also heard it from others too.
The bigger question that this alludes to is “how do I get to be the one?” There isn’t a simple answer to this question. One simply has to listen to any one of the myriad of podcast interviews with successful photographers to realise that most start with the same question: “how did you get into photography?” or a variation thereof. The answers always differ and are often quite surprising.
One thing is for certain. You don’t get to be the “one” by acquiring kit. Having the latest camera body, more glass than a Murano craftsman and all the whizzbang gadgets money can buy will be more likely to result in back ache than a high flying career or a PoTY award or whatever your measure of success is.
I don’t believe its all down to luck either. Being in the right place at the right time is hard enough. Being in the right place at the right time and being able to recognise and seize an opportunity is even tougher. There are people that can do this but if you’re just starting out, let’s be honest, it probably isn’t your best business strategy. Not unless you want to condemn yourself to one of the 49.
So what works? To be honest I don’t actually know. I’ll let you know when I get there. There is no substitue for actually going out and doing it though. Every day you don’t push yourself forward you will take a step back. It doesn’t matter if you’re on another shoot or processing your images or marketing you business. You need to be actively pushing forwards.
You need to keep focused and positive. You will have good days and you will have bad days. That’s life. Think about it – if you have a client booking and its blowing a gale or you’re in a really fowl mood you’ve still got to go through with it.
You also need to be realistic. You’re unlikely to be making any money when your first starting out. I’m certainly not. My startup costs for the wedding business are huge. Much more than I originally envisaged and that doesn’t include buying equipment.
Start networking – you’re biggest marketing tool is referrals from happy clients. Your first bookings will probably come from friends and family. You only get these by networking with other people. Friends, colleagues, family – they are now your biggest allies.
But most importantly – keep on shooting.
