If you’re asking yourself whether being a generalist or specialist photographer is the best route for your photography career, then you’re in the right place!
In this video, we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of both generalist and specialist photography and help you decide which route is best for you. Be sure to leave a comment below, as we would love to hear your feedback!
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34 responses to “My Huge Mistake: How This Changed My Mind”
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I view your channel for its common sense and practical honesty, it’s obvious that you are niche photographer and also that their are general photographers out there, that’s life.
I'm a total jack and know I'd be more "successful" if I concentrated on just one thing. But I know I'd get so daggone bored shooting just one thing all the time. I've also had quite a few clients hire me because they don't have to hire separate people to photograph their needs.
Thanks for clarifying for all the people who don’t live close to the major shooting areas. I love your channel and I appreciate all your content. Thanks, Scott.
The idea of solving a problem and providing a solution is a perspective I had not thought of before. Great food for thought. Thank you.
Thanks matey. I live in the armpit of South African cities (albeit if you really go into the infrastructure we have left…not so much) and I did understand you first take on this. Absolute niching means different realities. I have niched a bit, in part to the future work I want to create (clients) and in part due to the current clients I have (NGO documentary). I do however love the point you made about redefining your market. It's not headshots…it's solving business problems. I am seriously considering creating a second website for this specific differentiation.
Building my first Google Ads campaign and it is starting to strike me that I am, broadly speaking, looking for two very distinctly different clients. Headshots and businesses are different to portraits and high end commercial work. The former is businesses in my local area within driving distance of say half a day. The latter is, if I market it right, flying to a client location to do the work with multiple collaborators making the shoot work (high end portraiture with MAU and Stylist and Hair | Commercial work being much like my film industry collaboration but being stills).
Really really enjoy your snippets from the boring say it as it is side of it.
Your Lower Third is sloppy.
I'd say it depends upon where one lives, in Vietnam where I'm living now, it's better to be a jack of all trades. Most Vietnamese don't really hold high regard for photographers. We don't really feel that our arts are appreciated . 90% of the top photographers who shoot with big brands or A list celebrities come from very wealthy families and that's entirely different to the rest hence it's also a different story and they are a minority. Many of these wealthy photographers are truly talented undoubtedly, they also have great connections with the best of everything, from agencies, models, big brands etc, and they're able to do brilliant personal projects, having a good team, hiring the top models, borrowing or rent outfits for the shoot from the best fashion shops/designers out there and they don't really have to worry about where the next meals are coming from. They're able to spend to build such beautiful portfolios for themselves. My team just did a 12-hour shoot for a famous French cosmetic brand in Vietnam, and in the end we got paid no more than £500 because we don't have a big name. Hate to admit that we have become jack-o-all-trades, shooting all sort of genres, just to survive, especially during the financial crisis. Hope this gives you a different perspective. Love your contents as always, cheers!
thing that are important to be good photographer ,, 1 people you know ,2 location , 3have the gear to do the job , your talent you vison you style are woth nothing ,
Atlanta, Georgia USA has been doing a lot of film and advertising in the last few years
Good point and yes ceramicist is a word.
I’ve become somewhat more diverse by complete accident. Besides restaurant work I have somehow managed to get into content creation for a catering company doing Indian weddings. And that has led to what I hope is a start to producing video reels for clients. I have also gotten into some portrait wort with chefs. Then I got pulled into bottle and cocktail work. So far everything has been f&b related. And yet here I am still wanting to get a client like Starbucks. Hehe. Gotta work on that portfolio of mine. Thanks for always great content. Always gets me thinking about how to adapt myself.
Bro please simplify your videos. Becoming painful to filter information out of them,.
Thanks, this video was validating.
I think it's fine to shoot more than one genre, especially if you live outside a major world city where there's less competition, but the key is to not spread yourself too thin and if the genres can be related to each other, it helps you come across as more coherent. I think things like "weddings and events" or "family portraits and headshots" can work pretty well. I stick to one genre (architecture and interiors. Well maybe that's 2. lol) because I live in London and there's enough work to justify doing it, but I still don't like to put all my eggs in one basket (especially since covid), so I do architecture, construction, interior design, retail, hospitality, furniture and interior related products (e.g. kitchens or lighting) etc. Basically anything to do with buildings or the stuff that goes into them or around them. It's quite a wide gamut of things, but there's a consistent them running through everything, so when you look through my website, it's easy to understand what I'm about.
Are you sayimg to provide a solution for an industry we know. For example, the hospitality industry and do shoots for a café, where we do the head shots for the staff, product photography for the food and drink, and interior shots of the café.
“Helping small businesses tell their stories” is the core of my business and what motivated me to start in the first place. And business is booming.
I think a lot of people conflate their photographic style, the type of photography they do, and the genre they work in, under the umbrella of their "niche", when the 3 don't have to be mutually exclusive. For example, you (Scott) shoot bold and graphic product photos in the food and drink space. As you've said yourself, this is a hyper-specific specialty, but it's still your "niche". By contrast, I think you can still be somewhat of a generalist within a very specialized field that you're intimately familiar with. I, for example, shoot a lot of outdoor lifestyle work. On the surface this looks like another "niche", but on any given day it could involve more portrait photography, product photography, sports photography, or even landscape photography. It even requires switching up my style based on the conditions I'm shooting in at times. But that type of work would still be considered a specialty when compared to someone who shoots some family portraits, weddings, and headshots, while also dabbling in product photography, architecture, fashion, and street photography.
