There is a reason why the above was not chosen as a worldwide statement meant to inspire us to try a different method of computing… ya know.
As photographers, we see this sort of thing all the time. “To get more work, become better than your competition”.
Really?
No.
Better means that you are doing the same thing that the competitor is doing, but you have put a set of criteria on the imagery that may not be shared by your clients.
Because no one really knows what “better” means.
Better at what? Why is it better? Who says it’s better? How do we measure that? How does that apply to me? Can I see it?
Well… now we have to explain it to them. While we are busy explaining, the are busy tuning us out. They want a photograph to use for their purposes. They don’t want a discussion on the values, perceived or real, of your work compared to the work they have been paying for.
I have on occasion mentioned that if you want to get more work, become better than everyone else, but I may have been overly simple with the terminology. At some point, technique, promotion, delivery, business and marketing must be somewhat ‘measurably’ better. Out of focus images that do not fit the layout are by definition not very good.
But once we hit that point, that level of producing images that are technically acceptable, it becomes important for us to be able to differentiate ourselves, and stand out.
Differentiate ourselves.
That may not be a case of simply being ‘better’. Better means a repeat of what someone else is doing with a bit of a ‘spin’ on it from you.
Different is more powerful. More elusive. And much, much easier to explain.
Even if that ‘difference’ may be a way of doing what someone else does ‘better’ than they do. Delivering something that is a little unexpected, or beyond the ordinary may be difference enough to help them remember you.
Different, unique, surprising, fresh… whatever it is, it is something that will take a lot less explaining, and that is a very good thing. You can’t be a ‘fresh’ photographer who does something like that guy, but a little bit better.
Sorry – but who cares. If the other guy is someone they are comfortable with, then your miniscule ‘better’ is not a reason to change.
True story:
A photographer friend of mine wanted to get started shooting for a magazine in his area. He had gathered all the issues he could get, and began to plan images that would fit into their magazine’s editorial content.
He took some friends and business acquaintances, and shot some new stuff for his portfolio. He shot them like the images in the magazine, and tried to make them ‘better’. He used off camera flash, (sorry, I don’t like that term, but it seems to have become part of the lexicon) and some added fill to make the images pop a little more. They even had richer color.
He thought they were better, and in their own terms, they were.
No one was really interested. Why would the be. They already had someone who did that look, sort of, and they knew he was reliable and they were not shown any reason to change. Change is scary. Change is hard.
There simply was no amount of ‘better’ that he showed them that was worth the hassle of changing photographers.
My council was to create the images HIS way. Not to go and try to be someone else with a slightly larger pixel count, but instead to work hard to make some images that were different – way different – than the fare they were receiving from the other photographer(s).
He ended up with about 8 business portraits that were much more to his personal style, and with the little edge he does in post.
He made another appointment, and got an assignment. That led to more assignments along the way. And while he didn’t get every shoot the magazine had, he got the plum ones.
How you frame that difference can be quite important as well. I suggest you frame your difference as being premium. Never want to be the cheapest shooter going for a gig. Never strive for the bottom. Forget working like a dog to become mediocre. Shoot for the top of the heap. The stars. (The view from up there is amazing… I have been there on a few occasion, and I would like to go back again. And again.)
Lorenzo Holder is a photographer that I recently came across over at A Photo Editor’s “Daily Edit” post. His work is different. Fresh, exciting, unexpected.
I think it is wonderful… and a treat to view. Would he get every assignment that was available? No, but he surely does get the nod when it is the stuff that he does. Can you see how this work could translate into other genres?
I can.
Leslie Burns, in an article titled: “Love and Passion and the Work” says this: “And so it is with your art. You have to reach out to your targets and show your passion. You will connect with the right targets to whom that passion speaks. It is a deeper, more fundamental, and very real connection. It is intimate. And it cannot be faked.”
Westside Studio’s got a wonderful blog as well, and this post: “So You Think You Can Shoot?”, has a list of seven things you should be thinking of daily. Here is number one on the list of seven questions:
1. Don’t Just Stand There, SHOOT!!!
Don’t paralyze yourself with the thought that taking good photos costs a lot of money. Shoot anything. Shoot your mother, your dog, your best friend’s stereo from the 80?s, your cell phone, your cell phone in the woods, just shoot. Every time you set out to take a picture it will be better than the last. Your style will reveal itself with the constant watering of picture taking. Be true to this reveal.
Now read the whole thing.
Steve Jobs once said that we should “Think Different”, and it inspired millions. How much would we be have been inspired if it had been “Think Better”?
Strive for your own voice, and find ways to create a difference in your work, something that helps that voice be heard.
What kind of “difference” does your work show? How do you “Think Different”?
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Nice post.
But I think when you read Leslie’s post from the other day about getting intimate / naked, you’ll note that there are still too many catch phrases.
I agree with you that ‘better’ isn’t going to get you anywhere. But I don’t think that ‘different’ will get you anywhere either. Because different can mean a lot of things, and just being different doesn’t necessarily mean you will give people a reason to change. Some people’s different can be so far out, there is no market for it whatsoever.
Now keep in mind that we’re talking about commercial work, and the intent to get assignments. One thing Jeff @ Amazon would always tell you – start with the customer and work backwards from there.
