Sometimes your niche picks you!

[Life in Motion]

I remember when i was first starting out a year ago and i was trying to develop what style/niche of photography i wanted to do. I explored each area of photography trying to see what caught my eye and i enjoyed the most. Still I find myself wanting to learn and explore all the many niches/areas of photography. Not really sure what I love the most about it and how i would label myself at this point. But, somehow there is a label creating itself to the public.

I am noticing more and more, people who come to me are looking for some of those candid style portraits that just happen sometimes in a shoot lol. And people actually end up ordering more and bigger candids than the sit and looking at the camera perfect ones....they always say...OMG that is soooo him/her/us i have to have a big one of that lol. Somehow this is what I'm becomming known for....hmmmm. Then they will say i want one of your collages with all the candid pics. I am getting collage orders with every single shoot now. So interesting to see what people and word of mouth want/say end up building your photography style as much as anything else. People come to you for something they see you've created/captured before and then that ends up being the type of customers you begin to develop. I am definitely turning into a Lifestyle children/family photographer but interestingly not necessarily all my choice either....purely by what one customer at a time is looking for when they come to me from seeing something from a recent client has whirlwinded into a domino effect of the customer base/type i'm am creating lol.

Just interesting to me how sometimes you pick your niche and then again sometimes your niche "picks you"!


My question is...Is this how many of you experienced finding your niches? or was your niche purely your decision/thought out plan??


***i would like to say that i was unsure where to post this, so if it's needs to be moved, sorry and feel free to move it***

The automotive thing picked me for sure.

[candidrachel]

Of course candid is the way to go! I've been saying it all along! Even my username say it!

Good for you for getting out there!

I want to get there too but am just not brave enough yet. It's so important to capture the real true personality of a child that just cannot be replicated in a studio setting. The home environment is the setting/backdrop.

[Life in Motion]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

The automotive thing picked me for sure.

See! it's not just me . And I'm sure everyone who sees your work just thinks that's what you do because when you started off you set out to do ..."the automotive thing"... because you love it the most. Much like a college student who has to pick their major/specialty in a certain degree. Would you say it is hard to turn around and break into another direction of photography once you've done a certain niche for so long and been branded that certain type of photographer? Sometimes i think it would be like watching an actor who is obviously comedian style actor turn around and play in a serious drama/action/hero role lol....just seems odd to everyone on the outside who has only seen him/her as a comedian. But, maybe when that actor started out....he wanted to do drama/action/hero roles more than anything else, before the industry branded him comedian from a few roles.

I know i'm on a soap box lol....just been contemplating a lot lately. To see if i want to continue down this niche that has chosen me and own up to it and go ahead brand myself as a "Lifestyle children/family photographer"....or start another direction before it is too late to be able to make a switch. ya know?

[Niresangwa]

I don't think this is an unusual situation at all, in fact, I'd be surprised if the majority didn't find themselves where they, are doing what they do, because of it.

With photography especially, it's a case of initially you take what you can get, so you do it, gain the experience and build your portfolio in that area. If you were successful, the clients share your work, and others looking for a similar thing see it, and hire you, etc. etc.

I also think that because there's an imperative to just do work when you first start out, you'll take almost anything you're offered. It's a lot easier than it is to set a certain course and try to break into it, so we allow our careers to be molded by opportunity.

I always said that I would never shoot a wedding. In a disturbing twist of irony, thanks to my sister in law, the first thing I was essentially forced to do was a wedding. Now it's what I do for a living, without any real conscious desire to do so in the beginning. I don't especially love people, and don't like weddings. I could literally count on one hand how many I attended before I started doing this, actively avoided them to the chagrin of my wife and family.

Ultimately you have to decide if the niche you're looking at is something you feel you can sustain and continue develop, and whether you have the fortitude to break away from it and start over if it's not.

[sk66]

Success generally finds you....
If you are lucky, it happens to be closely related to what you are aspiring towards.

[Life in Motion]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

I don't think this is an unusual situation at all, in fact, I'd be surprised if the majority didn't find themselves where they, are doing what they do, because of it.

