How To Stay Poor As A Photographer | #35

Humans think funny.

It’s much easier to find problems rather than to identify solutions.

If you can identify all the problems going on in your photography business first, then you can think of direct solutions to those problems.

So how do we stay poor as photographers?

Only Say Yes To Projects You Can Handle

If a client comes to you with a project you’ve never done before, what do you do? Do you turn them down because you don’t have the skills? Or do you learn the skills or hire help for the task?

Facing challenges head-on will help you grow as a photographer. You will gain new skills and lessons along the way. And you’ll earn a higher paycheck for the new work you’re doing.

In the face of challenge, you accepted it instead of running away.

This applies to so many things in photography. When you are presented with a new challenge, accept it. You’ll find a way to make it all work in the end. And if all goes wrong - simply refund the client.

Makes Promises To Clients And Break Them

When you make promises, it’s up to you to make sure you deliver on your promise.

If you promise fast delivery times, stay up late to meet them.

If you don’t have the skills for a task, hire someone that does.

When you say you’re going to do something you do it. When your clients are your biggest fans, they’ll refer you to their friends. You’ll gain more business from them, making you more money.

If things go really wrong and you have to break a promise, you need to make it right. Refund their money, offer free services, and do what you can so that your reputation is phenomenal.

When you make promises and fail to keep them, you’ll lose clients, meaning you’ll lose money, and you will stay poor.

Only Take Photos You Want To Take

Let’s face it, there are going to be boring projects that come your way. Maybe it’s white background shots.

There’s going to be times where you need to take your artist hat off, and accept the boring projects. As a photographer, not all projects are going to be fun. There are going to be times when a client wants photos that don’t align with your style or are just plain boring to take.

You’re going to need to treat your photography as a business. Get off your pedestal and realize that there are times when it’s more important to be accommodating to clients’ needs rather than your own creativity.

Now, this is hard for some of you to hear. But by doing the boring work, you’ll make more money. And what does money get you? Freedom. It gets you the freedom to do the stuff that you want to do.