How to land your first photography client?

Probably the thing every budding photographer wants to know. Which measures do you need to take to land your first photography client? The answer is both difficult and easy to answer.
Obviously, there are lots of different ways in which you can collaborate with companies. Some are easier to do, than others. However we all need to start somewhere. 

The most important thing to start with is your own photos. It is absolutely essential that your photos are good enough, for you to actually work with a client. If you don’t think your photos are good enough, chances are that a potential client will think the same thing. So how do you know? Ask around. One of the best things you can do is to join photo critique groups. A group of likeminded photographers, all with the same purpose. To share their work and improve.
Don’t start contacting clients before your work is good enough to do so. So when do you know? There is no benchmark for when something is good enough. No set amount of followers. Nothing like that. You just have to go with your gut feeling. Do you get great responses for your work? How is it, compared to the people that you compare yourself with?
Look at these things and then decide for yourself. It would be a shame to spend a lot of valuable time contacting potential clients, only to get no response at all. However it would also be a shame to not contact anyone, because you are afraid your work is not good enough.
When you believe it is, jump straight into it. 

How to land your first photography client

So which kind of clients can we actually work with? 

There are lots of possibilities to be honest. Travel companies, transportation, hotels, restaurants, portraits, watch companies, shoe companies, backpack companies, cloth brands etc., big corporations that need employee photos, wedding gigs and so on. 

Of course some clients are easier to “get” than others. It is much easier to land a collaboration with a watch company, than a huge travel company. It is probably easier to land a portrait gig, than a huge wedding. 

How to land your first photography client

No matter which line of work you want to pursue within photography, you will need a portfolio. Do you want to work with watch companies? Photograph some of your old watches with lots of variation. You will want both creative close ups, as well as lifestyle photos. Wanna work with travel companies? Build a stunning portfolio containing a variety of different travel photos. Cities, lakes, monuments, street scenes and grand mountains. This kind of work needs a huge investment at first, for you to actually create the photos. 

If you want to start shooting portraits, build up a portfolio of photos of friends and family, before you actually start charging for your work. When you have done so, make people aware that you are available for booking via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and so on. 

For wedding photography, try to contact a local wedding photographer, and ask if you can assist him or her on their shoot, and make your photos available to them afterwards. It is a great way to start building your portfolio. 

How to land your first photography client

For actually booking clients, there is not “much” you can do regarding weddings and portraits in the beginning. Of course you have to set up your website in a stunning way, and maybe make your prices a bit cheaper than your competitors, when first starting out. You can also run Facebook ads in the local area, to make people aware that you exist. 

For the rest, it’s just about reaching out. Send a short message on Instagram, or find the email of companies online. You need a great pitch, your portfolio, and a media kit showing your most stunning work. You just have to reach out to people until you see results. Otherwise they won’t  know that  you are available. 

When starting out, it takes a lot of hard work. You have to go into this whole heartedly. Don’t be in it for the money. If that’s the case, you won’t see any results and companies will see right through you. 

If you need any inspiration for product photography, give this video a view! It’s super cool. To check out my photos make sure to visit my gallery.