What Are The 3 Essentials To Succeed In Photography?

What Are The Essentials To Succeed In Photography? I think it boils down to 3 things...

1. preparation
   
2. creation 
   
3. sales.

Preparation involves researching, practising and learning photography. This involves analysing inspiring images, planning a big photo project to focus on, reading books on great photographers and practising making photographs, everyday.

Creation comes after preparation. It’s the climax of all the previous hours spent researching, learning and practising. It involves making the image you spent months planning on, editing the image in post production until it’s what you envisioned and creating countless prints of the image until you are satisfied that it matches what you visualised.

Sales is the final step in the process, but the most overlooked by photographers. Preparation and Sales separate the outlier from the average amateur. Sales is advertising your work. It’s showing it to people. It’s sending press release emails to journalists after a career milestone. It’s using social media as leverage to gain an audience and make yourself a brand. It’s pitching your work to big city gallery dealers or brands. It can be as simple as posting your photo on Instagram.

Outlier photographers create great work and advertise it. The more people who see your work, the more leverage you have. The more leverage you have, the more influence and wealth you have. The more of that you have, the more you will be able to create photos you love for a living.

Thank you for reading, and until next episode,

Keep improving. 

Jacob J. Watson-Howland

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