How to stand out in a sea of photographers

"There are soooo many photographers in my town - the market is oversaturated."

If this thought is keeping you from starting a photography business - even though you have a burning desire to be a professional photographer - let's have a little chat.

First of all - just because there are a lot of photographers, that doesn't mean there is no room for another one. New photographers are beginning their businesses every single day. Why not you? Yes, it's an oversaturated market - but if you have a plan to stand out, it won't matter at all. 

No one is YOU. No one has your unique vision, drive, personality, and connections. 

Now, here's the secret to standing out: SPECIALIZE!

(And, have a marketing plan. I can't, in good faith, leave that part out.)

I know it seems like the best way to fill your calendar is to take any type of shoot you can get. But, do you really enjoy every type of photography? Or is there one type of shoot that totally lights you up? You can do just that. 

You may think that you’re limiting your client pool by specializing.

However - think of it this way: How many clients can you reasonably take in a year? Maybe 40? 60? You don't need thousands of clients. You don't need to be everyone's photographer. You can do what you really love, and create an experience that is above and beyond what the competition is doing.

WHY SPECIALIZING IS THE ANSWER

• It’s harder to stand out when you are the jack of all trades, because you're not "known" for anything in particular.
• When you specialize, your marketing and branding can have a really clear message because you know who you’re talking to. 
• Specialists can also command a higher price point. In nearly every profession, if you have a specific skill set and you're very good at what you do, you have a higher rate than a generalist. This is true for photography too.
• Doing the same thing requires a lot less multitasking and mental energy. Your marketing, workflow, the type of equipment you need, the resources you will need to execute these shoots, the time of day they will happen, the posing prompts, etc - it all becomes streamlined if you're offering one type of photography rather than jumping from one genre to the next.
• You'll naturally stand out to your dream clients. If someone is looking for a newborn photographer, they probably have a lot options. Which website do you think would be the most appealing to them: the website with a variety of family, senior, wedding, baby, and event photography? Or the website that just shows beautiful newborn photos? 
• You get to do what you love, every shoot. No more soul-sucking projects that you simply dread.
• Master your specialty instead of spreading yourself too thin.

So, WHAT do you want to shoot? What’s your favorite subject to work with?

If you had to do one type of shoot for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I recommend starting with one specialty - two related if you must! Go deep rather than wide. Maternity and newborn pair well together, or senior and family, or weddings and couples, etc. You can always expand down the road, but starting strong with one specialty is a great way to launch your business. If you want to take on different types of projects just to pay the bills, absolutely go for it - but you don't need to highlight those on your website or social media.