Step by step guide to accelerate your business past it's infancy.
Welcome to my blog. If you haven't read my previous post about "buying a camera" then either you've jumped ahead or already bought/have a camera and are ready for the next steps. Either way - let's get into it.
Identity
“The foundation of it all.”
It's pretty obvious that photography is super saturated with many photographers and creatives doing both similar and different things. So, let's get you into all of this - correctly.
[Your name]
First and foremost - a name. Just like when you were an teeny tiny newborn baby - you got named, it's who you are and how everyone knows you. To cut to the chase - make it unique and unique to you. That may sound a little confusing but what I mean is: make it something cool, like if someone sees it on a list, it makes them want to look you up. Now along with that - make it something unique to you. Now you can make it punny, for example, let's say we use the name John Legend. One name can be "LegendaryShotsTO" (TO being Toronto). Hell if you want, make it your name + photography: JohnLegendPhotography. Literally the possibilities are endless. All I'm going to say is: make it short, professional and creative.
PRO TIP: Avoid numbers - it looks weird, but there are some exceptions. Just keep in mind you may want your name on a sign, shirt or panel list - so it should look like some thought was put in it.
PRO TIP #2: Research your name - Before you go and start branding and spending money to - make sure no one has your name. It's literally a Google search and a bit of browsing. This will insure two things: 1. You will show up first if someone looks you up 2. You won't get sued into oblivion or be forced to change your name after you're deep into business.
Social Media
“Growing just past your name”
You got a name now. Cool. Now let's make sure you keep that name.
So what I mean by the above line: As soon as you decide and have researched your name. Reserve it. This is important. Once you have your social accounts set up with your name, people will be able to find you and it'll deter others from using the same name.
Here's a list of social media platforms that you should create accounts for ASAP:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Any website company(s)
- Behance
- Linktree/any social connection link
- Anything else you deem important to be on
(**Linked my socials for both a cheeky plug and so you can see how I've set mine up!)
This is only the beginning
I've given you some steps to give you a sense of identity in photography. But now you need a plan to make it all work. You need to start getting shoots and material to post. In my next blog post I'll tell you some of the steps I went through.
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