I don’t think you have to be better, or you have to be different. You have to solve the potential client’s visual problem. That may mean a better photos from their current work, that may mean a different photo than what they use, or it may just mean delivering a photo faster, a different location, within a smaller budget, what not. You have to understand the opportunity and then deliver on it. And be open to the fact that his particular client may not have a problem in need of solving.
Of course you can start producing a lot of work and showing it and hoping that you solved a problem for someone. Or you can get to know the people and hear what their problems are, and then see if you can solve them. That’s why I think networking in the industry (and your client’s industry) is almost as important as shooting more stuff.
It’s easy for the consultants to try to sell you on these buzz words. But you have to internalize what’s behind them, and start being authentic, not just chasing the latest buzz word.
“I don’t think you have to be better, or you have to be different. You have to solve the potential client’s visual problem.”
I agree. But if that is ALL you present, it may not be enough of a reason to change from the person that is solving their problems at the time.
In order to create change, you must be able to show the benefit of the change. Being ‘better’ is too difficult to explain, as it requires the buyer to identify themselves as not being able to have seen the ‘not so good’ that the ‘better’ photographer is offering. It can be a bit insulting.
Different, is a way of defining the work to present to the client a reason to change. It is not insulting, and it is easier to understand and present.
“..start with the customer and work backwards from there. …”
Yep. But how you present that new effort to the customer can mean everything. If you have a way of shooting or solving problems that are indeed “better”, it may be easier to show them that in a way that delineates their pain, and showing how the new work solves it.
That can be a “we are better than them” scenario, or a “we offer a solution that provides … ” scenario. In my experience, the second version plays out easier and with less ‘explanation’ of why the customer was too stupid to understand they had a problem. Presentation.
“And be open to the fact that his particular client may not have a problem in need of solving.”
That happens a lot in commercial and editorial photography. There are obviously a tremendous amount of talented photographers who are shooting for the clients we want to shoot for. Would it make any sense to say to a magazine editor: “I’m better than Dan Winters” or “my work is better for your magazine than Jake Chessum”?
Better?
And both of those shooters are obviously able to solve the problems/challenges of the clients they are working with. It is not a matter of riding up on a white horse to ‘save’ the client from photographers of this caliber.
The only answer is to show and present the work you do as ‘different’. Being able to solve the problem is a given. It is expected.
Showing up at a client appointment with the plan of saying that “I shoot stuff like Dan Winters, only better”… well, you can read that and hear how bad that sounds.
“Here is my work, and this is how I do it” is the only way I can see it working. The client then sees the work as an alternative – equal in value/artistic merit – but… different. Fresh. Yours.
“But I don’t think that ‘different’ will get you anywhere either.”
I do not see any other way to be able to market oneself. If not different, an alternative, another way of doing something, what else can we offer? Price? Nope. Problem solving? There are hundreds of talented photographers that are already solving their problems.
“Because different can mean a lot of things, and just being different doesn’t necessarily mean you will give people a reason to change.”
Of course it can mean a lot of things. We have to be able to temper the difference with rational parameters. Shooting out of focus, with the camera upside down, and silk stockings on the lens may indeed be different… but it also is not going to get anyone anywhere, and is certainly NOT what I am discussing here. I cannot be responsible for an over reaching, dumb decision by someone.
My way of seeing “different” may be a very small thing, and it may a huge thing. And it may be nothing so much as a new way of packaging what others are already doing, and presented with a new frame.
“…just being different doesn’t necessarily mean you will give people a reason to change.”
And I certainly hope that is not what the takeaway from this article would be. Difference for difference sake will never work in photography, cigar making, or babysitting. The difference must, by definition of the context of this article, be something that is still within the framework of our client’s needs.
Agreed, better is obviously subjective. What’s important I think, is expressing your unique personality through your work, then letting the clients that your personality resonates with, come to you (with gentle nudging of course).
My take away clearly is that anytime you distill it into these words of different and better there are so many ways to interpret it, some of which will lead to success and some which will lead to failure. It’s a challenge of communication, particularly for those trying to sell knowledge. I’ve grown very tired of the consultants who think they can make a living by distilling everything down and giving it a label. Seth Godin is a master in condensing something down into a few words that most people can relate to – as a matter of fact very different situations often. But he doesn’t sell solutions, he sells thought triggers for people to solve problems.
In the end I think examples like you had in the original post are much better to illustrate the point, they’re just harder to follow than a one-size-fits-all buzzword. There’s nothing that replaces 20+ years of experience, there are no short-cuts of learning by making the mistakes first-hand.
This post came back to me very strongly today when I read this New York Times Magazine article by Daniel Kahneman, one of the modern masters of behavioral psychology:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/magazine/dont-blink-the-hazards-of-confidence.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1319302844-iG1RY/rsvvB3fu5U1ESRhA&pagewanted=all
Kahneman’s research shows why Don’s common-sense intuition is so insightful: You may be confident that you’re “better” than the next photographer, but because of consistent flaws in the way the brain processes information, your confidence is likely to be exaggerated and your self-estimated skill may be no more than an illusion. Potential customers won’t be under any such illusions, and won’t see any reason to hire you instead of the next shooter.
So it really does make sense to base your personal marketing on “differentness” — it’s something you’re less likely to mis-estimate. And after all, if what the client wants is YOUR vision, then nobody is in a position to compete with you. The problem is that differentness is a bit scary: everybody wants it, but nobody is comfortable BEING different to get it! (Reminds me of the old race-car-driver saying: Everybody wants to win, but nobody wants to go fast.)