Finding Your Foothold In A Saturated Industry Is A Problem Us Photographers And Videographers Face
Wedding photography and videography can be a little tricky – it’s easy to produce repeated works or get too caught up in following trends that currently work. Sometimes we wonder if we’re able to break through the cycle and create something new that has never been seen in the wedding photography and videography industry. At times, the industry is seemingly stagnant. At times, everyone struggles to find their foothold in this saturated industry. It is a problem we all face and constantly talk about.
Over the last year, Kompactfaen has been more than a business to us. It is a garden where ideas have grown and flourished. We’re blessed to have reached out to people from all over the world, from home in Singapore, to the USA. From being awarded with New York Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Star in 2018, to giving our two cents worth on a panel during the WPPI Conference this year, it made us stop in our tracks a little and start figuring out what it was that made Kompactfaen stand out.
We started thinking about our processes, our mindsets, and how works from Kompactfaen were created and showcased. How our brand of “Delving Deeper” was created. Through that, we found some keys to staying creative in this industry. We found some answers to the questions of, “How do I differentiate myself,” and, “How do I find my style?” It was eye opening for us, so we hope that these steps provide some direction to our fellow friends.
Understand What Matters To You
Every business needs an objective, it needs an aim.
Wedding photography and videography involve documenting an extremely intimate part of life, of humanity. It may be something many of us overlook as we naturally focus on things like composition and lighting. However, being involved in such a personal part of a marriage requires some form of concern and love for the people you’re photographing and filming. Figuring out what aspect of this moment means the most to you and focus on it as a start.
New Is Never Popular
Karl Lagerfield once said, “Trendy is the last stage of being tacky.” It’s easy for trends to die. Even though trends are a good indicator of quality and it garners attention, it is never stable and you should never garner business directions based on trends.
On the contrary, things that are new will never be popular. People tend to reject things that are foreign, things that they are not used to. It’s always hard work challenging habits and norms. Drawing references from the diffusion of innovation, we see that the rate of adoption for new ideas and technology always follows a curve – the peak is never during the early stages. Meaning, setting a new trend or introducing a new style can never garner the most likes or become most sought after immediately. With this understanding, coming up with new ideas/concepts/imageries is no longer about garnering the approval for most people but to solidifying your concepts and work instead. When people seem to disapprove what you’ve created, there are lesser ill feelings but more objectivity. This helps greatly in evaluating your own works in the most balanced way possible.
Do Impractical Stuff And Unnecessary Creations
Creativity is like muscle. It weakens with lesser usage and strengthens with consistent exercise. With every paid shoot comes expectations and criterions of others to be met. However, shoots of your own are your safe spaces to experiment and to create. Sometimes, too many restrictions and expectations cause us to recreate, whether intentional or not. When a shoot has no particular purpose tagged to it, that’s when you become daring and you are able to inject your ideas into a piece of work. It’s okay even if it doesn’t turn out to look good. We all start from and get to somewhere. This requires lot of time and effort that doesn’t seem to reap anything in the short run, but trust us that you’ll see results of this practice in the long run.
Pleasing Clients Is Important, But Know When To Take A Step Back To Your “Self”
To round the article up, our very last point speaks about respect for yourself, your peers, and the clients you serve. With hard work and sincerity, you have a solid foundation to stand on. In face of unreasonable requests, unfavorable comments and undesirable situations, you’ll be able to take pride in your work as you’re subconsciously certain of the amount of time and effort you’ve spent. You respect your own hard work, and that’s what you respect, both compliments and complaints. And you learn to deal with bad situations or comments respectfully and with stride.
Even though service is important, caring about your clients is also important. You stop focusing solely on pleasing people when you’re creating, but learn to create collaborative work – something that your clients love and something that you love – through deliberate communication and cooperation.
Ultimately, the soul of a good piece of work cannot lie.
Your style will be the core of your business – how you execute, how you care, how you communicate, and how you look. It is not something that is obvious at first glance, but it takes time for clients to explore and understand. That’s when you start speaking to people and are able to form your own identity to differentiate yourself.
You can see more of Kompactfaen’s work at Kompactfaen.com, and keep up with them on Instagram, Vimeo, and Facebook.