Ceramicist is an actual word.
It's great to see you clarify your previous statements! I think there are a lot of benefits to being able to switch genres. I primarily work as a food photographer for PR agencies, marketing departments of restaurant groups, and food brands. I also do a good amount of architectural work. While most of the work is food I frequently need to photograph the interiors of multi-million dollar restaurants, portraits of chefs/owners, and some event work (just finished doing a lot of that for the Beard Awards). I also do some lower paying editorial work as my main means of networking/marketing. Being competent enough to do a variety of commercial genres not only brings in more money, but it makes your clients' lives easier and strengthens your relationships with clients.
You should learn more about the US though, while there are many barren areas there are a lot of cities with loads of commercial work. Miami is great for fashion and Spanish language marketing/advertising, Nashville has a lot of music work, DC has a lot of government and non-profit work, and there's plenty more in other cities. I'm in Chicago and there's loads of all types of work, especially food and architecture. If you ever want to shoot for McDonald's just move to Chicago, it feels like everyone I know here has shot for McDonald's at some point.
You're right. "Ceramicist" is a really cool sounding words that really makes the making of ceramics sound very scientific and makes the person making ceramics sound intelligent, educated and talented. They are all these things. And you very close to the more commonly used word to describe someone who makes ceramics, but that word is really boring by comparison; ceramist.
Hey Scott , This is why I watch you , it takes a truly strong person to admit short coming . A lesser person , would have remain admit about there position.
Very good video. I love your stuff but I’ve always found your super specialization point a bit strong. The geographical difference was a sort of light bulb moment for me (Dutch small town). It makes a lot of sense – as does your point of trying to specialize as much as possible regardless.
I'm glad you clarified. Only being good at one thing just feels risky. I thought of all of those Event / Wedding photographers during the Covid lockdowns. They must have had a hard time. But if they had product photography experience on the side then they could have weathered the storm better.
I agree with you that having a specialty makes more money . Jack of all trades makes average, there are exceptions though especially in the past like Dean Collins.
Great video and I think makes a bit more sense for me and maybe my photographic journey.
EXACTLY, you have precisely described my business! I hope you won't mind a self-indulgent, long winded explanation.
You could say I solve client's problems with a camera. How am I able to do this? By having been a "Jack of all trades" for 35 years!
For the first 10 years my work was mediocre at best, but I was outrageously reliable and reasonably cheap.
During the second 10 year period of my career, I was reliable and reasonably priced, but now with more range, experience and higher quality. Since I now had a real breadth of experience, I was faster than my competition and could work under higher stress conditions. This allowed me to produce high quality work and much higher volume than most.
Now after 35 years, I've done it all. Many, many, many times over. I can produce 90% of what the "big boys" do, but at a more provincial price. And perhaps most importantly… I have out lasted my competition, so a lot of people know me and trust me.
I'm not the "best" photographer, far from it! But, experience and perseverance has now made me so well rounded that I can compete with other younger photographers, who are far more talented than me.
Truth be told though, I think my career has spanned a golden era that may not exist any more. It may not be possible for new professionals to have the same type of career I've had. Cheers
Sounds like a really great advice 🙂👌 Thank you!
I've used the "problem solving" approach in photography for many years. A customer has a "need" to fill, but not the expertise and time to fulfill the need, i.e.: "problem." I present my photo services as a tool to promote their business. I have discovered that being a specialist in solving problems and a generalist in what "problems" you can solve is a good approach. Sure, you'll end up doing some really odd shoots, but it's never boring.
Great video and the last one, great combo. Not easy to get this whole view. I wish I knew it when I started. Thanks!
Bloody good show old chap. Great explanation for all those bunnies buying the latest kit thinking that they'll kill every genre. As someone who is now a defunkt bohemian doing whatever, I used to be that person sitting on a beach and getting a text message from an agency in L/A, Shanghai or Hongkong. Not anymore, as am past the use-by date, and Covid killed my lifestyle. Who cares anyway. Press on enjoy life and get those punters telling good stories. Theres certainly a lack of them in this day and age, both still and moving. 🙂
As someone who travels the world working as a food, portrait, event, architecture, concert, and lifestyle photographer I've watched your videos and others and laughed when people tell others to only get good at one thing. Being good at one thing is good if you are working by yourself. But owning a creative agency you find your niche can be much more than one genre of photography. So thank you for actually explaining this to people. However it's more important to understand your client, who they are, and what they need. My niche may include many genres which sounds odd, but the secret and most important part is my clients are super niche. They need and want a very specific set of skills. So instead of focusing on being super niche. Find a client and service that client. The more niche the client. The better (usually)
Great insight, as usual! I just watched your video (from yesterday) about photographer's websites, which also helped me. How does the website stuff tie to being a (sort of) jack of all trades? If I'd do portrait photography for small businesses and self-employed people AND band photography (both with an emphasis on telling their story), would you advice to present the photos from both categories mixed together on my homepage? Or would you say it's better to have visitors make a choice between band and business on the homepage?
Thanks! Enjoying your content!
Thank you for the nuance! Love these videos