How To MARKET YOURSELF As A PHOTOGRAPHER: GROW Your BUSINESS. 

One way I try to promote myself is LinkedIn, the format is very similar to twitter in which you can get a lot of eyes on one post because once someone likes or comments on your post that is also shared to their "connections" as well. I also use twitter and instagram but have found that I like to use my instagram for more personal use as I do not upload much of my work there except on my story.

@@jackcoil9389 Makes sense, Jack! You're right - LinkedIn is a great way to get the word out.

I use instagram. I also do a lot of photography for free and have my client tag me on their social medias. Many of the people I work with have bigger platforms and contacts that could be important for me in the long run. Also just having a good website is helpful. It is a good resource to have in case someone googles your name or business.

I think this depends on your market and what style of images you are selling. I work with youth sports and many parents don't like you sharing what images of their kids on Social Media without their consent. So i have to get consent/permission first. Then, since most of my work are composites, I usually simply post on Facebook because that's where most of my mom's are. Some on insta, but most on Facebook. They share my images and tag my business as the location. Word of mouth, exceptional customer service, hand written thank you notes to key clients go a long way.

Thanks Jason, appreciate the nice feedback. Glad it's helpful!

Wow, thank you!

Thanks Brian, glad it was helpful. Good luck with the next steps, sounds exciting!

I made mine a hobby that I get paid for doing. I would suggest giving that a try first then jumping right in as getting paying gigs for a living is really challenging depending on your market.

@@joeclaymore thanks. Yeah, as much as I’d love to make photography a full time gig, I am going to start pretty small. I have another full time job so just dabbling for now and we will see where that goes over time. Sure is a hobby I absolutely love and making some money on the side would be great.

@@bquinn722 Start with the pointers that Billie makes. Make sure you ask others for portfolio reviews and make sure you ask people that can be critical of your work. Friends and family will always tell you your images are great. Other photogs are usually critical. Good web design is just as important as your images, so make sure that your website is clean and easy to navigate. Also, ask yourself "What am I selling?". I see so many photographers who "do it all" and lost the customer with "who is this person". I suggest that you pick a genre and master it. If you do too much, kind of takes away from why someone would want to hire you. Think of most businesses, they work with many verticals but Ford sells cars, Nike sells clothing and shoes, Kraft sells food. You don't see Nike selling cereal, solar panels, and building supplies for a reason. There brand is in the quality of their shows. Maybe Billie will do a video on creating a personal brand. But if you look at his work, he's a story teller. His images tell the story, and while a lot of it is athletes, he covers other subjects and still tells a story. I am a youth sports portrait photographer. I do some seniors at time but I specialize in youth portraits and team composites. Just a couple tips as you get started.

@@joeclaymore I really appreciate the advice. There is a lot to unpack in your response. Sports is definitely my thing and really to this point it has been baseball. I'll branch out at some point but with it only being a hobby so far, I've mostly been shooting my kids and the leagues they are in. If you are interested in reviewing my newly created website/portfolio let me know and I'd be happy to send it to you for some feedback. Maybe we could e-mail?

Thanks Alex!

Thanks Andrew! And yep, got it all ready to go. Hoping I can post it next week!

Thanks so much, Joe! And yes, let's hope the number of fans continues to trend upward. Of course, come say hey!

Thank you!

I think the same concept that I used 20 years ago when I started still applies here. When you're starting, think of gear like you'd buy a car for a kid going into high school. Used gear is your friend and since budgets for most people are tight, it gives you the ability to try things out and see if it works for what you're doing. Obviously I don't know if your Canon, Nikon or Sony but camera bodies that are 2 to 4 years old are still great cameras. I would suggest potentially doing a mirrorless camera as we're in a large technology swing but a mirrored camera will still do the job. And cameras that have a higher frame rate are your friend. We're all a little spoiled in this category. Cameras can easily do at least 7 frames per second. The trick is also getting the settings right in camera and having a lenses that can also keep up with the action. For cameras, I shoot Sony so depending on your budget, anything from an A7 III to an A9 are solid cameras. For lenses, you can get away with lenses as old at 10 years or more and be fine. Just make sure the optics and internals are still functioning well. Lenses get dented and dinged but unless there's something within the lens that doesn't feel smooth, something grinds or feels clunky, walk away. But when I buy solid glass it rarely lasts less than 7 to 10 years for me. Lenses sports photographers should look at are a solid wide lens 24-70 or a 16-35mm at least an f/4 if not 2.8 and a 70-200mm or something equivalent. If you're primarily doing sports and events, I would steer away from primes unless it's something like an 85mm. Versatility is your friend as you develop your eye. Also, adding a 1.4 teleconverter to help with your reach on the 70-200mm really can be handy.

Thanks for watching! Appreciate it.