[by Judy Herrmann]
I’ve shared a lot of what I wished I’d known as a student and emerging photographer in my Breaking into the Biz program. You can find a one-hour version presented during SB3, along with a ton of other super informative recorded seminars in ASMP’s Video Library.
Here are a few additional tidbits that I wish I’d learned earlier in my career:
What I wish I’d understood in College:
The people you meet in school are nearly as important as the courses you take. Spend time with your professors – what you’ll learn from them in office hours will often help you more than what they cover in class. Network with students in related disciplines – these are the people who will become your clients and, if they know and like you, just might give you your first big break. Expand beyond photography and business classes. Study literature, history, sociology, science, psychology – well rounded interests will make you a better artist, a better business person, and a better conversationalist.
What I wish I’d understood before I started my studio:
A few years into my photography career, we got a puppy. Through Max, we met the late Ruth Chase, an extraordinary dog trainer who told us “Everything you do establishes a precedent.” As applicable to people as it is to pups, this simple phrase helped me understand all the ways we had mismanaged our clients’ expectations. Undoing the damage with existing clients was a slow, painful process but we quickly learned to watch the precedents we set with new ones!
What I wish I understood today
Despite over 23 years of experience, the rapid pace of change today has me less certain of my path than ever before in my career. Ironically, it’s not the doors that have closed but rather the number of new doors opening that has me wondering which direction will be the best fit. Nearly 20 years ago, when I was facing a similar crossroads, my father told me “The only security any of us have in life is the knowledge that come what may, we will always find a way to land on our own two feet.” I don’t know what the future will bring for any of us but I am certain of one thing: the skills we practice daily as professional photographers will help each of us find a way to land feet first.
Judy Herrmann uses her endless quest to understand everything to help photographers build creatively and financially rewarding businesses.