Sex, Sex and more Sex. See? Got your attention HUH? Simple solutions = SEX sells.
“Having an issue selling your work — It’s time to shoot SEX”
--
It never ceases to amaze me to what lengths photographers won’t go to when wanting to get higher paid work. What do I mean by higher? Like… more than US$500,000 per shoot.
If you are serious about making it as a well known and high paid photographer, then you need to engage in serious work, and some of that serious work may involve you shooting sexy ad-campaigns for a client that requires you to get…well… a little out there. So, get your camera out and leave your opinions, beliefs and commentary at the fu#%ing door!
Do you know what the most popular type of photography in the world is? If you guessed “wedding” you’d be…kinda right. The most popular type of photography in the world is actually ‘amateur photography’, you know, the weekend worrier — Those that think they are professional enough to take on new works for a client and charge accordingly, in whatever type of photography that they choose to do.
This is so frustrating to know as an artist because it gives our industry and those artists in the industry such a bad name if and when the shit hits the fan. So many times I have come across a client that has had a bad experience in dealing with what they thought was a professional photographer, only to find out that that photographer was purporting to be something that clearly they were not.
So, how do you stop this?
In a word or two — you can’t. However what you can do is go out there and get the work that you know you can land because you have the ability to do so.
And that you are not afraid to shoot the forbidden, or the different, or the bold — and yes — that includes SEX.
Let’s have a brief look at one of the highest paid photographers in the world and what genre they focus in. They will remain anonymous because I don’t personally support this particular photographer’s work, however I do agree with the style, their subjects and the finished product, just not in the way they go about getting it done.
Last year, this photographer made in excess of US$55 million. How? SEX, that’s how. Not only do they photograph in fashion, but they get most of their work through the relationships of brands that know exactly what this photographer is prepared to do for them in order to get their message out there and understood — especially when it comes to sex. The brands know that this photographer will grab their camera and leave their opinions at the door to just simply get the job done, which is exactly what they are paid to do.
Another thing to understand is that rarely will your moral compass or integrity be scrutinised in the assessment of your ability by an ad agency or brand.
They don’t care that you might not agree with their next campaign or that you like to dress up as your favourite porn-star late at night when the rest of the house has gone to bed.
In conclusion? Get SEXY and shoot SEX. Brands are using it more and more in this world and if you want to start making more money, then you have to be prepared to do something that is different, controversial and in some ways even risky. For if you are not prepared to rock the boat a little, then you will have the risk of fading away into the “lets shoot babies and weddings” type of photographer that the rest of the world already has so many of.
Thanks for stopping by — Im here, everyday, reading and adding content and if you got anything from this and want more — then just ask, and recommend to others so that they can stumble onto something that may be worthwhile for them to get the breakthrough that they need. — LG
