New photography businesses pop up and disappear every day. At least once a week, I get a new request to “like” a new photography studio from a friend or acquaintance with a new-found hobby or passion.
So with increased competition, lower costs to entering the market, and readily available educational resources such as Photography Blogger, it may seem somewhere in between difficult and impossible to survive.
I believe that one of the keys to succeeding still comes down to the basic business idea of product differentiation. Yes, a lot of photographers are developing the “lifestyle,” back-lit, low-aperture approach to portraiture, applying vintage effects and often times resulting in competitive, attractive, and marketable photography. So it’s more important than ever to develop a distinct style.
Our photography studio, Lin and Jirsa, has decided to incorporate HDRs and Night Shots to round out our style. This has worked for us, but it’s important to do what works for you. Maybe edgy fashion-esque lighting or textured post production is your thing. Or maybe your style fits with the quirky, random, and fun styles. Whatever it is, it takes consistency to be recognized for any distinct style. For more information on our shooting style, including posing and post production, please see our SLR Lounge Store.
HDR Wedding Photography
HDRs are challenging for portraiture because of the crazy skin tones that they can create. You might need additional software like Photomatix and a lot of practice finding the right balance between a realistic photograph and an over-processed one. However, the results can be well worth it. Here are a few examples of the HDR style we have developed.
Night Time Wedding Photography
Night Time photography applied to portraiture is a great way to differentiate your style because it presents a lot of challenges for photographers. When overcome, the same concepts that made the shots difficult to achieve are the same reasons they’re appreciated by clients and peers. Here are a few examples:
In conclusion, I am not saying that everyone should go out and start doing HDR portraiture and Night Shots. What I’m suggesting is that we all need to find a combination of styles that make us different and separate us from the crowd. Capturing emotion and great moments is still our priority at weddings. In my opinion, they are still the most appreciated by our clients in the long run. However, these days we need more in our portfolio and our blog entries, and it’s up to you to find out what fits you as an artist and as a brand.
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