Thea Creative

Being in business for yourself, especially as an artist, is not easy.  Days are filled with high peaks of hope, fire, and positivity that dip into very low valleys of doubt and fear.  Well, the last few days for me have been filled with valleys; questioning “Why am I doing this?  Am I wasting my time?”  These doubts and questions came, primarily, from the unrealistic expectations I set for myself in the beginning.

When I started my business I shot everyone I knew in order to build up my portfolio but I didn’t just think of it as portfolio building, I fully anticipated each of those shoots to lead to direct business.  That was my first mistake.  I set the expectation on the financial gain I stand to prosper from each shoot instead of looking at it for it was: practice. A chance to find out how I shoot, what angles work, what people respond to, etc.  These shoots, in reality, were never going to amount to direct jobs because they were free for my friends.  I needed to be completely honest with myself and realize that my friends took advantage (not in a negative way) of an opportunity to have nice pictures of themselves, their families, their boyfriends, without having to pay and to help me out.  Free (as in you get all of your images on DVD and don’t have to pay a thing, free) don’t lead to jobs.  Does that mean you shouldn’t do them? No.  Absolutely not.  Especially in the very beginning, when you need to have content, if that is the only way you can start building your portfolio, do it.  However, this was my rule of thumb: if I sought them out, it was on me, but if they sought me out, it was on them and I gave a significant discount.  However you decide to go about it make sure you have a consistent rule and stick to it.

Fast forward to today when I realized that two of the couples I photographed early on (I sought them out) got engaged and didn’t consider me as their wedding photographer I felt hurt.  Bummed out, really.  Suddenly I questioned everything I did in the beginning and wondered why I’m still hustling when I laid down all that ground work.  What I had to realize was that they are not my clients and the way I shot them (especially in the very beginning), mostly, is no longer my style.  What I needed to do was change my point of view and look at it with an “attitude of gratitude”(Sue Bryce).  I needed to be grateful that through them I found my current brand, realized who my client is, and, most importantly, filled up content.  How can I sell to other couples if I have nothing to show?  I can’t.  So, I am trying, very hard, to come to terms with the importance of what I did a year ago and accept that in order to get my name out there in a sea of photographers (both experienced and new) I will have to continue to hustle.  Continue to build a consistent brand (one that now matches my website and presence I have crafted).  Back then I shot everything and tried every style of shooting.  Today, while I still take on jobs that aren’t my primary market (that is jobs that are neither weddings or seniors) I shoot everything with, for the most part, a consistent style and consistent editing.  What I’m working on this year is getting my name out there with a consistent message.  To work with clients that appreciate a client experience and ones that will shout my name from the rooftops.  Not ones who are doing me a favor but ones for whom I providing a service.  So today is the beginning of the climb back up to the peak and out of the valley.

What I hope you take out of this post (if you are starting out or even re-branding), because I can’t be the only one that goes through this, is that if you are building a portfolio and laying the ground work to set your expectations that that is all it will be.  Content.  You will probably not lend direct jobs from these shoots, but they will lead to jobs later on (I know this in my heart, I’m still trying to convince my mind).  I don’t know when it will happen, when I will find the flow of clients that I’m searching for, but I do know that I give up now (as I’m so tempted to do mentally) I’ll never find it.  I have to know that I am trying everything that I know how to do, using all the resources I have in my disposal, and I need to continue to push for it with all the motivation I had driving me int the beginning.  The motivation of a promising dream, a passion for photography.  These two motives need to be the main reasons I pursue this business.  And so I wish you all luck and to myself as well as you pursue your dreams.

Thanks for reading.

Until Next Time…

ME

First off, let me start by saying how proud and honored I am to be a part of the Thea Creative family and to be sharing my journey as a new photographer finding my voice, my niche, and my identity.

A year ago (almost exactly) I decided to officially launch my photography business.  Of course, the first thing I did was get a logo so that I could get a business card because, well, people needed to know who I was, right?  Well, partly.  Yes, people need to know you are out there and if you are talking about your business you need to give people a way to contact you, but you also need to know who you are.

When I launched, I had no real idea as to who I was as a photographer, what my strengths were, or what my focus was going to be.  I thought it would be portrait photography (it ended up being weddings and seniors) so when I talked to a friend who is a designer that was what we went with: my favorite colors (blue and brown) and that it needed to be family friendly.  There! I had a brand…

Or so I thought.

The word brand is thrown around so carelessly in today’s market and as a new photographer, and business owner, it’s so easy to get swept up into.  It’s easy to think that if you have a website, a logo, colors, then you have a brand, but it is so much more than that.  Your brand is you, it is your message, it is the way you present your images, it is how your clients see you at every meeting and in every photo.  It is the message you send out to the world.

It wasn’t until I worked for a year, establishing my shooting style, my editing style, and client experiences that I was even able to start considering what my brand truly is.  For me, this really hit home when I started working on my visual identity with Heather.  I came to realize the my brand is classic, clean, and emotionally (organically) driven.  Heather was able to push me to look at my work closely to find these terms and through that was born a site and an identity that I am so proud of.

Your visual identity and website are the packaging for your brand and they need to match your message.  They are your “brand-ing” not your “brand.”

When working with your designer, really dig deep to make sure you know the following categories in order for your visual identity to feel authentic to you:

1) What drives your photography (emotions, posing, landscape, lighting)?

2) What is your style of photography?

3) What is your editing style?

4) What is your client experience like?

Of course, your designer will ask you other hard questions but for me, these were the most crucial elements of understanding my brand and Heather was amazing at helping me see that without stating it for me.  Digging in to your work and looking at it critically is an organic part but the most important part of finding your brand and honing in on your visual identity.  Remember your website is not your brand, it is the visual representation of your brand.  YOU are your brand and everything you do is the representation of that.

Thank you for choosing to follow my journey.

Until Next Time…

ME