TRReichman
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VPell wrote:
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That is stupid, condescending, and bubble business talk, period, and it honestly SCREAMS projection.
IMO a lot of people are obsessed with smoke and mirrors because THEY'RE smoke and mirrors, have never been anything else, and it's a monkey on their back, so of course someone is going to fight tooth and nail over the fact that they think wearing Armani (omg mall clothes LMAO) is merely due to the perception the brand gives... GOD FORBID it's because they actually liked the cut, or it physically felt better... They themselves don't have the knowledge or understanding to distinguish a well built car, a good suit cut, or a finely made watch, and so they have to be sold something or be told by 50 other people whether it's good or not....Show more →
OK, I rarely take things personally, and when I do I NEVER post it here (its part of my brand  ) but the whole stupid, condescneding stuff is exactly the type of thing I've tried to brand myself not to attract. I've gone out of my way (even when I didn't want to) to never call someone stupid, or be condescending. Nevertheless, I'll try one last time to sum up my thoughts and rebuttals to the last few posts.
There is art and there is professional photography. You can do art all you want, but that's not really what we are concerned with here. We are concerned with professional photography which is not just the ART of it, but also all the stuff that goes into being a PRO. Part of being a pro is the marketing, branding, accounting, clean up, tax prep, maintenance, snow removal, etc. Just because there are mundane aspects to what we do it doesn't detract from or dilute the magic of the art. It doesn't mean our work has no substance if we also engage in the necessary activities of running the business.
There is not a single successful company that does not properly brand and market. It just doesn't happen. Even if you don't see it, it is happening. It is NOT (as nOtLisy so nicely put it) a lie, its just helping a potential client (who is almost certainly not as educated in the work that you do) about why what you do has value. All this talk of letting the photos sell themselves assumes that the client has enough expert opinion on photography to discern what is great, good, mediocre, etc. This is where I think the attitude is naive. I don't say naive to be mean, I intend the literal use of the word naive.
I charge a fairly high sum of money for what I do. I don't charge it to rip anyone off, I charge it because I know how much it actually costs to run a business and most photographers don't bother to learn this stuff. They charge on what everyone else is charging, and everyone else is probably charging ineffectively. On top of this, a large percentage of those lower-priced photographers are pretty good photographers. If branding is badwrongawful, how will I get by? Are you insinuating that I don't deserve a living because there is a cheaper, pretty good photographer down the street?
Its easy to talk about throwing branding out the window when you are charging market rate. Its easy to be dismissive if you aren't aiming for the best you can do in both art and business. I am trying to do the best I can do in both, and as such I put just as much effort into business as I do photography. I refuse to feel bad about this or take on an art-school-guilt trip about selling out or lying about what I do. Its naive. I sell my work at an appropriate price to people who want what I do. To find those people, or better yet to help them find me, I have to brand.
Because branding helps clients make decisions. They are having a hard time choosing between us out there. As you all know, there are tons of us now. How will they choose? Because whether you like it or not, its NOT easy for a non-photographer to just look at portfolios and feel utterly confident of their decision. The reason for that is there are a whole set of concerns beyond just the portfolio. If you are ignoring branding, you are ignoring this fundamental concern in the mind of a wedding photography client. They not only wany good photos, they want a sympathetic eye, or a fashionable approach, or a caring friend, or whatever. They don't just want good photos, they want the right person/brand/studio/experience/etc. This is what branding does for us. It helps to encapsulate ALL the value that we can provide, and it helps to frame for the non-expert client exactly what the value of our particular portfolio provides.
But, its entirely possible that I'm just full of stupid, condescending "bubble" talk. I guess if that's what you believe then that's fine. I guess I shouldn't have bothered posting any of my thoughts for the benefit of others. I guess I should have kept my opinions to myself. I guess the 80% of my time that I spend on branding was wasted, as the business was going to come no matter what?
But that talk is just sour grapes on my part. I'm sorry if people don't get it. I've tried to post ideas that I believe are empirically beneficial to anyone endeavoring to run a successful, profitable, sustainable photography business. All I can say is that I am positive this stuff will help. Ignore it if you like.
thanks
- trr
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