What is your visual positioning?
In today's market you must be aware that there is very little work for the visual generalist. Sadly I still find that very few photographers have actively worked to define their visual approach to their chosen subject?
Now more than ever, Vision, is where you must begin. To be successful you must initiate the process of defining the visual approach you will offer clients and the first step is to write your positioning statement.
Your positioning statement is your description of your vision. It is what you shoot and more important how you do it? It defines your style, your vision, and your way of seeing your chosen topic?
You can create your positioning statement by pretending you are the client and looking at your portfolio and pretending that you are a new contact seeing it for the first time.
What is the message that you get? Do the images individually and collectively tell you what type of assignment you would hire this photographer for? Is the photographer's message clear? Is it deep and can you see application? Can you define and articulate the photographer's visual approach? What type of client would hire this photographer? What might that client's branding message be?
Or are you finding that the work of the photographer (you) is all over the map? There is no consistency in the type of work shown or in the visual approach?
The answers to these questions will help you to know if you have a vision present that can be defined or if you need to begin and start to develop a new vision.
If you need to develop a vision try this exercise. Go through magazines, annual reports, web sites, award journals, and source books. Tear out images that represent photography that you would have killed to create.
This is not about selecting work that you like, rather it is about identifying the style of visual that you not only like, but would work your butt off to receive as an assignment. Clearly this is a deeper edit.
When you have about 1-7 examples start to analyze them. Use words to describe what each photo is about. Then choose words to describe the "visual feel"of each image. Look at the tools used (focus styling, graphic composition etc). Put the words on post it notes and go onto the next. When you have completed the defining process, spread the images out, read the post it notes and start to look for similarities in your descriptions.
Which descriptive words do you use repeatedly? Look at how color is used, how selective focus is used. Are the images you chose about people? How are they photographed? Are they props? Or are they relating to the camera? Are we peeking in on their world or are they very present, connecting to the photographer?
Now, do the same thing with your portfolio.
What are the consistent words you use on your post it notes to describe your imagery? What are the messages you are giving to clients? Do the descriptive words on the notes from your chosen tears match that from your current portfolio? Are the messages from the images you loved congruent with the messages from the images in your portfolio?
If so, begin to form your positioning statement making sure to state I shoot blank (your subject focus) and my visual approach is blank. The words on your post it notes fill in the blanks.
You now have a positioning statement!
Once you have developed and articulated your positioning statement you can use it as your main marketing message. Later that statement can be used as an editing tool for all portfolio images and it will also be useful for the descriptions for your portfolio images and on any visual mailers that are sent to contacts. It can be used on your web site and in source books as well.
Defining your Vision is a task that should be taken on with an open heart and lots of enthusiasm. Start today by asking yourself:
What is it that I truly want to shoot? How is it that I create?
You may be pleasantly surprised by the answers you will find!
? 2011 Selina Maitreya
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