You have immense creative talent, energy, and determination. You are following your passion and believe that it’s only a matter of time before you achieve your dreams.
Then all of a sudden you run into a brick wall.
You’ve done all the right things, read the right magazines, take the right classes, bought the right equipment. You’ve even paid the necessary fees to join various organizations so you’ll be properly certified.
So what are you doing wrong?
Photography as a medium doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There would never have been an Ilse Bing or an Ansel Adams without a community who loved their work and were willing to support them. The simple fact of the matter is, if you want to have a successful career in photography, you’ll have to build a Photo Community.
What is a Photo Community?
Exactly what it sounds like: a group of people including other photographers, professionals, admirers, and clients who support your work and help you to succeed.
These people help you create a network, giving you access to resources that you alone cannot manifest. One of the biggest mistakes new photographers make is in not taking the time to build up their network and try to operate their business in isolation.
Even if you are doing photography for art’s sake, unless you don’t want anyone to see it until after you are dead, you will need people to help you gain “ins” into gallery shows and/or expose your name to the people who will help you promote your work.
If you are a commercial photographer, whether it’s Boudoir or Editorial or anything of the sort, your network is what will help you find clients. This “support group” will ultimately help you put food on the table.
So if there’s any advice you should take to heart it’s this: you simply cannot do it alone. You need people. Sure, your imagination and talent are the foundations for your success, but your photo community will be the transportation that gets you there.
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