There are some people that are just easy on the eyes and due
to this no matter what I do many potential clients will never see me as
compared to some of my competition. No amount of plastic surgery will make me
Brad Pitt or Adam Levine.
Back in 1993 John Gray wrote a very popular book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. A great quote from the book is “Men are motivated when they feel needed while women are motivated when they feel cherished.”
Sometimes you are just not the right person just based on your gender. Yes there are people who break this rule for anything you can mention. The point is if someone is looking for a woman because of their comfort level for this particular job and I tried to get the job, well I would have a difficult road ahead to get them to see me as capable of doing the job.
I could go on and on giving many different examples of thing that are just out of your control. What is better use of our time is what can you do that you can control?
How you look
If we all listened to our doctors and took care of ourselves then we would all look healthy. Maybe we need to lose some weight or even gain a few pounds.
Everyone can also control their grooming. The hair style [if you have hair] you choose can make a huge difference in your appearance.
Your wardrobe can speak volumes about you. The one thing I think you need to be aware of if you are in business for yourself especially are you are rarely not being observed. Business attire is worn in many industries and you need to be seen as fitting into those situations if you are managing your appearance.
Just be aware of the unofficial uniform of the industry that you are trying to work with on a regular basis.
Photographer Dave Black has a casual youthful style about him when he is working.
Social Media footprint
Couple of my friends in photography have really done an excellent job of maximizing their social media channels. Two I think of right away are Esther Havens who has more the 10,800 Twitter followers and 4,774 Facebook friends.
The reason she has so many people following her is Esther has many things going for her, but at the core of all those qualities is she is interesting and people like knowing what she is up to and like being entertained by Esther.
Zack Arias is an Atlanta based photographer who has over 88,500+ Twitter followers.
Back in 2009 Zack did a guest blog post on Scott Kelby's blog which I think reveals much of why he is so sought out. People can relate to him and he is pretty transparent as you can see in this post.
Both Zack and Esther are competing against many other great photographers in their disciplines.
One thing is for sure that many clients will reach more people by hiring Esther or Zack if they just tweet about their photo shoot, than if they hire another great shooter who doesn't see the importance of Twitter or Facebook.
Besides the Social Media just get yourself out and connecting with people through networking events and being apart of your community.
Personality
Frankly one of the biggest turn offs with some photographers is their attitude. At the same time that is what is so attractive with another photographer. They are just excited about life and make everyone enjoy their day by just being around them.
Fake it till you make it. This is a common catchphrase that means if you do this it will produce success and in the process give you the confidence to do even more.
Self fulfilling prophecy is simply what you think is what you will become. If you think you are a failure then you will become one. If you think you are successful then you become successful.
Take Control
- Take care of your body and health
- Practice the best of grooming and hygiene
- Wardrobe—Be very intentional in your clothes you wear
- Maximize your network—know where your audience lives and works. Use social media or attend networking events
- Smile—maintain a positive can do attitude
