In life, you have many choices to make throughout your life that accompany several different paths. The beautiful thing about the world we live in is, for the most part, you get to decide which path you would like to travel down! I found my favorite path to be one I am walking down with a camera in my hand. When envisioning a day in the life of a photographer it seems pretty easy right? Snapping a few pictures, living life simply, and thriving every day? ... Unfortunately it's not just that easy. Us as photographers must have skill sets that range from advertising to business to creativity and everywhere in between. If an artist wants to make it in the world of photography he/she must have the professional capability to appeal to a large audience of people and draw attention to their product. After sitting down and speaking with someone who works in the professional world of business you can learn there is a lot that goes into appealing to your audience and bringing the attention of the largest possible array of customers.
One of the most important aspects of speaking to an audience or customers is how you address them. It is human nature to try and read someone through how they speak and how they select their words. There are proper speaking conventions for different groups of people. For example, if you are hanging out with your friends, just talking loosely and “shootin’ the shit” if you will you know you can speak in an unorganized and sporadic like fashion because your friends have an expectation of how you speak; however, that expectation is not one which they expect to hear old english come out of your mouth or even the type of speech you would use in a professional business situation. That’s just not what you and your friends are used to (hopefully...otherwise I’d be considering pursuit of a new friend group) On the other hand, if you are presenting your work or trying to pitch your idea to a group of people in a business-like situation, you are going to to use a certain way of speech. In most cases, this will be made up of an organized plan of attack, respectful gestures, and an interesting presentation that will hold their attention. When interviewing someone in the professional world who deals with this type of interaction on a daily basis you get to understand what goes into the behind the scenes of holding a business meeting. Everything that goes into the preparation before the meeting to the interaction during the meeting to the follow up after the meeting. The same follows for the world of photography. As photographers it is our job to create and present a product or image in this case that appeals to our clients in an organized and professional fashion. My interviewee went on to talk about how you want to present your idea, make your pitch organized and easy to follow, keep in mind what the client wants because that is always first, and make a good impression by being respectful and friendly. How a person speaks means a lot about how they hold themselves, how passionate they are, and what kind of person they are. If you can holster these qualities in the best and most appealing fashion to your clients then you will have yourself set up for success.
Another major part of establishing a successful business practice is presenting your work in a way that well represents you yourself, your motives, and your passion. This is very important in establishing a self image for yourself. Around the world there are many different people for many different things. Have you ever found yourself watching an old-time movie or even a TV-show where the character turns to the other character and says, “I got a guy”. Now, there are many different “guys” throughout the world we live in for many different things. Someone may have a book guy, or a fruit guy, or a construction guy, and so on. As a photographer you want to become one of those “guys”. A person who has a signature for themselves, a reason people will hire you opposed to the next guy. This comes down to a matter of organizing your work and establishing a signature for yourself. Something that makes you stand out for what you do.
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