Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an. They were well aware of their niche.

What kind of photographer are you? I don’t mean are you an amateur or a professional; rather what subject genre do you associate with? I recently came across the website of a photographer who was a self-described “Photojournalism, Wedding, Sport, Portrait, Geographic, Fine Art, Event and Commercial Photographer”. Now, the photographs themselves were great and the photographer was very talented. However, if I’m a potential client and I read and am told that a photographer shoots weddings, car racing and architecture, I’m likely to think that he’s a “jack of all trades, master of none”, and I’ll pass over him in search of the master in the particular field I need photographs in.

Finding your niche is important, especially in the age of Google. If a search for your genre of photography doesn’t see your name on the front page of search engines, you’re going to have a hard time attracting interest. When was the last time you went to the second or third or fiftieth page of search results?

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that unless you have a defined niche and market that you’re aiming for, you won’t be successful. This especially applies to those of you who are new to the industry or have dreams of making a living from photography.

Right about now, I’m sure some of you are thinking or saying, “But _____”. If you look at the successful generalists today, you’ll see that they were usually already established photographers before the digital and new media revolutions and the changed industry we see today. They could use those relationships and the name they already had to step into the digital age. To make it today, you need a niche. You need a defined market and defined style. Only then will you be a success.

Should you decide that you want to focus on two completely separate areas, then consider having two completely separate portfolios, two completely separate websites and two completely separate marketing plans.

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