A photography business question came in to the site from Eli -
My question to you is: should equipment or technique be part of your brand?
My gut reaction is “No, not for me” but then I dig deeper and realize it already is (a small part). I talk to my clients about have the right tools for any situation, making them look great (with lighting & posing), etc.
I had a second photographer working with me at my last wedding, and she commented that I use much more equipment than everyone else she’s worked for. I’m wondering if I should emphasize this stuff more because I know it differentiates me.
Eli
Equipment is a weak way to co-opt value from somewhere other than yourself. And to be fair, I’m guilty of it too. I thought I was going to switch to Leica because it would make me cool and mysterious and all kinds of other pretentious nonsense. People are shooting film or medium-format to try and buy some value or difference instead of creating that value through their work.
Yes, you can do it, I just think it is a bad idea. It is bad because anyone else can buy what you’ve been using and then you’ve convinced the market to hire anyone with that stuff, not just you. That’s simply bad marketing.
The other thing I hate about marketing one’s gear is that people tend to associate the work that you do with the gear instead of the person creating it. Yes, you can talk about all the stuff you are carrying, but they aren’t hiring your gear list, are they? Plus, as a side note, I can tell you that most wedding professionals (read – not photographers) think all the stuff we are carrying draws too much attention and takes too long to set up. Again, that’s a side note, but one I’ve heard over and over again. As far as I can tell only photographers think all that stuff is cool.
Technique is another thing, but honestly the clients are typically hiring us because they don’t know as much about technique as we do. Instead of marketing technique, I’d market the benefit of those techniques. Even so, I think technique is a tough thing to build value out of because it is so rooted in craft and separated from meaning. Again, you can do it, I just think there are better ways.
For some thoughts on better things to market:
- Do You Want to Be Hired for Who You Are?
- What is Branding?
- What your Brand is Not vs. What your Brand Is
- A Lesson on Branding from WPPI
- The Secret to Communicating your Value to the Client
- trr
P.S. – Need branding help? Come to SEXY BUSINESS, Read the MANIFESTO. Or see us at Mystic Seminars or the MUSEA GATHERING in 2013.
Couldn’t agree more.
I can’t think of a product I buy where I’d care about the equipment that was used to make it. I care about the product and how it makes me feel.
Technique might have slightly more marketing relevance, e.g. if you’re selling something that people enjoy knowing is handmade, but it hardly applies to photography. Who cares if you shoot in manual mode, or green square mode? I don’t even think people care about film or digital, and they certainly won’t remember in 20 years when they’re looking at their images.
But what do I know, I sold my Omega Seamaster Pro watch because it was beautiful but COULDN”T KEEP THE RIGHT TIME.
Gear talk drives me mad and it just fuels the idea that ‘a nice camera’ is all that’s needed.
Thanks for the post Todd. That’s pretty much what I was thinking, but it’s nice to have it spelled out so clearly. Really love the “What is Branding” article too & I’ll be chewing on that for a little while…
I have to say i am guilty of that, but there is a reason for it in my mind. In our market are many photographers who are using subpar equipment and they do love the fact that customers often pick them based on 600px big images on the website. I am not scared to admit that I am gear head to my couples, it is in fact part of my brand. That I am photographer from morning to night and putting velvia next to bread for kid’s breakfast in the mall’s shopping cart. Normal people think I am crazy fascinated and attached to what I do resulting in a booking and those who have photography as hobby book us because they trust we won’t show up with D90 and kit lens, because they know, that what counts are not those 50 pics on the website, but how all will look.