by Brandon Poirier
Starting a photography business in 2024 can be akin to the futile task of trying to seize the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Despite your best efforts, you will never be capable of catching up to the reward at the end.You are competing with others for this metaphorical reward. This dream of yours has been sought by others for a longer time than you have, and some have already made more progress towards it, while others are at the same stage as you are.
Starting Point
Despite the highly competitive nature of this market, I'd come to the realization that I had to begin somewhere. Reflecting on the past two years as a professional photographer, I'm now starting to see the progress I've worked hard for. Although I still have a significant amount to learn about this ever changing field
I just realized that I've yet to introduce myself. My name is Brandon Poirier, and no, I don't have any relation to the other Poirier you may know. The area of SD&G seems to have a good number of people with the Poirier surname. Poirier Furniture, Poirier Renovations, Poirier & Arthur Law Firm and now Poirier Photography. My little piece of this Poirier Connected Business Univers.
For those who are interested in photography, a story of someone with a big dream or just looking for a fun read, welcome to my blog. I have one simple goal with this blog. Captivate the attention of one individual. You! A member of my community, Cornwall, Ontario. This blog not only allows me to share information, engage in conversation, and explore questions about this changing industry. This blog helps me stay accountable to the goals I've set for my photography business. I would like for this blog to be a jumping off point for creative ideas and endeavors.
I've constantly been inspired to utilize my creative side from a few remarkably creative characters. My mother for starters has been an artist for most of my life. She always filled our home with her art from ceramic decor to canvas paints. As well as my brother, a versatile music player who can skillfully perform most instruments. I've tried learning these forms of art. Unfortunately, my creative mind was never able to expertly learn how to use these tools to express my thoughts and feelings. Although if you ask me to take a photo, I can do that quite well actually. Some have already done so by entrusting me with the task of capturing their wedding.
Elieen & Chad's exiting their wedding ceremony as Husband & Wife
Tyler & Lilly's enjoying their post wedding celebration in style
Anthea & Patrick's wedding photo from this past may
Pivotal Day
Capturing the most pivotal and monumental day in a person's life tends to be one of the most stressful photography assignments. An assignment it was. While maintaining a level of professionalism, an eye for details, staying creative & most importantly, being myself, Tyler & Lilly Groulx entrusted me to shoot their wedding last June in Berwick, Ontario.
I can still recall the mistakes I’ve made during my first wedding. Surprisingly, when I look back at my first wedding, I realized how much I actually enjoyed shooting it once my initial nerves have subsided. The experience I gained from this wedding was able to be applied for the following wedding and so on and so forth. After several weddings, I've been able to start accumulating the experience required to face a variety of challenges in my professional wedding photography career.
Whoever, It's not just by photographing weddings that I've gained all the knowledge I currently possess. Truthfully, I still have a considerable amount of work to do in order to establish a full-time career in photography. Like any passion, there is still a good amount of prominent information that I can elaborate on. There were many things that I wish I had learned much earlier in my journey. I never really had the opportunity to properly implement these building blocks for my business up until recently. I'd like to share the essential building blocks that you can apply to your photography business in 2024 starting today!
Tips from expirence
01.
Find your niche
Identifying the specific type of photography you want to pursue can be challenging. When you're just starting out, it may be tempting to take on any photography opportunities that come your way. However, the longer you remain a generalist photographer, the more difficult it may be to maintain a consistent approach. Identify what you love to do and try to expand more professionally in that direction. If you're having trouble deciding on the type of photography you would like to do. Focus on cultivating your own distinctive photographic approach. These could be but not limited to your shooting style, the way you compose your images, the way you pose your subject, your post-production workflow and more. Although you shouldn't completely rule out other opportunities. My shooting style is lifestyle portraits. Whoever, I recently had the chance to try out real-estate photography. Definitely not my field of expertise. I won’t be exactly marketing myself as a real-estate photographer, but if an opportunity comes up in which I may do real-estate photography again, I won’t be passing it down.
02.
Build a portfolio
Clients seeking a photographer will typically begin reviewing a photographer's work to gain insight into their artistic approach and level of expertise. Any leads that come directly from admiring your work already retain a keen sense of what to expect during their session with you. Sending your portfolio to any possible leads that have not had the chance to review your work may be the reason they choose to book with you. Virtual portfolio, that can be sent via a URL link is a convenient way to share your work with clients. If you don’t feel you have enough images to showcase the type of work you do, then it's time to put that lens to work. Between friends & family, acquire some free models that would love to get some photos done with you. Depending on your niche, you may even be able to communicate with modeling agencies. Some models are willing to work with you in exchange for use of your images to help build their own portfolio as well.
