Every photographer who starts their own business has to ask one fundamental question in order to make enough money to sustain that business: What am I selling? That can be a very difficult question to answer if you are approaching photography from a passionate, love-of-art point of view. What am I selling? It sounds like a question that only a suit-and-tie, corporate job would require an answer to. That, or a door-to-door salesman. But the fact is that we are all selling something in our professional jobs, and that thing that we sell is the key to branding your business. I was thinking about this the other day because I talk about this question during business lectures that I give. My answers are always the same; I sell prints, workshop spaces, images for licensing, and sometimes my photography services for book covers, album art, etc. This is literally what I am selling. However, I have one fundamental problem with listing these answers. I didn’t get into photography to sell things. I got into photography to inspire. To inspire myself and others. To. Inspire. So, if I got into photography to inspire, then why is there such an emphasis on the tangible money-makers? Well, I suppose the answer is simple. We all need money to survive. Yet I believe that there is a way to merge your passion, the driving force behind doing what you do, and what you are selling. I started thinking about that question long and hard: What are you selling? I started forming a different answer around the very open question. Instead of listing all of my services, I could list my intention. This was a light-bulb idea for me, and something that I have been inadvertently working toward for a long time. QUESTION: WHAT ARE YOU SELLING? ANSWER: INSPIRATION! I sell prints of my images in the hope that when someone buys one, they will be inspired by something about it everytime they see it on their wall. I sell workshop spaces not because I have a burning desire to tell people all about f/stops, but because I want to inspire people to find their style, hone their passion, and do what they love. The question of “What are you selling” can sound shallow when phrased in this way. We all have something to sell, but that doesn’t mean that what we are selling is simply a product. We are photographers, we know better. Nothing that we do is simple, and this especially so. Even though my previous answer of selling prints was and is valid, and I will continue to answer that way, I believe that knowing my overarching intent of giving inspiration is paramount to understanding my brand and product alike. If I didn’t feel that photography was a way of spreading inspiration into the world, I would not be doing photography. I would find another profession that would allow me to inspire. It all comes down to what you are most passionate about. I love photography. I adore it. I think it is the bees knees. But my absolute passion is inspiration, and that is something that I’ll try “selling” until the day I die. Brooke Shaden Photography
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:57:43 +0000
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