Photography, Who Do You Want To Be?

David Williams • January 6, 2025

Define Who You Want To Be Photographically

The camera is a magical tool that can create dreams, sell products, report news, document history...the list goes on and on. The question is how do you break into the world of photography and create success? This is the question all photographers must answer, at least in the beginning. 


I don't claim to have the answers as I'm constantly learning as well, but here are some concepts that might be helpful if you are trying to sell your images. I am primarily an African Wildlife photographer and my area of focus is editorial, print and fine art sales.


Many people I meet haven't asked the simple question of who they want to be photographically. They just put images on social media and hope gaining a large following will turn into a career. While that may happen to some, it has been my experience that the people who do well from Facebook and Instagram are people who also have a monster presence on YouTube, they seem to go hand in hand. 


So how do you carve out your own path to success? 


1. Choose where you want to start. I have met people who only care about winning photo contests, others just want huge likes and followers on FB and IG. Maybe it's just sharing photos with family and friends, or maybe you have set your sights on fashion and someday the cover of Vogue. Who do you want to be? The reason it's important to define is because taking and editing an image to hang in a home or business is very different from what will get you likes on social media, and again, very different from what a photo editor or graphic designer might choose for their next editorial project. 


Case in point: A few months ago I attended a seminar sponsored by a camera manufacturer. I met a man there from a large photographic education corporation. We spoke about the industry and he agreed he submits one type of image to the contests and something completely different to his gallery for sales. 


2. Become very capable of consistently producing high quality images that are engaging and unique. If you are taking pictures of all of the Instagram fame spots think again. A graphic designer or photo editor has been seeing images of those places from pros for decades, he also knows some of them and trusts them. Being able to copy the pros prior work most likely won't get you work, you will need to present something they haven't seen a 1,000 times. 


3. When crafting your photographic style, be very careful who you listen to or learn from. You would be surprised at how many people are creating content on how to shoot and edit your images, and yet, are unable to sell their own images. Yes, they make money from social media, but it's through ads, photo tours, gear reviews, etc. 


Case in point: I follow a You-tuber who creates instructional videos on shooting and editing photos. He has a large following and is quite well known in the industry. At year end he posted a video about his income and revenue streams. He stated his income from photo sales was so low he removed the photo sales portion from his website. The moral is be careful who you let guide you through your photographic journey.


So back to the question, Who do you want to be photographically? Define it, pick mentors carefully and stay positive.


However you chose to proceed, good luck and good light to you.


About David Williams: David specializes in African Wildlife, Landscape, Indigenous People Cultural Photography and LDS Temple Art. 

See his work at https://www.davidwilliamsphotography.com 

https://davidwilliams.photoshelter.com/index 

https://www.instagram.com/david_williams_photography_

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1657414100