What’s the best way to get your work out there into the public?
Well, there is no secret tip or hack to doing that. In fact, it’s almost grossly simple how you get your photography work out to the public. Are you ready for the secret?
Get out in public. You, physically you, need to do your best to get out into your community and meet people. Make connections, network, and let people get to know you. Then, once you have a relationship, showing your work will be icing on the cake.
Now, to take it backward, there are a few things that need to happen before you are ready to put yourself and your work out into the open. One of the biggest problems with photographers these days is that they are half-hearted.
You don’t want to go all in just in case it’s too hard or you fail. It’s natural to want to avoid failure and to avoid being hurt by a decision, but that is not going to help you grow.
1. “To be or not to be, that is the question.”
Shakespeare what spot on with this bit of wisdom and it applies to many parts of life, but especially in business.
If you want to be a professional photographer then you have to go all in. You have to start asking yourself who you are as a photographer? What kind of photographic legacy do you want to leave when you have retired? What do you want to be remembered for?
It’s time for photographers to take the dive and really go for it in their business. It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday flow of things and never worry if you are improving. If you are busy, you must be getting better right? Wrong.
2. Check Your Reflection
Take this time to look at your business. Where are the strong points and the weak points? What are some goals you set for yourself at the beginning of this year or this season? Have you accomplished those? If you have, congratulations, but don’t get cozy. Keep pushing, striving to excel on your strengths and keep learning to improve year and year.
If you haven’t reached those goals, it’s time to take a good look into the mirror and focus on whether you really want to be a pro photographer or not. Photography is not a destination, it’s a journey and it’s constantly changing, evolving, and growing and you should be following those movements the best you can.
Now, once you have decided to be or not to be and how you are going to get there, it’s time to get moving. You would be so surprised how many photographers miss opportunities in front of their face without even knowing it. Are you ready to get noticed and put your work in a gallery? Reach out to gallery owners. Ask if you can take them to coffee and discuss steps to try and get your work into the gallery. The act of reaching out and showing up might be enough push to get your work noticed anyway.
Likewise, are you wishing you had more businesses to help with their professional headshots? Go to town hall and board meetings that are open to the public. There will be business people there and it’s a chance to talk to those who run the biggest businesses in the city you live in.
Photography is art, it’s business, it’s hard work. Take the time to evaluate yourself and your progress and think hard about more ways to capture attention, make relationships, and reach clients. The opportunities are there, but are you ready to take them?