The Unique Answer to a Common Problem
What's the common problem all photographers face? You can pick almost any photography segment for this illustration, but I will pick on High School Senior Portraits as an example.
Randomly choose 10 Senior portrait photographers from an area of about 100 miles from your front door.
These should be professionals with a reasonable amount of success.
In other words, they produce good work.
Now, these 10 professional senior photographers all have images on their website.
They will show a variety of poses, styles, artistic effects, etc.
There will be a mix of studio and outdoor images.
As you look over these images what do you notice? We are naturally wired to notice what is unique.
The images that you will remember are going to be different.
The rest will fade into a blur after a few moments.
Imagine these photographers creating one image each of a high school senior girl leaning against a tree.
Nine of these girls are all similar.
Blonde hair, yellow shirt, leaning against a large oak tree.
The only thing we have to do as photographers to be noticed is to be different.
Let's reveal the final image (the one you have created) of the group.
Fire engine red haired young lady wearing a shirt that was just as red as her hair.
Instead of leaning against a tree, she's leaning against a telephone pole, with a rustic alley in the background.
Out of all these images what gets noticed? Sometimes image quality doesn't matter.
What if your pose isn't perfect, or the lighting is off just a hair.
Does it matter? Not in this example it doesn't.
Everyone believes that to succeed in photography, you need the best images.
It's just not true.
You need unique images.
When every photographer in your area is getting ready to Zig, you need to Zag.
Being different means getting noticed.
Are you afraid to be different? It can be scary to go your own way.
I firmly believe that it's worth the emotional risk.
When you are different, you share something personal with others.
I know that's risky, but the result is worth it.
Okay, so what's the result? That little bit of difference will resonate with a percentage of people who will love it and with a percentage that hates it.
Before you realized the power of being unique you will be passed over by a lot of clients.
Clients that would mesh well with your style and your personality.
These clients would love the results you produce, and love working with you.
Unfortunately, they don't choose you, because you didn't stand out enough to get that second glance.
Add a little difference in your area of expertise, and those clients will start looking your way, seeing the difference between you and every other photographer you compete against.
Randomly choose 10 Senior portrait photographers from an area of about 100 miles from your front door.
These should be professionals with a reasonable amount of success.
In other words, they produce good work.
Now, these 10 professional senior photographers all have images on their website.
They will show a variety of poses, styles, artistic effects, etc.
There will be a mix of studio and outdoor images.
As you look over these images what do you notice? We are naturally wired to notice what is unique.
The images that you will remember are going to be different.
The rest will fade into a blur after a few moments.
Imagine these photographers creating one image each of a high school senior girl leaning against a tree.
Nine of these girls are all similar.
Blonde hair, yellow shirt, leaning against a large oak tree.
The only thing we have to do as photographers to be noticed is to be different.
Let's reveal the final image (the one you have created) of the group.
Fire engine red haired young lady wearing a shirt that was just as red as her hair.
Instead of leaning against a tree, she's leaning against a telephone pole, with a rustic alley in the background.
Out of all these images what gets noticed? Sometimes image quality doesn't matter.
What if your pose isn't perfect, or the lighting is off just a hair.
Does it matter? Not in this example it doesn't.
Everyone believes that to succeed in photography, you need the best images.
It's just not true.
You need unique images.
When every photographer in your area is getting ready to Zig, you need to Zag.
Being different means getting noticed.
Are you afraid to be different? It can be scary to go your own way.
I firmly believe that it's worth the emotional risk.
When you are different, you share something personal with others.
I know that's risky, but the result is worth it.
Okay, so what's the result? That little bit of difference will resonate with a percentage of people who will love it and with a percentage that hates it.
Before you realized the power of being unique you will be passed over by a lot of clients.
Clients that would mesh well with your style and your personality.
These clients would love the results you produce, and love working with you.
Unfortunately, they don't choose you, because you didn't stand out enough to get that second glance.
Add a little difference in your area of expertise, and those clients will start looking your way, seeing the difference between you and every other photographer you compete against.
