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Archive 2014 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?

  
 
morby
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


Which is more important to success in this industry: business skills or photography skills? Why? Which do you place more focus on? I know they aren't mutually exclusive, but I'm interested in hearing everyone's thoughts.


Jul 23, 2014 at 07:31 PM
myam203
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


I know that business skills are more important.

I'm no prodigy, and I know that photography is a subjective thing, but I don't mind saying that I've seen mediocre or downright crummy photographers book themselves solid (one studio apparently does 120 a year and is booked 2 years out). Whether it's their ability to set expectations, their price, people skills, management skills, marketing or whatever else, they're doing it. The common denominator, or so it seems, is that they always deliver what they promise. So, while I think their work is crap, some people find it acceptable, and since they set the bar so low, their clients are always happy... or so it seems.



Jul 23, 2014 at 08:58 PM
joelconner
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


If you want to financially fulfilled...business.

I have seen mediocre to decent photographers make a killing in this industry because they know how to best run a business. It does not make many fans among the more artistic among us, but I doubt they care. I would say it would be much easier to make a good living with solid business skills and average photography skills than the other way around.



Jul 23, 2014 at 10:19 PM
glort
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


joelconner wrote:
If you want to financially fulfilled...business.

I have seen mediocre to decent photographers make a killing in this industry because they know how to best run a business. It does not make many fans among the more artistic among us, but I doubt they care. I would say it would be much easier to make a good living with solid business skills and average photography skills than the other way around.


Couldn't agree more with both the above posts. They are spot on.

Ideally you want to be proficent at both but if you can only do one really well, go for the business side of things.
I have seen this topic raised many times before and people ( who inevitably don't know anything about business) always insist it had to be photography.
Unfortunately, that dosen't bear out in real world practacality.
Are Maccas the best hamburgers, Pizza hut the best Pizzas, do Koreans make the best cars? If not, how come they leaders in their businesses or at least very successful??

I was lucky and learned the lesson very early on in my career. There was a local guy that had pertty much all the local venues sewn up and was well known in the area. Maybe more infamous than anything else but he was getting all the work. Very early on I asked myself, how come this guy has crap work, even worse customer service but is the one always driving the new car and keeps buying bigger houses when I know I'm a better shooter and never have anything but compliments from my clients.

The penny dropped, the guy had the gift of the gab and was a natural born sales man.
So I set about training myself up to understand all the business things like marketing and sales and it's been the smartest thing I ever did. Not just in business but for life. I recently sold my house myself after having it with an agent for 18 months who told me my price was far too high. I got 25K MORE for it than he was advertising it for. Knowing business also helps you on the back end of buying things. it teaches you how to negotiate and where the opportunities are as well as put together deals and benificial arrangements.

I consider myself a very average photographer but the satisfaction I get out of doing things and getting work and deals other people just flat out don't believe I could have, give me one of my greatest satisfactions in life.




Jul 24, 2014 at 01:23 AM
hardlyboring
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


Ya I would generally say business skills are more important than photography skills...
A decent photographer who is a good business person can do just as well as a brilliant photographer who is a crappy business person.



Jul 24, 2014 at 01:43 AM
D. Diggler
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


hardlyboring wrote:
A decent photographer who is a good business person can do just as well as a brilliant photographer who is a crappy business person.


Probably would do better than the brilliant photographer, sorry to say. [Just guessing, though; can't speak from any personal experience on this.]




Jul 24, 2014 at 05:21 AM
Tony Hoffer
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


Which is more important to success in this industry: business skills or photography skills?

Just depends on your definition of success.-


Why?

Because many do this job as much for creative fulfillment as for money. In that regard, I could see many who consider themselves successful even if others weren't. When I see someone building a nice business but with no concern for the art, it doesn't match my definition of success.


Which do you place more focus on?

For me the business comes much more naturally than the shooting so I tend to think about getting better at shooting more often. I spend the offseason refining the business and the busy season working on my craft.



Jul 24, 2014 at 07:05 AM
StevenMI
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


I'm not really sure whether I think business skills or photography skills are more important. I try to work on both of them fairly equally probably.

I will say that PEOPLE skills are probably as, if not more important than both of them though.



Jul 24, 2014 at 11:22 AM
robots4joey
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Business Skills or Photography Skills?


I absolutely believe that business skills are the key to success in this field. Marketing, Pricing, Selling, and Customer Service are all skills that great photos cannot overcome.

Since I've gotten over the hump where I wasn't panicked that I could get exposures right in various situations- now I focus mostly on improving my business skills- currently I'm really trying to focus on marketing strategies that are outside the box, we're taking some gambles and specializing to try to get attention for it. Hopefully our risk pays off!



Jul 24, 2014 at 12:17 PM





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