TBT: Has the Landscape in Photography Really Changed?

by Skip Cohen

​I first wrote about this topic ten years ago, after following a thread on Facebook Wedding Photographers where a group of photographers were upset over the changing landscape in the business of imaging. Yes, things have changed a lot over the years, but these artists were all focused on the negative. It all comes out of the frustration of things not being as easy as they used to be, and they always sound like the sky is falling! 

You have to work harder today to get through the noise and reach your target audience. You can't slow down on building brand awareness and establishing your reputation. Technology, especially AI, the Internet, and social media, has changed the way we market ourselves. New gear is pushing you to expand your skill set, and is being introduced regularly. However, at the same time, your reach is the strongest it has ever been, and you have the most creative tools in the history of photography.

My grandparents, captured in the early 1900s

My grandfather at 17

The questions a photographer has today as a hundred years ago are the same...What should I charge? Should I advertise my prices? How do I close the sale? How do I get people to know I'm here? Am I just taking a picture or creating a family heirloom?  

My point is, the foundation of a strong business as a photographer has changed so very little!

• You still need to produce a quality product! While some will argue that most consumers don't know and don't care, I'm convinced that's a cop-out. Every time I hear a photographer say that, I can trace their actions back to a missing element in Customer Service within their own business. Consumers want quality, and when you take the time to show them the difference, the majority of the time, they understand.  It's all in your presentation, and how you educate your client is an important key to success.
• You still have to provide a respectable level of Customer Service! Customer Service is your secret weapon. You've got to be accessible, build relationships, and listen more than talk!
• You have to anticipate your customer's needs. Pay attention to your target demographics and see the world through their eyes, NOT yours.
• You have to listen to your clients. Most important of all, you need to meet their mindset and exceed expectations. You've got two ears and one mouth - listen twice as much as you talk.
• You still have to provide a pleasing representation of the client, the products, whatever it is you've been hired to photograph.
• You still have to exceed client expectations and make yourself habit-forming! Today, imaging is still a strong word-of-mouth business, and you need to get your clients excited and talking about you! And because of social media, every consumer has a level of power and reach that was reserved for small newspapers and magazines only a couple of decades ago.
• You still have to market yourself to get through the noise. In the early 1900s, no one had the kind of reach you have today, but everything is relative. The community was smaller, but photographers back then were still competing for the consumer's dollar. I'll admit it's harder than ever to build brand awareness, but the necessity to do it is still there. 

Last but not least, your work still requires a passionate eye, a great heart, and a quest to always look for that decisive moment. Ansel Adams once said, "Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

And that's one more thing that hasn't changed - as a professional photographer, you're still part of an incredible legacy of creative spirits like Ansel, Avedon, Scavullo, Karsh, Eddie Adams, Herb Ritts, Mary Ellen Mark, Arnold Newman, Dean Collins, Don Blair, Monte Zucker, and Doug Kirkland, just to name a few.  They may have passed away, but the legacy they left behind hasn't changed. It may sometimes be challenged by technology and the economy, but it remains a powerful tribute to pride, quality, creativity, and art.

So, that old quote still applies...as much as things change, some things never change!

​Happy Throwback Thursday!

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