With photography especially, it's a case of initially you take what you can get, so you do it, gain the experience and build your portfolio in that area. If you were successful, the clients share your work, and others looking for a similar thing see it, and hire you, etc. etc.

I also think that because there's an imperative to just do work when you first start out, you'll take almost anything you're offered. It's a lot easier than it is to set a certain course and try to break into it, so we allow our careers to be molded by opportunity.

I always said that I would never shoot a wedding. In a disturbing twist of irony, thanks to my sister in law, the first thing I was essentially forced to do was a wedding. Now it's what I do for a living, without any real conscious desire to do so in the beginning. I don't especially love people, and don't like weddings. I could literally count on one hand how many I attended before I started doing this, actively avoided them to the chagrin of my wife and family.

Ultimately you have to decide if the niche you're looking at is something you feel you can sustain and continue develop, and whether you have the fortitude to break away from it and start over if it's not.

Can i just say...."i ALWAYS love your advice and comments" ! You are always so honest and straight forward but at the same time put a lot of sincerity in your replies. Thank you! it's good to hear the thoughts of a pro....I never would have thought that's how you found your niche. Very nice to hear the honesty! thanks again for your comment.

Originally Posted by sk66

Success generally finds you....
If you are lucky, it happens to be closely related to what you are aspiring towards.

I love that!

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by Life in Motion

Can i just say...."i ALWAYS love your advice and comments" ! You are always so honest and straight forward but at the same time put a lot of sincerity in your replies. Thank you! it's good to hear the thoughts of a pro....I never would have thought that's how you found your niche. Very nice to hear the honesty! thanks again for your comment.

Well, thank you. Although it's sometimes a bit embarrassing to admit that I don't particularly like weddings, because I see so many people out there trying so hard to break into the field, like it's their dream job (I do wonder if it would be their dream job once they actually did it though).

You can feel their enthusiasm and love for the idea of doing it, and sometimes it makes me feel ungrateful for what essentially fell into my lap. It honestly makes me question whether I should be doing it at all. It really started as a personal challenge (while I'm confessing), along the lines of "how hard would it really be to start a business?" ...if you'd told me two years ago this is what I would be doing, I would have laughed you out of the room.

Given that I still have a healthy distaste and reluctance towards weddings, it forces me to 'make the most' of the situation I'm in, and forces me to approach things differently, which ended up being the real niche I developed.

So in essence though overall I never picked wedding photography, I did pick how I do it. I guess the old cliche about 'playing the hand you're dealt' is what's important.

Originally Posted by Life in Motion

See! it's not just me . And I'm sure everyone who sees your work just thinks that's what you do because when you started off you set out to do ..."the automotive thing"... because you love it the most. Much like a college student who has to pick their major/specialty in a certain degree. Would you say it is hard to turn around and break into another direction of photography once you've done a certain niche for so long and been branded that certain type of photographer? Sometimes i think it would be like watching an actor who is obviously comedian style actor turn around and play in a serious drama/action/hero role lol....just seems odd to everyone on the outside who has only seen him/her as a comedian. But, maybe when that actor started out....he wanted to do drama/action/hero roles more than anything else, before the industry branded him comedian from a few roles.

I know i'm on a soap box lol....just been contemplating a lot lately. To see if i want to continue down this niche that has chosen me and own up to it and go ahead brand myself as a "Lifestyle children/family photographer"....or start another direction before it is too late to be able to make a switch. ya know?

Is it tough to switch gears? Not really. I'm branded a lot of things in life. I've had people ask me to do weddings, portraits...etc.... I frankly don't have time nor do I honestly give a crap about those things, but I still get asked to do them.

When you have a niche, you actually open up MORE doors for yourself because you DO have a name for yourself. Rather than being the "jack of all trades"... no one wants that guy. They want someone who's totally killer in that field that just so happens to be able to do other stuff.

~Eric

[candidrachel]

I suppose all you need is one satisfied client to get the ball rolling right? Hmmm I'm still waiting for that lol! (not that I'm trying).