Advice to young photographers - REBLOG PLEASE.

I looked at my previous post again and seems more important than I originally thought. Too much of current photo blog world is about technical gadgets, lighting, and being super EXTREME about what to shoot and where. We need to counteract that kind of thinking and teach the kids that content, not photoshop, will make them successful.

Content is king!!!

Copying below since you can’t reblog a questions:

Making the switch from an unknown or assistant to getting jobs is very difficult. Not for the faint of heart. 

My tips will probably get me in trouble from some people, but they worked for me.

1. take any job, any time, anywhere. stay humble, there’s a million photographers. what will set you apart is your attitude and positive energy - not your talent. to make a career out of being a photographer, being talented is only half the battle.

2. work for free. similar to #1. stay humble. make connections. some of my best early work was for magazines where i LOST money. if the assignment is worth it, do anything you can to shoot it.

3. network and marketing. make friends. be a good person. be likable. no divas. market the hell out of yourself. make sure everything looks good and is designed nicely. every piece of communication (from emails to invoices) reflects on your brand.

4. cameras. who cares? screw your camera. content is king!!!! make good photos and everything will be alright.

5. don’t wait for clients to come to you. walk up to them and pitch them ideas. tell them you love their brand or their magazine or their product and you want to collaborate with them. free, paid, whatever. be excited to work with them and they won’t blow you off.

6. if you’re taking photos to fulfill some business need in your portfolio, you’ve already failed. approaching photography as a business endeavor is lame. lead with your heart and then everything else will work itself out.

7. meetings, meetings, meetings. meet with anyone willing to meet with you. shake their hand. show them you’re a real person with ideas and good energy and willing to work. tell them straight up, “i love what you do. i’d love to work with you now or in the future.” they may not hire you today, but someday they might.

8. don’t suck. good photos are mandatory.

i hope that helps a bit. overall, stay humble and be hard working. that’s the bottom line.