How To Stand Out In A World Where Everyone Is a "Photographer"

In 2019, everyone is a “photographer”. I can’t count how many times I have gotten in a conversation with someone about photography and at the end of the conversation when I ask, “What do you shoot with?” they say, “Oh, I just use my phone.” Granted, phones are uber high tech these days and really can capture some stunning images, and I know quite a few people who take awesome photos on their phone. BUT how can photographers who study camera bodies, invest in equipment/advertising/education, and know all of the theories and concepts that go into what makes a perfect photo, stand out in a world where EVERYONE is a “photographer”? Here are my solutions.

Own It

I struggled with this for a long time. But honestly, the first step to standing out as a photographer is CALLING yourself a photographer. I need to be confident in myself, in my ability to capture moments with beautiful exposure and perfectly blurred backgrounds, my ability to communicate my vision and pose clients, post processing, and overall, my SKILL. Nobody is going to take you seriously as a professional or want to pay you the big bucks when they say “Oh are you a photographer?!” and you respond with “I’m a hobbyist” (that was my go-to for a while), or “I’ve been taking some classes”, or even worse “Kinda!”. Come on guys. Why be modest when being honest will do nothing but give you credibility as a photographer and potential clients? Own it.

Find Your Style

Something that is unique about photographers when comparing them to your classic iPhone point-and-shooter is that photographers can have a consistent style (because we know how to control our images!). In other words, when clients book you, they should know what to expect. Whether it’s the way you edit, or the way you compose your images. Find what you are good at, stick to it, and maximize on it! If people like your vibe, they will follow your work and hopefully book you.

Educate Them

People don’t know what they don’t know. And that’s okay! But it makes it hard for you to stand out. Someone that has never shot manual or dealt with a camera doesn’t know why ISO, shutter speed, aperture, metering, white balance, composition, etc. is important. And why would they? So EXPLAIN to them why it is! Tell them that because you shoot in manual and know all of the light theories (or whatever is it that you thrive at) that you can get sharp images with bright and authentic colors in a shot that couldn’t be captured on a amateur camera. Or maybe try to tell them about the high compression lens that you’re shooting with and how it allows you to be far away yet still make your subject bounce off of the photo with a perfect bokeh background (but say blur because they probably don’t know what that means either). Snap, maybe even tell them how much your equipment costs because for some reason people think that if you have an expensive camera then the pictures have to be good (not true- but still). Either way, CONVINCE them why hiring a photographer is worth it for valuable images.

Above all- just keep on working hard and building on your craft.

“You’re doing great, Sweetie!” -Kris Jenner