5 Reasons Most Photographers Fail | #58

I used to be a terrible photographer and an even worse freelancer.

I couldn’t take good photos, clients didn’t know I existed, and I was stuck in a job I hated.

Fast forward a few years later, and I’ve worked with over 50 companies to transform their online presence with product photography.

These are the 5 big reasons most photographers struggle in their career.

Bad At Photography

Simply put, there are a lot of bad photographers out there.

The good news is, there's never been a better time to learn. YouTube is filled with free tutorials that you can consume, practice, and improve.

This is exactly how I learned. I watched YouTube videos and took photos every single day for a year straight. I got pretty good at landscape and street photography.

I thought I was a good photographer, but when I switched to product photography, I sucked. And I realized that. I knew I had to start over and get better. And that’s exactly what I did. I practiced and watched YouTube videos of how the pros did it. And when I thought I was decent enough to attract some low-budget clients, I went for it. It worked.

Can’t get clients

The biggest complaint I hear from fellow photographers trying to make it in this industry is that they can’t get clients.

If you want to be a professional photographer, you need clients. If you want to keep your business and yourself alive, you need money for that. Clients are the lifeblood of your business. If you can learn how to acquire clients, all the rest comes easy.

To get clients, you need to:

1/ Niche down

2/ Create a portfolio

3/ Reach out to brands

4/ Take sales calls

5/ Send proposals

I have a whole free course on this that you can check out here.

Professionalism

As creative professionals, we need to be just that, professional. If you’re not acting professionally around your clients, they have a lot of options to choose from nowadays. What makes you special? What makes you stand out?

This can mean fast turnaround times. It also means if you say you’re going to do something this week, you stick to that, no matter what.

One simple thing you can do to be professional is to respond to your emails quickly. I’ve heard of creatives waiting days to respond to a client. Why wait? Respond as soon as you open the email.

Not Getting Paid Enough

Ok so you’ve gotten some clients, you’ve made some money, but it doesn’t seem to cut it. You are barely making a profit, and with all the gear you need, software, and potential contractors to pay, you will not last long.

You need to increase your rates, sell higher ticket packages, and sell to more clients

Taxes and Legal

Last but not least, we’ve got taxes and all the legal stuff. This sucks, and I don’t like doing it either. But you gotta. You need to comply with the law, or else you’re going down.