3 Tips for Beginning Photographers with André Brown
When starting a business, there is a lot of pressure and urgency to be successful. From the moment we begin, many entrepreneurs, myself included, are off to the races with no clear path or direction on how to get to their desired destination. This leaves us flying by the seat of our pants, making mistake after mistake, prolonging the journey to reaching our goals. In the famous words of Zig Ziglar: “You can’t hit a target you can’t see.”
Photographers starting out today have a tremendous advantage with the amount of access to education and other resources available. You no longer have to make the business mistakes many of us did when starting out and you can get a head start by learning from others. Compared to the start of my photography career, there is so much more access to mentorship and communities willing to teach and share with up and coming photographers. With that in mind, I’m sharing my three tips for photographers who are just beginning to give you a head start on your journey to a successful career as a photographer.
Second Shoot, Third Shoot
You may have heard me say time and time again that before I’d photographed my first wedding, I hadn’t really attended a wedding. This left me at a huge disadvantage as I had no point of reference as to how a wedding day would or should flow, nor did I know what to expect. My early clients could have certainly benefited from me shooting more before taking on their weddings and honestly, I would have appreciated it too. In photography, and particularly wedding photography, it’s important to understand all the intricacies of the business and some things only come with first-hand experience.
Don’t misunderstand—I made numerous attempts to reach out to photographers in my local markets in an effort to second shoot, third shoot or even just hold a bag as an assistant. However, each and every one of them either ignored me or flat out told me no. This is largely why I mentor as many people as I can, either by allowing them to assist me or via my in-person workshops. Sometimes we just need that little bit of encouragement or confirmation that we are doing something right or be steered in the right direction if we are not.
