How to Succeed in Commercial Photography : Insights From a Leading Consultant

only do one type of photography, and thereby lose work. They

try to be everything to everyone, which makes them nothing to

everyone. They are missing the point. Marketing a single vision

takes advantage of a photographer’s strengths.”

Ten years ago, it was common for photographers to have a

portfolio that included different categories of photography,

such as corporate location, food, still life, and portrait. That was

when buyers were relationship oriented. They worked with one

photographer on everything. Now, with an abundance of assign-

ment photographers and stock photography, buyers are more

sophisticated. In addition, companies spend millions of dollars

developing a specific visual brand to which their campaigns are

tailored. Consequently, agency, design, and corporate prospects

buy portfolios that speak to the project’s visual needs. They are

not buying personalities.

Instead of shooting a lot of different categories, your portfolio

should reflect a vision that can be applied to many categories.

Different prospects will see your vision-based portfolio as it applies

to their needs, needs that change over time. Rather than being

restrictive, this kind of approach leads to many opportunities.

The alternative is to present a portfolio with a variety of tech-

niques, subjects, and styles. Unless you have been photographing

for years, diligently developing your style in many different areas,

your talent is likely to be stronger in some areas and weaker in others.

Thus, showing lots of different approaches or areas of focus not

only confuses your public but leads to portfolios that have images

that are not consistent in their strength. Clearly, creating portfolios

that contain some hits and some misses is a big mistake.

Photographers often feel that showing only one vision

limits creativity. They don’t want to “do the same thing all the

time.” This is when I remind them that assignments should

never be the only opportunity for creativity. You need to get

into the habit of doing test shots, which push the envelope but

don’t always go into your portfolio. Ultimately, these tests might

well reveal a new market for you to pursue. However, resist the

urge to put any tests into your portfolio until there are enough

that demonstrate a new application of your vision.

“Consistency is key when creating a vision-based portfolio,”

says Kat Dalager, past head of creative art buying for the Target

Corporation, now with Best Buy. Kat, who buys photography

PART2 / VISION

Chapter 07.qxd 6/25/07 7:15 AM Page 44