Evolve or Die. Is Photography Dead?!
If you feel like the photography industry is dying, that’s because it is. With fewer barriers to entry (thanks to Uncle Bob), everyone has a camera, and everyone is shooting for free. So how do you survive, or better yet, how do you thrive in that environment?
Let’s get something clear:
The market doesn't care who you are, what you've been through, who you voted for, or whether you're rich or poor. The market is the market, and it's consistently changing.
Have you ever watched The Office? The running joke is that the company is struggling and dying slowly every day and they are losing business to big box stores. As a photographer, you, my friend, are an employee at Dunder Mifflin.
For those of you who may not have seen the show, let's make this easier to understand–everyday entire industries die. (p.s. I just started watching the show in 2020, don’t feel bad.)
The 10 fastest dying industries in America, according to BusinessInsider.com, are:
Photofinishing
Appliance Repair
DVD, Game & Video Rental
Money Market and Banking
Newspaper Publishing
Recordable Media Manufacturing
Hardware Manufacturing
Footwear Manufacturing
Team Uniform Manufacturing
Women's Apparel Manufacturing
Most of those markets are dying because EVERYTHING is going digital. Who needs a physical print, when you can just save your photos in the cloud? Who rents DVDS, when you can stream Netflix right from your phone? Who needs the newspaper, when every newspaper outlet creates video or has their articles available online?
This is NOTHING NEW. The market is ALWAYS EVOLVING. Therefore, please know that you:
EVOLVE with the market or fall VICTIM to it.
That may sound callas. It may sound insensitive. But it’s the truth of the matter–I’m not going to sugarcoat it–So what do you do?
Think like an Entrepreneur and an Artist
During the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840), there was a transition to new manufacturing methods in Europe and the United States. Hand production methods were replaced by more efficient machine production processes, and the world never thought about it again. In layman’s terms–people were replaced by machines; they were replaced by faster means and more efficient solutions.
You are living through an era of digital transformation, not dissimilar to the craftsmen and craftswomen of the 17-1800s.
If you cannot adapt to the times, I can guarantee that your business WILL die. Before you have a panic attack, please know that you have the foundations for success. To prove my disposition, consider this:
Creativity is the ability to recognize NEW ideas or alternatives to solve problems.
An entrepreneur is a starter who can create something NEW or innovate in business.
As an artist, you already have the foundation for success, but you’ll need to turn some of that artistic creativity into business creativity, also known as entrepreneurship.
Let me be clear, you don’t have live in Silicon Valley, have an Ivy League education, or have millions of dollars in funding to be an entrepreneur–you just need creativity.
Build Value
Following the invention of the sewing machine in 1790, the first machine-based clothing manufacturer in 1830, manufactured uniforms for the French army. This change put many tailors out of work, who turned to other industries.
Entrepreneurial tailors who were privy to the changes in the market elected to use their talents to found bespoke tailoring businesses, which offered a luxury product (at a premium price) for an exclusive caliber of clientele. Bespoke tailoring was the first choice for anyone who could afford it (although many couldn't). Why should you care?
As a photographer, the barrier to entry for starting a photography business is incredibly low. If you're competing on price, I guarantee that there will be other photographers who are cheaper, or worse yet, free. So, fighting to be the cheapest guy in the room, is arguably the quickest way to go out of business, or never start at all.
Instead, I challenge you to think like the bespoke tailor and create a valuable product for a high-caliber client. While not everyone could afford to hire a bespoke tailor, that perceived value made sure they could charge more for their talent and their hard work.
Find Opportunity
If you’ve made it up to this point, I can probably assume you’ve got a photography portfolio and website built already. If you’re not flooded with calls and emails, that’s alright; most photographers aren’t because they’re reactive instead of proactive.
Waiting for a customer to knock on your door gives your competitors the ability to steal potential customers right from under your nose. So what do you do?
Take the Initiative and Seek Opportunities
Ask yourself: Where does my ideal customer shop? Why do they need my service? What would they normally pay? What’s my competitor’s value proposition?
For example, if I were a wedding photographer, I would want to know where the bride who is shopping for a Vera Wang dress is shopping for that dress and how she thinks.
Anyone who buys a $7,000+ wedding dress wants to be seen, she wants it documented, and I guarantee she has a budget for a GRADE A wedding photographer.
So how do you find her?
That part is simple! Search “expensive wedding dresses [your city]” on Google and you’ll have your first list of relationships to build. As an example, the first three options that come up in New York City are:
Designer Loft
RK Bridal
Kleinfeld Bridal
Next, I would look up their reviews. What do brides who visit those places expect? How do they expect to be treated? What do they love/hate about their overall shopping experience?
Next, I’d visit the store with a relative or friend and say we were shopping for their wedding dress and gauge the experience. Better yet, I’d try and build a working relationship with the staff there and hand out my business card. Who better to help me market my business than the folks who work with brides every single day?
If I lived in a smaller town, I’d make it my prerogative to build working relationships with wedding dress boutiques, florists, event planners, etc. I’d want them to understand that I exist and that my caliber of work is what fits their clientele.
Let’s move away from weddings for a moment. If you photograph headshots and you live in a small town. Who are the people spending money on local advertising? For example, who in your town still spends money on billboard ads? You’ve seen them. You likely hate them and can probably do better? So what’s stopping you and calling them? Nothing!
Make the call, just please don’t call their “baby” ugly.