03.
Find your branding
Your branding defines which creative direction you may market into. The majority of photographers are satisfied with a camera and their initials as their logo. This can result in many photographer logos being created with a similar design style to the hundreds of other photographer logos. Stand out with your branding. It’s your business, be bold. Undoubtedly, your logo and marketing should reflect the fact that you are a photographer and the type of photographic work you do. My first logo design was a pear with a lens integrated into the fruit. Get it “Poirier”. Most people didn’t, they assumed I was a food photographer, which I was not. Having revisited the drawing board, I initiated a new type of branding that reflects my style. With the new photography elements that I introduced into the logo, no one really mistook me for a food photographer anymore. My business's branding and marketing have been shaped by this decision.
04.
Create a website
Your website should represent the center point for your business marketing. Now with your niche, portfolio & branding, you’ll be capable of stylizing a website to your liking. Showcasing your work, who you are, what you do and the best way to contact you. For this task, I hired some help from a local marketing firm to help design my website. Mellow Brew Marketing in Cornwall gave me a great website and a road map and how to implement this tool into my workflow. If it’s something you may not feel 100% confident in that you can make yourself, It’s not a bad idea to enlist professional help when needed
05.
Deliver your photos like a pro
It’s time to stop relying on google drive to deliver your photos. I recommend investing in a professional gallery hosting sites. This will provide you a plethora of tools to deliver images from your sessions with ease, simplicity and professionalism. Besides being able to deliver galleries, these websites include additional tools. These tools can be an alternative way to deliver your contracts & invoices. Maintaining your clients contact information. Host a website or online portfolio & a built-in product store. I recommend trying to distribute your own products to help build your own brand. This can help you get started and eliminate some stress out of your business strategy when starting off.
06.
Sell yourself
Don't emphasize the fact that you take professional photographs, it's not as effective of a hook as you may think it is. With your branding, website, and portfolio in place, most leads who are interested in hiring you are already aware of the fact that you offer photography services. Focus on the experience your clients will have when they book with you. The experience you offer helps sell the final result. Share the driving force and personal motivation behind your work. Could it be the fact you're an extrovert who appreciates what life has to offer? Are you a family first type of person and love gathering of loved ones? Your art should reflect you, and you should reflect the art. Give them a reason why they should hire you. A better question may be instead; Based on the services you've described, would you choose to hire yourself as your own photographer?
07.
Automation
I cannot emphasize this enough, initiate an automation process within your work routine. This can be time-consuming to set up. Whoever, this step will save you time and money just by adjusting your workflow. Automation does not have to be complicated. Some easy steps for workflow automation may be creating questionnaires to save time during consultation. Maintain a booking site to help clients reach you and stay up to date on leads. Create email templates and save the hours of typing. Any way you can automate something from your business without minimizing the experience you want to offer to your clients, implement it.
08.
Compete with yourself
As a photographer starting your own venture, it's important to avoid the common trap of comparing your work with your peers, as this can create an unhealthy mindset. The sole genuine competitor you have in this profession will be yourself. Remain vigilant in identifying ways you can improve and advance your abilities as a photographer. Set goals and strive to not only reach them but exceed them. As a creative, you have the freedom to experiment. Whether it's with different techniques with lighting, posing or even with your editing. The way I shoot now and the way I currently shoot is vastly different. Even then, I am always looking for ways to try to implement new techniques and get out of my comfort zone. I remember the first ever time I took photos of someone professionally, I was so nervous and overthought everything. And this session was for a simple studio headshot. I am glad those days have gone and passed.
09.
Have realistic goals
You are not a machine. Approaching all your objectives and goals to try to complete them all at once, only leads to burn out. These steps have taken me a good two years before I could firmly say I had implemented them. Even at that point, I am still working on ways to improve my workflow. Nothing will ever be perfect. Let’s say you did manage to adopt all my recommendations from this blog post and completed it rather efficiently, there is still going to be another set of goals and objectives to attain. Take time and set a timeline that fits your current lifestyle. Be proud when you reach your goal, but also feel the need to go back to the drawing board if things don't work out.
Appreciation
For those of you who have followed my journey all the way here, I wanted to thank you for your support. I'm able to recognize all the work I’ve put into my photography business starting to pay off. Seeing all the work that’s left to do, brings me a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Although the advice given in this blog comes from first hand experience, I will fully admit that even I still struggle to maintain the advice stated. Launching any kind of project is never easy. No one wakes up one day and decides to start a business. It takes time, patience, some tears, and a whole lot of work. For the members of my community of Cornwall Ontario, as your friendly neighbourhood photographer, I ask one thing, can I take your photo.
Chat Soon!
-BP
